List of Order of the Long Leaf Pine recipients

The Order of the Long Leaf Pine is granted by the Governor of North Carolina and is the state's highest civilian honor. ^[1] Although the award was first given in 1964, records of recipients were not kept until 1983. ^[1] Following is a partial list of its recipients. ^{[2] [1]}

Recipient	Award Year	Notability	References
1981–82 North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball team	1982	1982 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament National Champions; Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament Champions and Regular Season Co-champions	[1]
Charles W. Albertson		North Carolina Senate
Elreta Alexander-Ralston	1995	Trial attorney and North Carolina District Court Judge
Gordon P. Allen	2010	North Carolina Senate
Jo Allen	2024	President of Meredith College	[3]
American Red Cross	1982	Humanitarian organization
Maya Angelou	1992	Poet, author, and civil rights activist	[4] [5]
Balsam Range	2015	Bluegrass band	[6]
William Barber II	2010	Minister and political activist
Harry Belafonte		Calypso singer and actor	[7] [1]
Jack Betts	2006	Journalist and associate editor of The Charlotte Observer
Dan Blue	2003	Speaker of the North Carolina House of Representatives and North Carolina Senate
Blue Angels	2003	United States Navy flight demonstration squadron	[7]
John Baker	1971, 1987, 2004	Professional football player and Wake County Sheriff
George W. BonDurant	2009	Founder and first president of Atlanta Christian College and Mid-Atlantic Christian University
Charlie Boney	2014	Architect
Rod Brind'Amour	2024	Professional hockey player and coach	[8]
Jim Broyhill	1992	United States House of Representatives and United States Senate
Peter S. Brunstetter	2016	North Carolina Senate
Wanda G. Bryant	1980	Associate judge on the North Carolina Court of Appeals
Shirley Caesar	1979, 1995, 2016	Grammy Awards winning Gospel singer	[7]
Isabella Cannon	1999	First female Mayor of Raleigh, North Carolina
Rod Carew	1984	Baseball player and coach	[7]
Fred Chappell	2003	North Carolina Poet Laureate
Richard Childress	1994	NASCAR race car driver and businessman	[9] : 634
Shirley Chisholm		First Black woman to be elected to the United States Congress	[7] [1]
Janice Cole	2001	United States Attorney for the United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina	[10]
Linda Combs	2022	Comptroller of the Office of Management and Budget
Bonnie Ethel Cone	2003	Founder of the University of North Carolina at Charlotte
Janet Cowell	2017	North Carolina State Treasurer and North Carolina Senate
David Crabtree	2022	Journalist and lead anchor of WRAL-TV
Joan Crawford		Actress	[7] [1]
Paul R. Cunningham	2016	Dean of The Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University
Charlie Daniels	1984	Singer, musician, and songwriter	[7]
Frank A. Daniels Jr.	1995	Publisher of The News and Observer	[1] [11]
Chuck Davis	2007	Dancer
Crash Davis	1979	Minor League Baseball player
Claude DeBruhl	1981	North Carolina House of Representatives and veterans advocate
Ruby Dee	2000	Actress
Walter Dellinger	2010	Acting United States Solicitor General and law professor
Walter DeVries	1998	Political consultant and founder of the North Carolina Institute of Political Leadership
James Dodson	2012	Sports writer
Phil Donahue	1982	Talk show host and writer	[7]
Philip L. Dubois	2020	President of the University of Wyoming and chancellor of the University of North Carolina at Charlotte
Dale Earnhardt	1994	NASCAR stock car racing driver and racing team owner	[9] : 634
Dale Earnhardt Jr.	2018	NASCAR stock car racing driver, team owner, and broadcaster
Thereasea Elder	2001	First African American public health nurse in Charlotte, North Carolina
Karl Eikenberry	2016	United States Army lieutenant general and former U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan
Myrlie Evers-Williams	1995	Civil rights activist
S. Scott Ferebee Jr.	2001	Architect
Tom Fetzer	1992	Mayor of Raleigh, North Carolina and chairman of the North Carolina Republican Party
Gerald Ford		President of the United States	[7] [1]
John Hope Franklin	1995	Historian and writer	[7]
William C. Friday	2004	Head of the University of North Carolina system from 1956 to 1986	[5]
Shirley Fulton	2011	First African American female judge in the North Carolina Superior Court
Roman Gabriel	1988	Professional football player	[7]
Norman C. Gaddis	2023	United States Air Force Brigadier General
Clarence Gaines	1979, 1988, 1993	Mens basketball coach at Winston-Salem State University
Harvey Gantt	1984	Architect and the first black Mayor of Charlotte, North Carolina
John Glenn	1979	NASA astronaut and United States Senate	[7]
Danny Glover	2003	Actor	[10]
Jeff Gordon	2016	NASCAR stock car racing driver and stock car racing executive	[9] : 654
Tipper Gore	1997	Second Lady of the United States and co-founder of the Parents Music Resource Center	[7]
Billy Graham	1996	Evangelist, Southern Baptist minister, and civil rights advocate	[4] [5]
Franklin Graham	2015	Christian Evangelist and missionary
William A. Griffin	2010	Preacher and president of Mid-Atlantic Christian University
Andy Griffith	2012	Actor	[12]
Philip F. Gura	2019	Cultural historian and academic	[13]
Lloyd V. Hackley	1992	Chancellor of Fayetteville State University and president of the North Carolina Community College System	[14]
Bob Hall	2017	Executive Director of Democracy North Carolina
Mia Hamm	1995	Professional soccer player	[7]
Bob Harris	2017	Sportscaster
Fletcher L. Hartsell Jr.	1992	North Carolina Senate
Nathan O. Hatch	2021	President of Wake Forest University	[15]
Merlin Hay, 24th Earl of Erroll	1986	Earl of Erroll
Rick Hendrick	1996	NASCAR racing driver and team owner	[4] [9] : 654
George M. Holmes	1992	North Carolina House of Representatives
James Holshouser	1983	Governor of North Carolina
Jonathan Howes	1997	Secretary, North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources	[16]
Engelbert Humperdink		Pop singer	[7] [1]
Catfish Hunter		Professional baseball player	[7]
William E. Ingram Jr.	1995	Lieutenant General and director of the Army National Guard
Jesse Jackson	1982	Civil rights activist and shadow congressperson for Washington, D.C.	[7]
J. Charles Jennette	2020	Nephropathologist, academic, and author
George Jessel	1979	Vaudeville performer and actor	[7]
Junior Johnson	1984	NASCAR stock car racing driver and team owner	[7]
George Jones	1970	Country musician
Wilbur D. Jones Jr.	2023	Author, military historian, and preservationist	[17]
Michael Jordan	1985	College and professional basketball player	[18] [5]
Alexander Julian	1980	Fashion designer	[7]
Ralph Ketner	2015	Founder of Food Lion	[19]
Jean-Claude Killy		Olympic Alpine skier	[7]
Coretta Scott King	2002	Civil rights leader and wife of Martin Luther King Jr.	[10]
Earline Heath King	2003	Sculptor	[20]
Fred Kirby	1980	Singer-songwriter	[7]
Mike Krzyzewski	2022	College basketball coach	[21]
I. Beverly Lake Jr.	2006	Chief justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court	[10]
Bill Leslie	2018	News anchor for WRAL-TV and New-age music recording artist	[22]
William Ivey Long	2001	Costume designer	[10]
Betty Lynn	2016	Actress
Doug Marlette	2007	Pulitzer Prize-winning editorial cartoonist
John C. Martin	2014	Chief Judge of the North Carolina Court of Appeals
David T. McCoy	2000	N.C. State Controller and Secretary of the North Carolina Department of Transportation	[23]
Scotty McCreery	2017	Country music singer	[24]
Mike McIntyre	2014	U.S. House of Representatives	[25]
Kenneth Merritt		Parachutist
Mary Lee Mills		Nurse	[26] [27]
Ronnie Milsap	1984	Country music singer	[7]
Michael A. Milton	2018	Minister, theologian, and singer-songwriter
Burley Mitchell	1992	Chief Justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court
Jerry Moore	2012	Football player and coach
Hugh Morton	1984	Photographer and conservationist who developed Grandfather Mountain	[7]
Wendell H. Murphy	1992	North Carolina House of Representatives and North Carolina Senate
Bess Myerson	1979	Miss America, model, and television actress	[7]
Hal Needham	1983	Stunt performer and film director	[7]
Leslie Nielsen		Actor	[7] [1]
Virginia Newell	2017	Mathematics educator, author, and politician
Edward Francis North, Earl of Guilford	1982	9th Earl of Guilford	[1]
Margaret Nygard	1995	Educator and conservationist
Carmen Hooker Odom	2007	Secretary of the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services
Benny Parsons	2007	NASCAR driver and pit reporter
Itzhak Perlman	1983	Violinist	[7]
Gaylord Perry		Professional baseball player	[7]
Richard Petty	1988	NASCAR stock car racing driver	[12]
Gary Player	1983	Professional golfer	[7]
Sidney Poitier	1993	Actor and diplomat	[7]
Art Pope	1992	North Carolina House of Representatives and businessman	[7]
Colin Powell	1993	United States secretary of state
Marc Pruett	2015	Bluegrass banjo player	[6]
Nido Qubein	2005	Businessman and motivational speaker
André Raphel	2001	Conductor, Boston Symphony Orchestra	[28] [29]
James E. Ramsey	2012	Speaker of the North Carolina House of Representatives
Robert Redford	1984	Actor and filmmaker
John Shelton Reed	2023	Sociologist, essayist, and author
William Rehnquist	1994	Chief Justice of the United States	[7]
Gene Roberts	2015	National and executive editor of The New York Times
Kenny Rogers	1982	Country music singer and songwriter	[7]
Thomas Warren Ross	1999	President of the University of North Carolina system
Robert W. Scott	1971	Governor of North Carolina
Earl Scruggs	1984	Bluegrass musician	[7]
Hugh Shelton		Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff	[7] [1]
Claude Sitton	1985	The New York Times reporter and editor, The News & Observer editor
Enos Slaughter	1983	Professional baseball player	[7]
Arthur "Guitar Boogie" Smith	1984	Composer, musician, and record producer	[7]
Dean Smith	1988	College basketball coach	[12]
James Smith	1993, 1995	Boxer and World Boxing Association heavyweight champion	[7]
Mike Sprayberry	1998	North Carolina Emergency management director
Ted G. Stone	1999	Evangelist
Curtis Strange	1991	Professional golfer	[7]
Ben C. Sutton Jr.	2014	Investor, philanthropist, and the founder of Teall Capital
Wendell Tabb	2022	Theater teacher
Bob Timberlake	2006	Artist	[4]
Patricia Timmons-Goodson	1999, 2005	North Carolina Supreme Court and federal judge for the United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina	[10]
Randy Travis	1987	Country music and gospel music singer	[7]
Lanny Wadkins	1988	Professional golfer	[7]
George Walker	1997	Classical composer and the first African American to win the Pulitzer Prize for Music
Jerry M. Wallace	2015	President of Campbell University	[30]
Rusty Wallace	2005	NASCAR racing driver
Edith D. Warren	2012	North Carolina General Assembly	[31]
Robert D. Warren Sr.	2005	North Carolina Senate
Doc Watson	1999	Grammy Awards winning bluegrass singer and songwriter	[7]
Norman Adrian Wiggins	1976, 1980, 1996, 1998	President of Campbell University	[1]
Laura I. Wiley	2016	North Carolina House of Representatives
Harvey D. Williams	1996	U.S. Army major general and first African-American commander of Fort Myer
Ted Williams	1981	Professional baseball player	[7]
Tennessee Williams	1981	Playwright and screenwriter	[7]
Oprah Winfrey	1987	Talk show host, actress, producer, and author	[12]
Leslie Winner	1999	North Carolina Senate and general counsel and vice president for the University of North Carolina system
Jeremiah Wolfe	2017	Cherokee stonecutter, stickball caller, and storyteller	[32]
Ira David Wood III	1994	Actor, playwright, and executive director of Theatre in the Park
James Worthy	1985	College and professional basketball player
Aldona Wos	2015	United States Ambassador to Estonia and Secretary of the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services	[33]
Tammy Wynette	1970	Country music singer	[7]
Andrew Young	2002	Civil rights activist, U.S. Congressman, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, and the Mayor of Atlanta	[7]

References

1. Beckworth, Ryan Teague (2009-05-26). "Have a Long Leaf Award?". The News and Observer. Raleigh, North Carolina. pp.  4, 1 . Retrieved 2024-08-04– via Newspapers.com.
2. "The Order of the Long Leaf Pine Roster". The Order of the Long Leaf Pine Society. Retrieved August 4, 2024.
3. Allen, Melyssa (2024-04-30). "President Jo Allen Receives Order of Long Leaf Pine Award". Meredith College. Retrieved 2024-08-04.
4. Beckwith, Ryan Teague (26 June 2007). "What is the Order of the Long Leaf Pine?". Raleigh News & Observer. Archived from the original on 29 October 2011. Retrieved 11 November 2011.
5. "Ellington awarded the Order of the Long Leaf Pine". UNC: ITS website. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Archived from the original on 25 April 2012. Retrieved 11 November 2011.
6. McReynolds, Kat (2015-10-04). "Haywood County band Balsam Range awarded The Order of the Long Leaf Pine by Gov. McCrory". Mountain Xpress. Retrieved 2024-08-04.
7. "Roster of Recipients". The Order of the Long Leaf Pine Society. Retrieved 2024-08-04.
8. "Governor presents Hurricanes' coach Rod Brind'Amour with North Carolina honor". AP News. 2024-12-16. Retrieved 2024-12-16.
9. Poff, Jan-Michael, ed. (2000). Addresses and Public Papers of James Baxter Hunt Jr. Governor of North Carolina Vol. III 1993–1997 . Raleigh, NC: North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources. ISBN   0-86526-289-6.
10. Beckwith, Ryan Teague (6 May 2009). "Easley inducted 4,000 into Order". Raleigh News & Observer. Retrieved 11 November 2011.
11. "Remembering Frank Daniels Jr". WALTER Magazine. 2022-08-31. Retrieved 2024-08-04.
12. "Origin & History". The Long Leaf Pine Society. Archived from the original on August 29, 2012. Retrieved June 29, 2012.
13. Montgomery, Hannah (2019-06-14). "Dr. Philip Gura Awarded The Order of the Long Leaf Pine". UNC English & Comparative Literature. Retrieved 2024-08-04.
14. Hackley to Serve as Interim Chancellor of FSU Archived 2007-07-25 at the Library of Congress Web Archives
15. Walker, Cheryl (2021-03-29). "Wake Forest president honored with Order of the Long Leaf Pine award". Wake Forest News. Retrieved 2024-08-04.
16. Albers, Sarah M. (2015-06-01). "Former Chapel Hill Mayor Jonathan Howes dies at 78". The News & Observer . Retrieved 2015-06-14.
17. "Jones Presented With The Order Of The Long Leaf Pine". Wilmington Biz. February 21, 2023. Retrieved August 4, 2024.
18. Asheville Citizen-Times, Jon Ostendorf, Jan 5, 2007.
19. "Ralph W. Ketner Honored at Video Premiere". Catawba College. August 28, 2015. Retrieved 2024-08-04.
20. "Joe King et.al. & the Sultan of Kuwait ... and a lot more ..." Forsyth County Public Library. 12 November 2015. Retrieved 27 March 2017.
21. "Coach K Presented with Order of The Long Leaf Pine by Governor Cooper". Duke University. 2022-09-01. Retrieved 2024-08-04.
22. "Gov. Cooper presents Bill Leslie with the state's highest honor". WRAL.com. 2018-06-28. Retrieved 2024-08-04.
23. "The Long Leaf Pine Society – View Roster".
24. Ogburn, Thad. "Scotty McCreery's latest honor is a matter of state pride". Newsandobserver.com. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
25. Jacobs, Chick (October 18, 2014). "Meet recent recipients of the Order of the Longleaf Pine". The Fayetteville Observer. Retrieved 2024-08-04.
26. "Mary Mills (1912–2010): African-American Nurse in Lebanon". Khayrallah Center for Lebanese Diaspora Studies. 2015-09-02. Retrieved 2024-08-04.
27. "Nursing Ambassador to the World". Minority Nurse. 2013-03-30. Retrieved 2024-08-04.
28. "André Raphel". BSO. Retrieved 2024-08-04.
29. "Wheeling Symphony Orchestra Director Andre Raphel Announces Departure". The Intelligencer Wheeling News-Record. March 17, 2017. Retrieved 2024-08-04.
30. "Jerry Wallace awarded state's Order of the Long Leaf Pine – News". Campbell University. 2015-04-15. Retrieved 2024-08-04.
31. "Warren awarded Long Leaf Pine". The Daily Reflector. April 30, 2012. Retrieved May 16, 2012.
32. "Dr. Jeremiah "Jerry" Wolfe – obituary". The Cherokee One Feather. 2018-03-15. Retrieved 2024-08-04.
33. Covington, Owen (2020-02-13). "Elon benefactor Dr. Aldona Wos nominated to be U.S. ambassador to Canada". Today at Elon. Retrieved 2024-08-04.