Mebane city council member Montrena Hadley was sworn in for her second, four-year term Monday night. She was the leading vote-getter in the November elections that also saw the reelection of long-time councilman and mayor pro tem Tim Bradley and fellow first-term councilman Jonathan White.
All of that was expected and on the city council agenda.
What wasn’t on the agenda was the surprise announcement that Montrena Hadley was also to be honored with the Order of the Long Leaf Pine, the state’s highest civilian honor, designated by the governor “for persons who have made significant contributions to the state and their communities through their exemplary service and exceptional accomplishments.”
Brenda Buchanon, a member of the city’s Racial Equity Advisory Committee, made the presentation. Hadley’s husband, Michael, had started the application process, which was ultimately awarded by Gov. Josh Stein.
Present for the honor were Kelly Allen, the newly-named chairman of the Alamance County commissioners and Marikay Abuzuaiter, Greensboro’s newly-elected mayor. Abuzuaiter, Allen, and Hadley have frequently attended meetings of the Piedmont Council of Government meetings where they’ve sat together, conferred, and often made motions to move the meeting along, Allen and Abuzuaiter told the audience.
