McCorquodale Earns GS Prestigious Gold

Girl Scouts Carolinas Peaks to Piedmont announced Leah McCorquodale, Kernersville, has earned her Girl Scout Gold Award, the highest achievement a Girl Scout can earn. McCorquodale, daughter of Tyler and Dona McCorquodale and a member of Girl Scout Troop 2419, created educational board games to donate to Guilford Elementary School. She wanted to give the students access to fun and engaging materials that were still educational and hopefully give them an extra spark and love for learning.

High school girls can earn their Girl Scout Gold Award by creating sustainable change on a community or world issue. Gold Award Girl addressing the cause of a community or world issue problem, plan solutions to drive change and lead a team of people to success. Each girl must dedicate a minimum of 80 hours carrying out her project, which must benefit and have long lasting impact.Thousands of Girl Scouts earn the Girl Scout Gold Award each year, which first began in 1916 as the Golden Eaglet. Earning the Gold Award opens doors to scholarships, preferred admission tracks for college and amazing career opportunities.“Earning the Girl Scout Gold Award designation is a remarkable achievement. It is the total of a girl’s self-discipline, leadership abilities, time management, creativity, initiative and mastery of skills it takes to complete these projects,” said Jennifer Wilcox, CEO for Girl Scouts Carolinas Peaks to Piedmont.

Mayor, Pilot Mountain

As a proud resident of Pilot Mountain. Evan Cockerham was born and raised in nearby Mount Airy to parents who represent the best things America has to offer: my father and I work together at the family business started by my family and his mother raised three sons and instilled in them the importance of hard work and education. Evan’s parents were always very encouraging so he developed a wide array of interests. This led him to a curiosity about how systems and local government works. He continued to maintain an interest in organizing, government, and how to make things work better. “I think it is an amazing privilege in America that we are able to participate in self-governance. It is easy to find problems, it is harder to work to fix them—but as long as we have the ability to organize and participate in democracy, that represents hope and optimism,” shares Evan.

In 2016, he started attending Pilot Mountain Board of Commissioners meetings and taking notice of the different issues facing the town. “I decided to throw my hat in the ring after some encouragement from friends, family, and a couple of the sitting board members at that time.”

Evan simply does not know how to do anything half-way, so to campaign, he gathered a list of every household within town-limits and decided that he could make an honest effort to visit all 500 plus most of the businesses for good measure. If no one was home, he left information with his phone number for queries. He didn’t take any vote for granted and was surprised by how many people were glad to meet someone running for office. Listening to their concerns gave him a good starting point for how he would serve. “I was successful in the election and went to work just as hard as I campaigned! In 2018, I ran for Mayor and then was re-elected in 2022 for a second four-year term. At the end of this term, I will be proud to say that I have 10-years in public service to the community I love.”

Being a public official can be stressful. One of the most interesting aspects of the job can also be the most stressful—you never know what is going to happen next: from pandemics, to wild fires, to chemical spills, to water-main breaks—sometimes you get those dreaded phone calls on weekends at 11:30p. Some issues take years of work to resolve and you cannot please everyone, so Evan pulls inspiration and encouragement from a lot of places. There are many great leaders throughout our nation's history who have demonstrated incredible acts of love, kindness, sacrifice, and delivered words that still move and motivate, like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. “My number-one source of inspiration comes from my parents. I saw them work hard to make sure my brothers and I had every opportunity they could provide for us. I saw them struggle at times with the economy swinging back and forth. Americans like my parents don't mind working hard and earning their way, we take pride in that—but I believe through honest and self-sacrificing service, people who work in government can have a positive impact on the lives of the people that elect them.

I also could not serve without an incredible and supportive wife who knows a thing or two about public service as a teacher. I am so proud of what she does and we are each other's biggest supporter. I have also had some of my youngest constituents request meetings with me—I always take those. I had one young man come to meet with me who was in elementary school. He came prepared with documentation about how we could do more to help with homeless outreach and fighting hunger in our communities. Whenever things get tough or controversial, I always think about how straightforward, honest, and loving those kids expect me to be— and I follow through with that.”

The Armfield Civic Center, a tremendous asset to Pilot Mountain’s youth sports is huge in Pilot Mountain. TACC is the "home" swimming pool for several schools and the fields are the home of an impressive East Surry Little League program. Not to mention all of the senior programs and non-profits like Meals on Wheels and YVEDDI that operate from the Civic Center. The best way to preserve and enhance the Armfield Civic Center is for it to belong to the people of this great town. Repair plans are to the essentials—the building, plumbing, and HVAC. “We are applying for grant funds the town is now eligible for by way of having a parks and rec program. We are developing a ‘Parks and Rec Master Plan’ that will look at other opportunities to add activities throughout town to give citizens and visitors opportunities to enjoy the natural beauty of our town!”

In his free time, he enjoys taking his dogs for walks. Evan has two chihuahua mixes rescued from Surry Animal Rescue.“Often times, people recognize Cookie and Zoey before they see me! They have taken over my social media accounts which are full of their pictures at home, on trips, and around town. Follow @pilotmtnmayor on Instagram!” He also is a competitive bowler and he has been bowling since a teenager and has competed in and even won a few tournaments and leagues!