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PUBLIC INFORMATION DEPARTMENT
PO Box 567, Buies Creek, NC 27506
Tel: (910) 893-1224 w Fax: (910) 893-1922
Lives of Distinguished Leaders Celebrated at Barden
Lecture
|
Graham Barden’s son, Graham Barden,
Jr., left,
retired Marine Corps Colonel John Sollis, and Dr.
James Martin, chairman of Campbell University’s
Department of Government, History, and Justice,
discuss Sollis’ address at Campbell University’s
Barden Lecture, Wednesday, March 17.
photo by Todd
Scarborough |
The late North Carolina Congressman David Henderson
practiced law, presided as a judge, and represented North Carolina’s
Third Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives.
In his remarks at Campbell University’s Barden Lecture on March 17,
retired Marine Corps Colonel John Sollis celebrated the
congressman’s life, the lives of two other dynamic leaders, and the
qualities they personified.
Sollis, an international affairs expert who serves as
assistant chief of staff for Community Services at Camp Lejeune, drew
parallels between Henderson, the late U.S. Congressman Graham Barden, for whom
the lecture series is named, and the late Marine Corps Commandant John Archer
Lejeune. He talked about the kind of character that makes a leader and how it
was exemplified in each of the men.
“What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters
compared to what lies within us,” said Sollis, quoting Ralph Waldo Emerson.
“If there aren’t values in this country to underpin us, then in those moments
of stress and fear, we have nothing to guide our destiny.”
Henderson, Barden, and Lejeune valued education. They lived by
a set of high moral standards, and they believed that leaders should inspire
others. “The ability to inspire people to achieve great things is one of the
most important leadership traits,” said Sollis.
During his tenure in the House of Representatives, Henderson
helped establish Cape Lookout National Seashore and promoted the needs of
North Carolina’s agricultural workers. Barden was a major constructive force
in the movement for responsible labor legislation as chairman of the House
Education and Labor Committee. Lejeune served on the high seas aboard Navy
ships, participated in many war campaigns, and led the famed Army Second
Division in World War I. He served as major general commandant of the Marine
Corps from 1920-1929.
In addition to their leadership skills, the men were also
related by geography. Part of the Henderson farm in Onslow County became Camp
Lejeune. Barden became a mentor to Henderson and the two men championed many
of the same causes.
“It is fitting that we honor these three men tonight,” Sollis
said. “They are wonderful examples of the role of character in leadership.”
Established in 1991, the Barden Lecture is sponsored by
Campbell University’s Department of Government, History, and Justice.
Founded in 1887, Campbell University is North Carolina’s
second largest private institution of higher education and the second largest
Baptist university in the world. Located in Buies Creek, NC, just east of the
center of the state, Campbell combines academic excellence and Christian
commitment.
Bulletin 0069 |
