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First Lady Ann McCrory made a rare public appearance Thursday at the Durham Rescue Mission, reading books to children and handing out paper plate for lunch.

McCrory's handlers -- press secretary Ricky Diaz and the governor's sister, Linda Sebastian -- didn't let any reporters near her at the event and continually attempted to control photographers movements before asking them to leave the building before the end of the event, the N&O's Chuck Liddy reports.

Following a meeting with Gov.-elect Pat McCrory last week, the Rev. William Barber, state NAACP president, said the organization is going to release a petition Friday that calls on McCrory to govern as a moderate.

Barber told the N&O's Thomas Goldsmith that he urged McCrory in last week's meeting to focus on unemployment and poverty. The meeting lasted about 20 to 30 minutes, Barber said, and there was talk of meeting again after McCrory becomes governor.

In a statement, McCrory spokesman Ricky Diaz said the governor-elect thought it was a good meeting and the office is reviewing the schedule for future meetings with NAACP leadership.

Pat McCrory's campaign is taking shape for the November general election with the addition of two new staffers.

He hired Ricky Diaz, a former spokesman for New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, to serve as press secretary. Diaz, a Vanderbilt grad, helped get Christie elected in 2009 and was a former deputy communications director in U.S. Sen. Richard Burr's 2010 campaign. 

And he brought Matthew McKillip on board to serve as a policy and research coordinator. McKillip, a Georgetown alum, formerly worked at the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative think tank, where he specialized in domestic policy research.