Jacquelyn Hallum Receives MLK Community Humanitarian Award
of Health Careers and Diversity Education for MAHEC.
MAHEC executive Jacquelyn Hallum was honored at the 34th Annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Prayer Breakfast January 17, 2015.
The Community Humanitarian Award is presented by the board of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Association of Asheville & Buncombe County to individuals who exemplify unstinting service to the Association as well as throughout the Asheville and Buncombe County region.
Hallum has long been a stalwart supporter of the annual King breakfast. Among the thankless tasks she has taken on for many years is the responsibility of placing a thousand attendees at their tables, allocating reserved, patron, and general seating to groups and individuals, all of whom want “the best seats.” She also supervises volunteers who serve as ushers and ticket-takers for the breakfast, serves as a liaison to the medical community, and arranges for the Spirit of MLK Choir to sing at the kick-off service for the Peace March and Rally.
In the broader community, Hallum serves as Director of Health Careers and Diversity Education for MAHEC and is completing her second term on the Asheville City School Board, which she chairs. A longtime supporter of Building Bridges, she has also served on numerous other boards and committees in western NC.
In presenting the Award, MLK Board Chair Oralene Simmons described Hallum as “someone whose sincerity and integrity have earned the respect and admiration of all who know her, and whose attention to detail and determination to get it right, the first time, the last time, and every time, makes the rest of our jobs much easier.”
