Doloris and Eddie Riggins, Tri-Area Ministry also honored
A record number of about 300 people crowded into The Forks Cafeteria Monday night for the 72nd Community Christmas Dinner, applauding for the winners of the three annual awards and for Shirley Wooten, who as a bride new to Wake Forest attended the first dinner in 1947 with her late husband, John Wooten.
Shirley Wooten could not remember much about that first dinner, but she did say she cannot believe it is still going on after all these years and mentioned the clubs involved in the dinner.
Along with the largest crowd at the dinner, Greg Harrington, a retiring town commissioner and emcee for the night, said “. . . the number of first timers was very impressive.”
Lawyer and Wake Forest native James S. Warren was awarded the Peggy Allen Lifetime Achievement Award named after the late editor of The Wake Weekly. “[Warren] has been a driving force in our community for over 45 years. He has been involved in practically every effort to improve and enhance our community,” Mayor Vivian Jones said as she began reciting the activities and efforts Warren has been involved in, including the construction of the Wake Forest Historical Museum; working with the Trentini Foundation and its scholarships and scholars; supporting Wake Forest High School athletics and athletes; donating money and time to the Wake Forest Boys and Girls Club and the Wake Forest Fourth of July Celebration; giving time and money to Rotary, Kiwanis, Optimist clubs and the Wake Forest Woman’s Club and the American Legion and VFW; and working and supporting Wake Forest Downtown and the Wake Forest Area Chamber of Commerce.
“It would be hard to find a charity or community organization which has not benefitted from this man’s generosity of time and money. But you will never find him talking about anything he has done. He is extremely humble; he always volunteers and writes checks behind the scenes and will change the subject if you try to honor him in any way,” the mayor concluded.
It was two for one, two people for one award when Doloris and Eddie Riggins were named the Citizens of the Year, two people the person who nominated them called the Wake Forest Power Couple. “They love Wake Forest and work hard to ensure their helpful hands touch so many aspects of our community.”
The Rigginses are members of Wake Forest United Methodist Church and, the mayor said, live their faith by helping children and adults through Tri-Area Ministry, Habitat for Humanity, the CROP Walk, Field of Dreams and the summer nutrition program. Doloris has been president of the Wake Forest Optimist Club and on the board of Wake Forest Downtown. Eddie has been as chairman of the trustee board at their church. Together they have volunteered for the Christmas parade, the charity car show, dirt day, the Tri-Area Ministry annual banquet and auction, Ronald McDonald House, shop with a cop and more.
“This couple never says no to helping in the community and are always the ones that are there early and stay late to lend a helping hand. Their helpful hands and reach touch so many in need in our community, and they manage all this while running a small business and being caretakers of two small grandchildren,” the nomination said.
The mayor was direct when naming the organization of the year. She simply said it was Tri-Area Ministry and then went on to list its many accomplishments this year, ending with, “Tri-Area Ministry’s most significant contribution to the community is the consistent provision, with dignity, of a substantial and ever-increasing quantity of food to those in need in our community. And they work diligently to advocate for those who are served and to educate the community to the needs of the food insecure among us. And, may I please emphasize that this is all done by volunteers.”
Tri-Area has partnered with many civic and business organizations to collect food and distribute it to the needy, and the group has also partnered with local farmers, community gardens, the Interfaith Food Shuttle and the Wake Forest Garden Club. They have received grants from Food Lion Feeds, Publix Charities, Konoinia Foundation, Sam’s Club and the Allstate Foundation to fund hygiene and fresh food programs.
This year they raised $57,000 at their second annual fundraiser dinner and auction, Stop Hunger Feed Hope. They participate in many town events to raise community awareness of food insecurity, and two board members serve on the Northern Community Food Security Team and the Capital Area Food Network. They are in the middle of a renovation plan to increase freezer and refrigeration capacity to better serve the needs of our growing community.
They have provided groceries to an average of 750 families each month, increasing the quantity of nonperishable food by more than 20 percent. They have increased the number of clients who receive hygiene products to more than 80 percent.
The Christmas dinner is open to everyone in the community. The tickets each year are $15 per person. The dinner is sponsored by the Wake Forest Community Council, the General James Moore Chapter of the DAR, the Wake Forest Purple Heart Foundation, the Wake Forest Historical Museum, the Wake Forest Historical Association, the Wake Forest Rotary Club and the Wake Forest Woman’s Club.
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