When you think of an Outstanding Citizenship Award, what do you think of? Leadership? Philanthropy? Selflessness? Commitment to service? Well, this year’s recipient of the community’s Outstanding Citizenship Award, Ms. Marion Tucker, epitomizes every one of those qualities and more. A lifetime of service to the Fuquay-Varina community in addition to a rewarding career in the nonprofit sector created the perfect storm of commitment to helping others that has made a true impact on the community in which she lives.
Marion Tucker was born and raised on the Vance Jones farm, which is still located today on Hwy 55 near Bagels Plus. Although the land was eventually subdivided among the grandchildren of the original owner, the land has been home to members of her family for her entire lifetime. Marion attended the Fuquay Elementary School and the Consolidated High School in Fuquay before leaving to attend Shaw University to major in Home Economics and Science.
After graduating in 1966, she spent a period of time working in the private sector before landing a job as a nutritionist at Telemon Corporation – a private nonprofit that provided services to migrant and farm workers in North Carolina. After a few years as a nutritionist, Marion was promoted to Nutritional Program Coordinator organizing programs and training across the state. In 1976 she was promoted to a program director position. Part of Marion’s role included advocacy at the federal level as the food stamp program was being introduced. Marion worked tirelessly to make sure that migrant and farm workers were included in the official definition of those covered by the program.
T
he job required a lot of travel but was a labor of love as she got the chance to administer programs that worked to alleviate hunger. During her tenure at Telamon, Marion served as part of a conduit program that funneled federal dollars from the top seven social service organizations down to smaller organizations. Those seven organizations worked with congressmen to secure funding, and Marion served as chairperson of this conduit system during Congressman Ike Andrews’s term in office.
At one point, when the funding for nutritional programs was cut (after a change of administrations in Washington, D.C.), Marion transitioned into the housing side of things. And then later in her career, she became certified as a Human Resources professional and moved into the HR department – supervising over 1500 people in 22 states before she retired. Over the 40+ years of Marion’s career at Telamon, the corporation expanded from one state (NC) to 22 states across the country, and Marion oversaw the human resources function for all 22 state programs.
“I was brought up during a time when people didn’t job-hop,” Marion explains. “You graduated from college, found the path you wanted to be on professionally, and then usually stuck with the same company for your entire career. We did things for the long haul – not changing things up on the spur of the moment.” In 2011, Marion retired from Telamon after 40 years in an executive capacity and refocused her time and attention on civic involvement in various organizations in the local community.
Marion approached her dedication to community involvement with the same tenacity as she did with her work and career. A member of the First Baptist Church since she was 14, her passion for giving back began at an early age. With a few years off while she attended college and worked out of town, Marion returned and jumped back into community life.
About the time she began work at Telamon Corporation, Marion joined the Eta Phi Beta professional sorority. As a member of the sorority she served as their representative on the Board of Shelly School Child Development Center and ultimately served as chairperson for one term. The Shelly School Child Development Center, now defunct, was a nonprofit organization serving nursery school and disabled children including children from Fuquay-Varina and surrounding areas.
Marion also became involved with the Community Development Corporation (CDC) in Fuquay-Varina and has supported their efforts to renovate the Consolidated School on Jones Street – a school that she attended as a child. The CDC has successfully renovated the school portion of the building into an assisted-living facility and is currently working to renovate the old gym. She also has been involved with the Consolidated High School Alumni Committee since its inception. Marion has also financially supported the development of Pine Acres Community Center over the years and continues to attend events and contribute to programs there.
Marion also joined the local Masonic organization for women in the early 2000s. As a member of Jephthah’s Daughter, Order of the Eastern Star, Prince Hall Affiliate, in neighboring Holly Springs, she has participated in a number of programs and activities. The most notable of these was a celebration of Rosa Parks, who was the “Mother of the Civil Rights Movement” and a past Worthy Matron herself. The lodge rented a bus and toured local spots of significance while doing commemorative readings along the way. The event culminated in a banquet that evening. Marion enjoyed the organization but left the lodge when her work in her church began to take more of her time.
Another major commitment of time over the years has been her involvement with the Cultural Arts Society of Fuquay-Varina, of which she has served as Chairman for over 16 years. The original goal of the organization was to foster cultural diversity within the local community. The organization was created after Romy Burt and Mayor John Byrne went to Dunn to attend a Martin Luther King celebration. They returned to Fuquay-Varina inspired to see something similar organized in their own community. The group operated as a committee of interested community members at first, but was incorporated as a North Carolina nonprofit in 2004. For 14 years, the organization has organized an annual MLK walk and celebration in Fuquay-Varina that happens every year in January. The organization also organized arts festivals in conjunction with the town’s Parks & Rec department that ran from 2004-2007, but discontinued that activity when it became too much for the organization to manage. Although the organization has been active in the community for over a decade, Marion continues to try to expand the membership of the group to include more diversity, including members of the Hispanic community. It is a quest that is important to her and one that she will continue to strive for.
Marion’s involvement with her church has spanned a lifetime, and the roles she has taken on over the years have been increasingly more involved. She serves in the Golden Circle Ministry, which is dedicated to the beautification of the church and visitations to sick parishioners. Always a stickler for proper business practices, Marion volunteered tirelessly at First Baptist to ensure that the business matters of the church were administered properly. She served as the chairperson of the budget and finance committee and encouraged/coordinated church efforts to embrace Shaw University, which is supported by the Baptist Association. In 2012, she coordinated the church’s centennial celebration – an effort that included a formal banquet that was held at Bentwinds Golf & Country Club. She also joined the Board of Trustees and served a three-year term as the Chairperson of that Board until January of 2018. Although she stepped down as Chair, she continues to serve on the Board.
Marion has given much of herself to her community through work and volunteerism, but that is not all that makes the woman. When asked why she has spent much of her life working to provide relief for others, Marion is firm in her answer. “I don’t believe in just being a pew member,” she explains. “Life is participatory, and I’ve truly enjoyed the camaraderie of working alongside wonderful women to shape the world for the better.”
Marion was recognized for her many years of service and her leadership in the community – most especially for her work with the Martin Luther King, Jr. walk every year – with the town’s “Outstanding Citizenship Award” at the annual awards banquet for the Fuquay-Varina Chamber of Commerce back in February. Fuquay-Varina’s version of a “Citizen of the Year” award, this award was a wonderful capstone for a woman whose life of service has been a labor of love.
But Marion isn’t all work and no play. She is quite the seamstress and considers herself to be a bit “crafty” and good with her hands. Although she doesn’t have a lot of time for recreation, she does try to sew when she can, and enjoys a good book and a crossword puzzle from time to time. Now that she is retired, she does go to the movies and travel a bit, but really enjoys getting together with friends and a good BBQ. We’d say she’s earned it!
