BUIES CREEK — Harnett County Commissioner Beatrice B. Hill received the Algernon Sydney Sullivan Award at Campbell University’s spring commencement exercises Saturday, May 10, in the John W. Pope, Jr. Convocation Center.
“Beatrice Hill has been a tireless leader, teacher, and servant for the citizens of Harnett County for many decades,” Campbell President Jerry M. Wallace said. “Her leadership on the County Commissioners has strongly supported the needs of Campbell University and our students. I cannot think of a more deserving person to receive the Algernon Sydney Sullivan Citizen Award than Beatrice Hill.”
Established by the New York Southern Society in 1925, the award honors the memory of Algernon Sydney Sullivan, a prominent New York philanthropist, lawyer and businessman during the late 19th century. Presented annually at Campbell’s spring graduation service, the award recognizes a citizen who best exemplifies the Sullivan ideal of compassion, intellect and conduct as evidence of a spirit of love for and helpfulness to others.
Hill, a retired school teacher, has been serving as a commissioner on the Harnett County Board of Commissioners for the past two decades. First sworn into office on December 1990, she is currently serving her sixth four-year term with the board. During her tenure, she set the precedence of being the first woman and minority to fill one of the positions on the county board. In 2011, Harnett County established Beatrice Hill Day to honor her 21 years of service to the county.
“I feel like I’m part of this great university,” Hill said. “When I starting working with Campbell it was a two-year school, but it’s grown into a complete university. Campbell is a great drawing card for Harnett County and all North Carolina. This place means so much to the local economy. I just want to say thank you for Campbell University and Jerry Wallace for all that you have done and will do for years to come.”
Hill received a Bachelor of Science and master’s degree in education from North Carolina A&T State University. She was previously employed by the Department of Social Services in Chicago, Ill., and at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. Her teaching career has spanned across several states, including Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina.
Hill and her late husband, James Hill, are the parents of two sons: Lamont Hill and Weldon Hill.