Governor Easley Names Haywood and Mary Holderness to Order of the Long Leaf Pine 

At the Celebration Program on June 24, John Atkins, on behalf of Governor Easley, presented a certificate  to Haywood and Mary, inducting them into the Order of the Long Leaf Pine.

The Order of the Long Leaf Pine is the highest civilian honor that can be granted in the state of North Carolina and is presented to individuals who have a proven record of extraordinary service to the state and contributions to their communities. The Order of the Long Leaf Pine is among the most prestigious awards presented by the Governor of North Carolina. Past recipients include Charles Kuralt, Maya Angelou, Rev. Billy Graham, William C. Friday, poet Fred Chappell, and artist Bob Timberlake.

 The certificate reads in part:

 "I, Mike Easley, the Governor of North Carolina, do by these presents confer To Reverend and Mary Holderness The Order of the Long Leaf Pine with the rank of Ambassador Extraordinary, privileged to enjoy fully all rights granted to members of this exalted order, among which is the special privilege to propose the following North Carolina toast in select company anywhere in the free world:

Here's to the land
Of the long leaf pine,
The summer land
Where the sun doth shine,
Where the weak grow strong
And the strong grow great,
Here's to 'down home,'
The Old North State!

That is the first verse of the official toast of North Carolina, from a poem by Leonora Martin and Mary Burke Kerr.