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INSIDE ▼ CATA earns theater nominations
Spring Sing Karaoke!
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Friday, May 2, 2025 • Vol. 25 • No. 18
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Union County Library launches mobile outreach vehicle MONROE – Union County Library unveiled a new mobile outreach library vehicle, OLiVe, during an anniversary celebration April 12 at Southwest Regional Library.
The event marked one year since Southwest Regional Library opened its doors and highlighted a year of growth, innovation and expanded community access to resources. OLiVe – short for Outreach Library Vehicle – was on display during the event, showcasing how Union County is bringing books, technology, programs and Wi-Fi access directly to neighborhoods.
The idea is to reach people who may not be able to visit a library branch. “OLiVe represents the future of how we serve Union County – meeting people where they are,” Library Director Nina Chaffin said. “Whether it’s bringing storytime to a park or offering WiFi in a remote area, this vehicle helps us connect and engage in new ways.” The celebration included the dedication of two new outdoor features at the library: a Story Walk and a Literacy at Play space. Both attractions were made possible by donations through the Union County Library Foundation.
More than 300 attendees engaged in family-friendly activities, such as games, crafts and educational stations that highlighted the wide range of resources available at the Southwest Regional Library. The 19,000-square-foot facility, which opened to the public on April 19, 2024, has become a hub for learning, exploration and connection in western Union County. Learn more about the Union County Library and OLiVe’s outreach schedule at uclnc.org. Visit uclibraryfoundation.org for ways to support the Union County Library Foundation.
Union County Library’s mobile outreach vehicle, OLiVe, carries books to neighborhoods. Photo courtesy of Union County
Special Olympics names Wingate national champion
AI and nonprofit leaders to speak at Wingate graduations
Wingate University not only is involved in Special Olympics but has multiple initiatives working with people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Photo courtesy of Wingate University
WINGATE – Wingate University has been recognized as national champion by Special Olympics North America.
Wingate topped the field of 30 schools that competed during the 2025 Unified College National Championship. The recognition was announced April 22 during a ceremony on Zoom and co-hosted by ESPN’s Victoria Arlen. The competition graded colleges on how well they brought students and Special Olympics athletes together on the field, presented displays of inclusion, and creatively used social media to spread the word about inclusion around campus. Last fall, Wingate launched Julia’s Learning, in which five young adults with
intellectual and developmental disabilities live in dorms, take classes and participate in extracurricular activities on campus. As part of the annual Day of Giving and Service, for the past three years Wingate has hosted a pair of baseball games featuring clients from Union Diversified Industries in Monroe, all of whom have intellectual and developmental disabilities. Wingate students serve as buddies and fill the stands during the games. Wingate also graded highly because of several other activities throughout the past year, including a bowling exhibition featuring members of the school’s acrobatics and tumbling team, Julia’s Learning students and Union Diversified Industries clients; the Wingate softball’s team’s close work
with Union Diversified Industries to create the Union Bulldogs unified softball team; and other partnerships between Union Diversified Industries and Wingate’s nursing program, women’s basketball team, occupational therapy department, and Collaborative for the Common Good. “This recognition illustrates the commitment that Wingate University has to the well being of all people, including those with intellectual and developmental disabilities,” said Michelle Lancaster-Sandlin, executive director for intellectual and developmental disabilities initiatives at Wingate. “These types of activities are just who we are as an organization.” On the web: wingate.edu/admissions/ julias-learning
Sathish Muthukrishnan
Tchernavia Montgomery
Union County native comes home to direct ‘Big River’ By Christy K. Chambers Contributor
MONROE – Next month, Union County Playmakers takes on “Big River: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn,” a musical based on the novel by Mark Twain. With words and music by Roger Miller and book by William Hauptman, “Big River” uses jaunty tunes and a large dose of Twain’s acerbic wit to tackle some weighty subjects: slavery, racism, social injustice, to name a few. But at its core it’s a story of coming of age, friendship and self-discovery. Much like the river traveled in the play, there are many twists and turns that give the characters opportunities for growth and change if they choose to pursue them. Navigating the big river leads Huck to discover his identity and to the realization that all people are entitled to freedom (physical and spiritual) and the ability to govern themselves.
For Tommy Wooten, directing Union County Playmakers production of “Big River” feels like a homecoming. Wooten, born and raised in Monroe, attended Benton Heights Elementary School. “I lived two streets over from Benton Heights Elementary growing up,” Wooten said. “That was my neighborhood. And I can see my little self playing on the playground,
which is now the parking lot for the new theater. Climbing up those stairs of the old auditorium when nobody else was there, playing around as a kid.” His parents graduated from Benton Heights High School, where his mother was Miss Benton Heights. Wooten’s theater journey began in North Carolina. “I saw my uncle in a Union County production of ‘Oliver’ when I was 5 or 6, in the mid-70s. And my uncle Bill was the nicest, sweetest man ever,“ he said. “But he played the villain. He played Bill and he was horrible! And I was completely shook and mesmerized. But watching him on stage, I just knew. That's what I was going to do for the rest of my life.” Wooten’s dream took him to North Carolina School of the Arts, Wingate University, Liberty University, New York City and Florida, before returning to North Carolina. Leaving home at 19, he feels truly blessed to have been a working actor since age 22. “I always had this dream of coming back and sharing with people what I learned, what I do,” he said. “To get the opportunity to come back and do that is both surreal and fulfilling.” In many ways, Wooten’s trek mirrored Huck’s. In the song “Crossing,” Roger Miller writes “We are pilgrims on a journey through the darkness of the night. We are bound for other places.” Union County Playmakers is grateful for Wooten’s brief sojourn at the helm of their
Tommy Wooten is directing the Union County Playmakers production of “Big River: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn."
Photo courtesy of Union County Playmakers
raft and invites the audience to join the journey of self discovery. Wooten’s hope is that audiences will leave with the realization that we are more than what divides us. “We have so much more in common,” he said. “When we boil people down, have one-on-one conversations, have a heart to heart, we truly ‘see’ each other.” Traveling together we will no longer be strangers when we reach the other side. Want to go?
Union County Playmakers presents “Big River” May 9 to 11 and May 16 to 18 at Benton Heights Elementary School Performing Arts Center, 1205 Cherry St., Monroe. Visit www.unioncountyplaymakers.org for tickets and additional information. Christy K. Chambers serves as a board member for Union County Playmakers.
WINGATE – Wingate University graduates will hear from an executive working on the leading edge of artificial intelligence and another who provides healthcare to those most in need.
Sathish Muthukrishnan, chief information, data and digital officer at Ally Financial, will give the address May 17 during undergraduate commencement. Tchernavia Montgomery, CEO of Care Ring, will give the address May 16 to graduate students. Both ceremonies will start at 9 a.m. in the Academic Quad. Muthukrishnan helped Ally build an inhouse generative AI platform that enables the bank to rewrite contracts 100% digitally, saving customers time and money. In 2024, he was named Innovator of the Year by American Banker, inducted into the CIO Hall of Fame, and joined the Forbes CIO Next list for tech execs guiding organizations into a new era. Muthukrishnan graduated from the University of Madras with a degree in engineering, specializing in computer science. He has more than 25 filed patents related to manufacturing, payments and digital technology. Montgomery leads Care Ring, a nonprofit providing healthcare for those who are uninsured and underserved. It removes barriers for 8,000 people in Mecklenburg County annually. Under her leadership, the organization has grown in size, footprint and visibility, becoming nationally recognized for its programs and services. Care Ring recently doubled its physical space by moving to a new home on Graham Street. A double graduate of UNC Charlotte, Tchernavia is a master’s level clinical social worker with two decades of human services experience.