Robert Furr Earns 2019 Ashley O. Thrift Award
Robert Furr, the Director of Cabarrus Cooperative Extension, received the 2019 Ashley O. Thrift Volunteer Service Award. Furr was recognized for 15 years of service to families and young children through his volunteer work with Smart Start. He was honored at the Cabarrus County Government Building on August 27, 2019.
In addition to an inscribed award, a contribution of $1,000 was made in Furr’s honor to his local Smart Start partnership, the Cabarrus County Partnership for Children.
The Volunteer Service Award was established to honor Ashley O. Thrift, a Forsyth County attorney and 14-year Board Chair of the North Carolina Partnership for Children (NCPC), Inc., the organization that leads Smart Start. Thrift has been part of Smart Start since its inception, serving as Board Chair of the local Smart Start partnership in Forsyth County before joining the North Carolina Partnership for Children board. Thrift has advocated tirelessly for Smart Start, visiting every county in the state on Smart Start’s behalf. The Volunteer Service Award, now in its eleventh year, is given annually to honor a current or past Smart Start Local Partnership Board Chair who embodies Thrift’s dedication.
Furr’s volunteer service with Smart Start totals more than 15 years in Cabarrus and Mecklenburg counties. Furr has been a Board Chair for both the Cabarrus County Partnership for Children and Smart Start of Mecklenburg County. He has also spent time advocating in Raleigh for the needs of young children. In addition, Furr has been a visible and active volunteer leader in the Cabarrus community and throughout the state of North Carolina.
"Being the recipient of the Ashley O. Thrift Volunteer Service Award is indeed an honor. Even more so, it is one more moment to call attention to the wonderful work being done for the children of North Carolina in all our partnerships and in our child care centers,” Furr stated in his remarks at the reception. “We have to speak for those who don’t have a voice at the decision making table. It is our job to advocate for young children, for the adults in the early childhood education profession that work diligently every day to prepare them for school, and for the quality care that should be non-negotiable and available to everyone.”
Furr challenges you to visit cabarruspartnership.org to find out how you can impact young children in Cabarrus County.
About Our Organization
Cabarrus Partnership for Children connects purpose, people and programs to ensure child well-being in Cabarrus County, North Carolina.
This mission is fulfilled by assessing the needs of our community and implementing services through our 3 core activities: Health, Early Education, Family Outreach. The Partnership is a collaborative organization and contracts with many community partners in order to implement services that meet our goal of preparing children in Cabarrus County for success in kindergarten.