This year’s recipients are Dr. John Monroe and his wife, Ebbie Monroe, both of whom have been active in civic and community affairs in the Sandhills for many years.
“I’m very proud to be a member of this group and proud to be receiving this award,” John Monroe said.
The name of the Builders Cup winner is a secret from all but a select few, and it is sometimes difficult to ensure that a winner will attend.
Monroe admitted that he was torn between coming to the dinner and attending the basketball game between the University of North Carolina Tar Heels and the Virginia Cavaliers.
“Frieda Bruton convinced us that this was more important,” he said.
“This is truly a surprise,” Ebbie Monroe said.
Dr. Hal Hyde made the presentation, explaining that the award was designed to be awarded to a man or woman of Moore County who “by unselfish personal service, without hope of personal gain, has outstandingly contributed to the upbuilding of the Sandhills region.”
Ebbie Monroe is a member of the State Board of Education. She also serves on the Joint Committee of the Moore County Board of Education and has been a member of the Sandhills Community College Board of Education for the past 17 years.
Ebbie Monroe established an organized volunteer program for the public schools, served as a member of the Moore County School Advisory Council for 14 years and as its chairman for seven years. She has served on many other local boards, including that of the United Way of Moore County.
Dr. John Monroe served as a captain in the U.S. Air Force, where he was a flight surgeon. He was a member of the Board of Trustees of the Hospital Foundation and served on the Board of Directors for Moore Regional Hospital, as well as having served on various committees relating to the hospital.
Dr. Monroe served as president and vice president of the Pinehurst Medical Clinic. He was a member of the American College of Surgeons, the Amer-ican Medical Association, the North Carolina Medical Society, the Moore County Medical Society and the American Academy of Otolaryngology.
In addition, he is a charter member of the North Carolina St. Andrews Society and served as its president.
He has served on various local committees and acted as the team physician for the football and wrestling teams at Pinecrest High School for several years. It was under his leadership that a countywide athletics physicals program was instituted.
Last year’s recipients were George and Teena Little. Past recipients of the Builders Cup, which has been awarded since 1927, include Norris and Sara Hodgkins (1989), Dr. David Bruton (1990), Peggy Kirk Bell (1992), Bob Ewing (1994), Felton Capel (1996) and Patsy Bonsal (1999).
President Marshall Berg was master of ceremonies for the occasion, and Danny and June Infantino provided musical entertainment.
The Builders Cup selection committee included Norris Hodgkins, Voit Gilmore, Hal Hyde, Hoke Pollock, Bruce Warlick, George Little, J.C. Robbins, David Bruton, Bob Ewing and Betty Liddell.
The committee organizing the dinner, headed up by Betty Liddell, included George Kecatos, John Ketner, Jack Webster, Howard Broughton, Scott Daw-son and William Smith.
