Not everybody in the Order of the Long Leaf Pine is a person.
Over the years, a number of businesses, nonprofits and government agencies have received the award.
Below, the names and dates received of some of the more interesting ones:
BIG BUSINESSES: IBM Corp. (1994), Glaxo Inc. (1992 and 1994), Carolina Power & Light (1994), Carolina Telephone & Telegraph (1981), Champion International Corp. (1994), Coca Cola (1982), NationsBank (1994), SAS Institute (1994), WTVD (1982)
SMALL BUSINESSES: Barnes Supply (1982), Belk-Leggett's of Durham (1982), Burger King restaurant (1982), Cookie Factory (1982), Goin Pet Shop (1982), Lakewood Shopping Center (1982), Richard Childress Racing Enterprises (1994)
NONPROFITS: American Legion Post No. 7 (1982), American Red Cross (1982), Bicycle Transit Authority (1982), Blue Cross and Blue Shield (1994), Mountain View Ruritan Club (1987), Durham Rotary Club (1981)
SCHOOLS: Cherryville Junior Senior High (1983), East Carolina University Regional Development Institute (1982), Collegiate School (1975), students of McCollum Fourth Grade Class (1970), Zoller Fourth Grade Class (1975)
MISCELLANEOUS: Dog Show (1976), Puppy Creek Fire Department (1995), Eastern Band of Cherokee (1999), Carolina Tarheels (1982), The Kingsmen (1992), Mars Hill College Pi Sigma Phi (1984), Members of "Agricultural Market News" (1966)
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Out of Order
Not to be glib but we get the point.
This 'award' is a silly little paper certificate that Governors handout to everyone and anyone (or anything) not unlike candy to trick-or-treaters on Halloween. (Except Easley who refused to allow trick-or-treaters at the Governor's Mansion.)
In the meantime, you think you could pull your head out of the book of recipients long enough to hot foot it over to the State Highway Patrol office and starting asking office staff who the heck stole the Easley travel records?
Just saying there appear to be more pressing things for a newspaper with limited resources to be using their limited reporting resources on than this.