Exemplary Volunteer honoree is dedicated to serving community

By MIKE BOLLINGER

From being a volunteer fireman to his long-time involvement in Rotary International, Leigh Hudson has served his community for many years.

“Being a volunteer fireman was how I first got involved in service,” Hudson said. “I was raised in my family’s hardware store in Garner that was in the same block as the fire department. As I got more involved in the business, I couldn’t leave any more to answer calls, so I left the fire department.”

After leaving the fire department after 11 years, Hudson said he missed being of service to the community. He decided to join Rotary as a way to continue that service, and joined the Garner Rotary Club in 1981 before transferring his membership to the Clayton Rotary Club in 1986 when he opened a second hardware store in Clayton.

He said being in business has shown him the need to help people. “In the hardware business, you have to help people. It’s something I can’t not do,” Hudson said.

Hudson said he was originally attracted to Rotary by knowing some of the Garner club members and what they brought to service in the community. As a young business owner, he said he was able to learn from some of the other members. He has served as president of the Clayton club in 1989-90 and 2009-10.

While president of the Clayton club, the club picked up the balloon festival that used to be held in Clayton and put that on for two years.

At one point, the Clayton club was in danger of extinction before Hudson led the effort to rebuild it. It had dwindled to 19 members. “We were down to 19 old guys having dinners together,” he said.

Under Hudson’s leadership, membership increased from 19 to 45 from 2008 to 2010. He also chartered a new Clayton Mid-Day club during that time. As a result of those efforts, he was asked to serve as a Rotary assistant governor in 2010 and was then governor of Rotary District 7710 in 2013. He followed that with five years as district membership chair, has served as PolioPlus chair and now chairs the district learning resources committee. He and his wife, Pug, are Rotary Foundation Level 3 Major Donors, Bequest Society members and members of the Paul Harris Society.

He has served as Zone 33 assistant Rotary coordinator and continues to learn and teach Rotary as a facilitator and board member and is currently the immediate past chair of the Mid-Atlantic Rotary Leadership Institute. He received the Rotary Foundation PolioPlus Regional Service Award in 2017 and the Rotary International Service Above Self Award in 2021.

Hudson also was chairman of the Johnston County Drug Action Committee from 1990 to 2000. At first, he said he said he would attend a monthly meeting. His involvement quickly expanded from that, and he became part of an effort that took about 65 young people off the streets of Clayton and drastically reduced the drug problem there. Part of that effort was coordinating open gyms on Friday and Saturday nights. “I saw a need in the community, and I couldn’t walk away from it,” he said.

For leading that effort, Hudson received the N.C. Governor’s Crime Prevention Award and the Clayton Chamber of Commerce Citizen of the Year Award. Also, as part of the drug prevention effort, he wrote a successful grant in conjunction with Johnston County Youth Services.

Hudson is the chair of JoCo Flags for Heroes, a Rotary Club project. “Flags for Heroes came out of nowhere. We couldn’t have our spaghetti dinner, our spring fundraiser. Our president, a 21-year Marine veteran, thought we could do it. We hoped to do 200 the first year and we did 500. This year, the third year, we will have more than 1,500 flags,” he said.

The flags are displayed on fields at UNC Health Johnston in Clayton and Smithfield. The project is a joint effort between the Clayton Rotary Club, Cleveland School Rotary Club and the Rotary Club of Central Johnston County.

Individual, corporate, corporate gold and corporate platinum sponsorships are available. Proceeds from the sponsorships allow the three clubs to fund community service projects, including scholarships for high school seniors and worthy causes such as Stop Soldier Suicide.

“This is a service project for the community. We had no idea we would have to move them to the main fields when we started it. We have tables set up and people like to sit and talk. It has turned into something big. We have to keep riding that bus now, we can’t jump off,” Hudson said.

He and Pug have one son and three grandsons. Hudson is a graduate of Garner Senior High School and the University of North Carolina. He said he is grateful for the two locations of Hudson’s Hardware and Outdoor Equipment. “I’m happy we have been able to survive the onslaught of big box stores,” Hudson said.

The Clayton Rotary Club also organizes the Clayton Christmas Parade and works closely with the chamber of commerce. “We have a great relationship with the chamber. We help them with everything,” he said.

Hudson said he is pleased to be recognized as part of Johnston Now Honors. “I’m honored. You guys do a great job for Johnston County. This is a special community. I’m honored to represent Rotary more than anything else. Rotary has opened the door for me to do the things that I enjoy,” he said.

For more information about JoCo Flags for Heroes, visit www.claytonrotaryclub.org or the Facebook page at JoCo Flags for Heroes.