Strawberries and their role in Columbus County history will be the topic of a program Saturday.
Dr. Howard Marshall Wallace II will address the Southeastern North Carolina Genealogical Society Saturday May 9 at 2 p.m. The group meets at Whiteville Alliance Church, 623 Warrior Trail, Whiteville. The event is free and open to the public.
Wallace is the County Extension Director for Columbus County. He has more than a decade of leadership experience in agricultural education, community development, and applied research. He previously served in the same role in Hoke County. Wallace holds a doctorate in Agricultural and Extension Education from N.C. State University, with a graduate minor in Digital Learning and Teaching.
His professional work has primarily focused on commercial fruit and vegetable production and field crops, with particular emphasis on cotton. He has conducted commercial horticulture programming in Columbus County and earlier in his career in Robeson County. In addition, he has led efforts to expand digital literacy education in rural communities, helping position Columbus County as a pilot location for innovative Extension programming.
An active scholar, Dr. Wallace has presented his work at the National Association of County Agricultural Agents national meeting in Des Moines, Iowa (2023) and the Association for International Agricultural and Extension Education international meeting in Orlando, Florida (2024). He has published peer-reviewed articles in the Journal of Extension and the Journal of Human Sciences and Extension and serves as a peer reviewer for both the Journal of Extension and the national County Agent Magazine.
The meeting starts at 2 p.m. but some members arrive early to share family history. Everyone is welcome.
