The John R. Larkins Award was established in 1998 to recognize human service, and it is presented annually at the North Carolina State Employees’ Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Observance Program.

You are invited to nominate state employees who reflect Dr. Larkins’ commitment to equality and justice in the workplace and his dedication to improving conditions in local communities through volunteerism and community service. Nominations must be submitted by 5 p.m. Dec. 15, 2025. To nominate a colleague for the John R. Larkins Award, submit the online nomination form and provide a detailed description of how the nominee has improved human and race relations in the workplace and how the nominee has

contributed to local communities through volunteerism and community service. The honoree will be selected by a panel of state employees.

For questions, please contact:

Emma Hubacher 

Deputy Director of the Office of Constituent Engagement 

Office of the Governor 

919-814-2084

Dr. John Rodman Larkins was born December 24, 1913, in Wilmington, North Carolina, where he attended public school and graduated from Williston High School. Under the National Youth Administration Program, Larkins attended Shaw University and later earned his Master of Arts at Atlanta University’s School of Social Work and his Doctorate at Columbia University’s School of Social Work.

After early jobs paving roads and working in the garment industry in New York City, Dr. Larkins returned to North Carolina to serve as a welfare worker in Warren County. In 1942, he became a consultant for the North Carolina Department of Public Welfare (now the Department of Health and Human Services) until 1962, when he became the Department Coordinator. Dr. Larkins went on to serve as the Associate Director of the State Probation Commission from 1963 to 1973; as the Director of Youth Development at the Department of Corrections in 1973-74; and as Special Assistant to the Governor on Minority Affairs from 1977 until his death in 1980.

Dr. Larkins’ contributions extended beyond the workplace. He authored a collection of articles that explored race, community, leadership, and sociology. He taught part-time at St. Augustine’s College and Shaw University and served in

several sociological associations. Throughout his life and career, Dr. Larkins received numerous honors for his efforts to make our state and nation stronger through better human and race relations. Dr. Larkins’ legacy in North Carolina is one of hope, trust, hard work, and dedication. He believed in his fellow people and committed his life to improving our communities.

2025 – Belinda Pettiford, Department of Health and Human Services

2024 – Yazmin García Rico, Department of Health and Human Services

2023 - Felicia Culbreath-Setzer, Department of Commerce 

2022 - Debra Farrington, Department of Health and Human Services

2021 - April Parker, Department of Health and Human Services

2020 - Aleshia Hunt, East Carolina University

2019 - Bobbi Wardlaw-Brown, Office of State Human Resources

2018 - Tanya Dearman, Department of Revenue