RALEIGH, (SGRToday.com) - Two North Carolina councils that foster arts and culture in our state are welcoming new members. Gov. Pat McCrory made the three-year appointments earlier this month.

The North Carolina Humanities Council fosters a civic discourse in the state through a variety of programs which are free and designed for adults. The council provides communities with opportunities to reflect on their traditions, understand and appreciate their culture, coordinate programs to generate mutual understandings which foster common concepts and motivate citizens to become better informed.

Those appointed to three-year terms are:

-- Abelia Caraballo (Durham County) – Caraballo is an office assistant at Durham County Government.
-- Jenne Norris (Wake County) – Norris is a legal assistant for the Department of Commerce.
-- Quentin Johnson (Iredell County) – Johnson is the vice president for student support services at Guilford Technical Community College.
-- Misty Odell (Durham County) – Odell is a field director for Americans for Prosperity.
-- John Tayloe (Bertie County) – Tayloe is the vice president for development at Chowan University.
 
North Carolina Arts Council advises the secretary of the Department of Cultural Resources on the study, collection and dissemination of arts information and provides direction on how to assist local organizations and communities in the development and sustaining of arts resources. The Arts Council board also advises on the exchange of information and promotion of programs between public and private organizations, and how to provide opportunities for citizens across the state to experience and benefit from the arts.

The appointees are:

-- Joseph Logan (Forsyth County) – Logan is the executive director of the International Casual Furnishings Association.
--Chad Cheek (Forysth County) – Cheek is the owner of the design agency Elephant in the Room.  
--John Willingham (Davie County) – Willingham is the president of the Yadkin Arts Council. He is a reappointment.
--Lockwood Phillips (Carteret County) – Phillips hosts a talk radio program called “Viewpoints” on WTKF 107.1 FM.
-- Socorro Hernandez-Hinek (Cumberland County) – Hernandez-Hinek is an art professor at Fayetteville State University.
-- Antoinette Toppin (Durham County) – Toppin is a critically acclaimed opera performer. She is a reappointment.
-- Edwin Peacock (Mecklenburg County) – Peacock is the vice president of Pomfret Financial Company Inc.
-- Janice Travis (Mecklenburg County) – Travis is in the inaugural class of docents for the Bechtler Museum of Art and is a past board member of Historic Latta Plantation.