LUMBERTON — Former principals were honored for their service to W.H. Knuckles Elementary School on Thursday as bricks bearing their names and years of service adorned an area at the front of the school affectionately referred to as the “Principal Garden.”
W.H. Knuckles Elementary Principal Lisa Troy, who is retiring effective July 1, shared remarks about the garden and principals honored therein.
Five new bricks were planted in the garden ahead of the ceremony bearing the names of Gary Patrick, Karen Brooks-Floyd, Adrian Sinclair-Davis, Eric Sanders and Lisa Troy. Those bricks lay near the former ones which bear the names of George H. Young, Thomas A. Walker, Robert Jones, James T. Blue and Susan M. Blackmon.
The event and Principal Garden were made possible by community partners including the Lambda Eta Zeta Chapter of Zeta Phi Beta, Bristol McCormick, Sandy Grove Baptist Church and Tammara Abernathy Jones, Troy said. The Lambda Eta Zeta Chapter of Zeta Phi Beta funded the project.
“We are here to lay the next five bricks in the Principal Garden. This is a very special occasion and I was here when they laid the first five,” Troy said. “The number one purpose of this garden is to just remember. Sometimes our memory doesn’t remember everything we want it to remember but if we have a visual that helps.”
Multiple people gathered at the ceremony to pay tribute to principal honorees. Among attendees were principal honorees, their family members, PSRC Central Office staff and family members of other principal honorees who formerly passed away.
Joyce Jones, who was married to former principal Robert Jones, shared remarks.
“It really is an honor and a privilege to be here and I know my husband is smiling right now,” she said.
Jones said her late husband who passed away in 2021 loved people and loved the school. She and others in attendance described him as a “super, super person.”
Other principal honorees also delivered remarks during the ceremony.
“I am so grateful for today,” said Eric Sanders, a principal honoree. “It’s been an honor to be a part of this group … It was an honor to serve here at W.H. Knuckles Elementary.”
Tammara Abernathy Jones, chairperson of the Lambda Eta Zeta Chapter of Zeta Phi Beta’s Adopt A School Initiative, said the event hit home for her. Jones is the granddaughter of the Rev. Dr. William H. Knuckles, whom the school is named after. Knuckles served as principal of the Thompson Institute, which would become South Lumberton Elementary and later W.H. Knuckles Elementary School.
“This is truly so nostalgic for me,” she said. “This is an example of how work is going on and on and on and it’s so beautiful to see the outcome when you keep on building.”
PSRC Superintendent Dr. Williamson spoke about the importance of education and said that the work of raising and educating children is a calling from God.
“It is a lifelong calling on our lives to serve and make a difference,” Williamson said.
“Once a principal, always a principal,” he added.
Principal Troy also invited Dr. Renee Steele to speak. Steele will take on the principal role left vacant by Troy’s retirement.
“I stand on the shoulders of great leaders, people who have made a difference,” Dr. Steele said. “I am looking forward to working with the community and staff. It is a privilege and opportunity to serve.”
Troy said the ceremony was an emotional time for her as she prepares to close out her educational career and embark on retirement.
“It’s bittersweet,” she said. “I know I stand in some big shoes today because I feel like I carry a part of every one of them with me as I’ve served. So to be able to honor each and every one of them is a special moment in the community I serve.”
