Tarheel Challenge Academy Cadets to March in Autryville Easter Parade

RALEIGH, NC (04/22/2011)(readMedia)-- More than 60 cadets from the North Carolina National Guard-operated Tarheel ChalleNGe Academy will provide a Color Guard and two drill teams for the annual Autryville, N.C., Easter parade on Saturday, April 23.

Tarheel ChalleNGe, headquartered in Salemburg, N.C., is a structured, 22-week, in-residence program for at-risk teens who have dropped out of school. ChalleNGe enrolls cadets in a high-school equivalency diploma program through a cooperative agreement with Sampson Community College and teaches them academic and life skills designed to ensure their success as productive members of society and steer them away from potential trouble with law enforcement. More than 70 percent of ChalleNGe graduates enter the work force, join the military or go on to a college program. ChalleNGe also features a year-long mentorship program following the in-residence phase.

The Autryville parade begins at 11 a.m. with Sampson County Clerk of Court Norman Wayne Naylor serving as grand marshall. The parade will also feature North Carolina State Senator Brent Jackson, Autryville Mayor Pat Williams, Salemburg Mayor Bobby Strickland, Roseboro Mayor Roland Hall and Sampson County Sheriff Jimmy Thornton.

NOTE TO EDITORS AND PRODUCERS: For more information, please contact Tarheel ChalleNGe Academy director Dale Autry at 919-214-2007.