Vision
of the Board
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The Board of Directors for the
Active Laurinburg Group all have lived
in this community for several years and we all share a desire
to create a
better quality-of-life for all the residents. This non-profit group is
trying to carve out a niche with the "Active Adult Community" brand
that gives all adults in our community a way to get involved in
helping shape our future. Once we are successful in filling our
calendars with well-attended activities, we'll promote our active
lifestyle as a "must
see" destination that will attract visitors from
around the country.
This group is convinced that we can improve the lifestyle for current
residents and students so that they will want to remain in our area for
years to come. We will do this by creating a healthier and
happier community through
social and sports-related activities for residents and their
like-minded friends.
Once we start promoting these activities through various forms of
media, we hope to attract working adults and soldiers relocating to our
area with BRAC and businesses within a 20 mile radius. We
also hope to attract
retiring baby-boomers from throughout the country.
Laurinburg has given a lot to us and now it is time for us to give
back. We are a promotional group and we hope that we will get
you
involved with us. When you do, we hope that you will help us
promote this group and it's activities
in your travels. Working together, we can all make
Laurinburg a better place to live.
Share
our vision for change in Laurinburg; get involved today!
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Board
of Directors
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Sam
Thompson - Executive Director
 I
am married to Carolyn and have 2 kids, Will and Anna. Will is a Junior
at UNC Greensboro and Anna is a Freshman at UNC Chapel Hill.
After
working in management in manufacturing for around twenty years, I got
into the mortgage industry 6.5 years ago. Currently, I am a Senior
Mortgage Advisor for Carolina Mortgage Company in Fayetteville.
My community involvement in Laurinburg includes The Laurinburg
Jaycees,
The Scotland County Chamber of Commerce - Economic Development
Committee and The
Brighter Futures Committee. I have served as a Deacon
and
Elder at the Laurinburg Presbyterian Church, current Treasurer of Boy
Scout Troop 420 and past graduate of the Scotland County
Chamber of Commerce
Leadership Development Program.
I
have
lived in Laurinburg with my family since 1980 and have lived here
longer than anywhere else in my life. Laurinburg
is where my friends live and I hope to be able to continue working here
and retiring here. I am
proud to call Laurinburg, NC home.
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Marcus Norton
 My
wife Janet and I live on a farm that borders the Sandhills Gamelands in
the northwestern part of Scotland County near Laurel Hill. We
have three children, Marc, Ali, and Anna. We love our location as
it provides ample opportunity to enjoy the outdoors, is close to great
schools, and provides easy shopping at local stores.
I'm
a business man involved in several enterprises mostly dealing with
farming, land use planning, and land management. Our family
attends the Laurinburg Presbyterian Church in Laurinburg. Our family has a
long history in Scotland County dating back through eight generations.
For
as long as I can remember, I have been involved with the Scotland
County School System trying to provide support and encouragement during
the children’s educational development. This has been an
excellent experience. Also I have been involved with the
Laurinburg Scotland County Chamber, Scotland County of Tomorrow (SCOT),
Scotland County Genealogical Society, and have been a Parks and
Recreation coach. Other activities I enjoy are travel with
family, walks on the farm with my wife, local history, and college
basketball.
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Frances McDuffie
 I
am a thirty one year old Laurinburg
native. I teach and work as an administrator for Laurinburg
Institute, one of the oldest
predominately African American boarding schools in America (founded
1904). I love working with students and socializing
with my fellow Laurinburg residents. I have recently gotten
engaged and look forward to settling down to married life.
My community involvement with Laurinburg
include Scotland County Literacy Council, Scotland
County Domestic
Violence and Rape Center, Scotland County Tennis Association, Scotland
Family Counseling Center, Scotland County Democratic Women,
Fund Run, SAPC Knights Club, and Bright Hopewell Baptist Church.
I am proud to live in a community that
chooses to be proactive, warm, and caring!!!
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Gene Smith
 I
am retired after 15 years in the public school system and 30 years with
St. Andrews Presbyterian College. I was married to Nancy
Smith
(deceased) for 47 years and have one daughter, Jenny and one son, Joey.
Jenny is in now in Florence, SC and Joey lives in
Greensboro, NC.
My
community
involvement includes current Chairman of Wee Care, Boy Scouts, Hospice
of Scotland Co, Smarts Starts Partnership with Children and Family,
Child Care Directions, Sunday School Teacher at the First Baptist
Church in Laurinburg and I have been the SAPC Men's Basketball
Statistician home for games for 35 years.
I hope this group can supplement the great children's and senior's
programs currently underway in Scotland County.
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Richard Bingham
 I am a native of Scotland County
growing up in
Laurel Hill. I now live in Laurinburg and I am a Sales Representative
for
TransFirst, LLC, a company that provides Credit Card Processing and
other
merchant solutions. I
am married to Maria
Teal Bingham, also of Laurinburg. We attend Saint Luke UMC. We have 2
daughters,
Hannah age 17, a senior at Scotland
High
School, and Jordan age 21, a student at Pitt
Community
College.
My community
involvement includes, Boy Scouts of America,
Scotland County Chamber of Commerce and Relay for Life.
My hobbies include
most outdoor sports, fishing,
canoeing/kayaking, hiking, camping and tennis.
I am
proud to call Laurinburg “Home”.
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Vince Bateman
Ginny, my wife, teaches at I Ellis Johnson Elementary
School. We have two daughters, Ginna and
Olivia. Ginna graduated from Scotland High School
in 2008 and is a freshman at Richmond
Community College. Olivia is a seventh grader at Spring Hill
Middle School. We are humble members of First United
Methodist Church
in Laurinburg.
Scotland
County is my original
home, having graduated from the high school in 1977. After college, my wife and I were fortunate
enough to locate back here. I have been
employed in finance and banking since 1983.
During that time, my local community, civic, and social involvement has
been active and varied.
I fondly recall the mid-1980s when, three afternoons each
week in the spring and summer, a group of 20 or 25 guys in their mid 20s and
early 30s would gather at a local church and play pickup basketball on an
outdoor court. In the fall, the same
group would meet on Sunday afternoons at Pate Stadium and play tag football on
that beautiful field (can you believe we got away with this?). Some of these
fellows were professionals, some owned their own businesses, some were
educators, some were in sales, some were in manufacturing, and some were in
financial services. A lot of them are still here and are our community leaders.
We all were looking for a way to have camaraderie, relieve stress, get a little
exercise, and share a common interest. I have gained 50 pounds over the last 25
years and can barely run a mile anymore, but I still relish the opportunity to
share common recreational pursuits with others.
Let's all join and support Active Laurinburg as another way
of showing our support and involvement in making our area an interesting and
attractive place for ourselves and others who may be considering calling our
wonderful community "home".
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