Meet the Challengers!

Marquise Blanks is 33 years old and is born and raised in Columbus County. He lives in the Farmers Union community with his wife Brianna and 2 two sons; Malachi who is a year and half old while awaiting Memphis to make his grand appearance March soon after the plunge! He works at Whiteville Fire Department as a Lieutenant while owning and operating Ladder One Lawn Care Services. Marquise volunteers at Hallsboro Fire, White Marsh Fire,  Whiteville Heavy Rescue and Nakina Fire and Rescue. He loves to fish and hunt especially rabbit hunting. Marquise loves going out to eat drinking Sundrop and helping people anyway he can. 

Turner Brown is a 25 year old native of Whiteville who is now the new head baseball coach at Whiteville High School. He is married to the lovely Kaitlyn Brown who is a kindergarten teacher at Whiteville Primary School. They are so excited to be expecting their first child, a baby boy named Asher, in June of this year. Turner grew up playing baseball his whole life in Whiteville, except for his post high school playing career. During his high school years, he had the honor of being the first of Coach Brett Harwood’s players to win 3 State Championships. After high school, he went on to play for the East Carolina Pirates where he was a 4-year starter on the team. Turner takes great pride in his job as a baseball coach and mentor and looks forward to hanging his first state championship banner here at Whiteville.

Kent Frazier, the son of Gladys Frazier, and the late John Frazier, was born and raised in Bladenboro, North Carolina. He graduated from  Bladenboro High School in 1991 and went on to East Carolina University for PT school.  After graduation, he started working at Total Health and Rehab, and has remain employed with the company at Columbus Regional, serving Whiteville for the last 25 years. 

Kent is married to the beautiful Natalie Frazier,  and together they have two children, Brooks and Laney. In his free time, he loves saltwater fishing, chasing turkeys, and cheering for his children on the side lines. He loves working with youth in our community from physical therapy rehabilitation to coaching Rec football players. 

Mrs. Gore is a Columbus County native, and wife to Brett Gore. She is a mother to three children: Meagan Gore Herring (Luke), Will Gore, and Caroline Gore. Mrs. Gore is an alumnus of South Eastern Community College and University of North Carolina at Pembroke.  She currently the Principal of West Columbus High School. Mrs. Gore has been in education for 27 years, 10 of those years were spent in the Whiteville City system and the rest with the Columbus County system. She is also an adjunct professor at Southeastern Community College. Ms. Gore has a passion for education and a desire for all students to thrive and have the opportunity to succeed. 

Sarah is a Whiteville native that currently resides in Ocean Isle Beach. Sarah is the owner and operator of Chef Sarah Gore-Events a Catering, a local catering business in town, where she cooks delicious southern favorites and other yummy treats. She is also the Vice President of the Columbus County Agriculture Fair. Sarah loves supporting her community and participating in anything that benefits education. 

Josh Harris was born and raised in Bolton. He is the proud father to Madisyn Harris who is 9 years old. He graduated from Bladen Community College with an Associates Degree in Criminal Justice. He works for the Whiteville Police Department and has 10 years of law enforcement experience. He asks that you please vote for him; Josh never turns down the opportunity to be a part of a good cause!

My name is Heath Long. I've lived in Columbus County all my life. It's  home! I own a barber shop right outside Chadbourn called Sport-A-Cut. I've been cutting hair for almost 10 years. I truly love what I do and making our clients feel good about themselves with a good haircut and great conversation!

Grant was born and raised in Whiteville. He graduated from Whiteville High School in 2007 and UNC Pembroke in 2011. He is a photographer and reporter for The News Reporter. You've probably seen him everywhere taking pictures at sporting events, concerts, festivals, parades, school events, and fundraisers. In his spare time, he likes to workout at Body Shapers Gym and train Brazilian Jiu Jitsu at Wolfpack Martial Arts. He attends Crossroads Church. 

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Bill Rogers is a native of the small town of Evergreen in Columbus County NC. He is a graduate of West Columbus High School. He has been married to his wife Abby for 31 years and they have one son, Jordan. He is a local farmer and has been in law enforcement since the 1990s. He graduated from the North Carolina Highway Patrol School in 2000. He retired from the Highway Patrol in 2021, and shortly after became our Columbus County Sheriff. He enjoys serving our community and supporting our local schools.