Delamar Center opens at PCC

GRANTSBORO - Amid a standing ovation, Ned Everett Delamar stood at the podium, visibly overcome by the support of his family, friends and colleagues.

The man who sang in the Irving Berlin Army Show in the 1940s had certainly handled crowds before. He is the same man who served as a paratrooper in Italy during World War II, earning multiple military honors, including two Purple Hearts and a Bronze Star. And the same man who was a state legislator for nearly a decade.

But the native of Oriental wasn't quite prepared for the gratitude displayed by a crowd full of homefolks on Sunday afternoon.

"I stand here as a man filled to the brim with great appreciation, humility and love for North Carolina and for the people of Pamlico County," he told the cheering crowd gathered at Pamlico Community College.

They came to dedicate the brand-new Ned Everett Delamar Center to the singer, soldier, legislator and educator who never forgot home.

"I've had 87 years of a long and rich life," Delamar said. "No matter where my adventures took me, I knew I belonged here."

When Delamar represented Pamlico County in the state Legislature in the 1950s and 1960s, he helped craft the legislation that created North Carolina's community-college system. All 28 pieces of legislation that he sponsored or co-sponsored in that regard ultimately became law.

"It's from the state and available to you to learn whatever you want to learn," said Barbara Venturi, the president of Pamlico Community College Foundation.

Because of his support of community colleges, it made sense to dedicate Pamlico County's newest education building to one of its native sons, Venturi said. Delamar still lives in Oriental, in the same house where he was raised.

The $4.2 million center that bears Delamar's name was finished in February. It houses four classrooms for the college's allied-health curriculum. The classrooms are designed to simulate a hospital or clinic setting while also providing space for lectures. The building also has a 10,000-square-foot auditorium and multipurpose room.

"This building means so much for us ... in terms of hands-on training," said Dannett Williford, a student in the medical-assisting program at the college.

But the man who carries butterscotch candy in his pockets wanted the building, not himself, in Sunday's spotlight.

"This is truly humbling and very special to me," Delamar said, his voice cracking. "I thank you from the bottom of my heart."

Nikie Mayo can be reached at (252) 635-5665 or nmayo@freedomenc.com.