"Your services are needed more today than ever before," said Dr. Dietra

Y. Trent, Deputy Secretary of Education for the State of Virginia, who

was the keynote speaker at Friday evening's 42nd Annual Meeting and

Banquet of the Tri-County Community Action Agency. "More people are

becoming poorer and the gap between the rich and the poor is ever

widening," she said noting that 750,000 families in Virginia rank below

the poverty line. Trent, a native of Halifax County and a graduate of Halifax County High School where the banquet was held, stressed that education "must be our priority. It closes ethnic and economic gaps," she pointed out.

And to that end, she stressed the importance of early education for

pre-kindergartners, one of Governor Tim Kaine's top priorities.  "From

pre-kindergarten to the third grade is where we lose our children."

Early childhood education is essential since some 26,000 third graders

fail their SOL's annually, she pointed out, noting that those test

results are accurate predictors of success in later education and in

life. Trent said many challenges lie ahead in trying to prepare for economic

competition. "We are no longer competing with our neighbors, North

Carolina and Maryland, but rather in a global world that knows no

boundaries. We need to see the world in different ways," she said,

noting that government alone cannot and should not have to meet all of

the challenges. "We have to return to our beloved communities," she noted,

congratulating the Community Action Agency which serves the Counties of

Halifax, Charlotte and Mecklenburg  and helps to meet their needs.

She points out that the love and support of local communities where she

herself received a foundation of the importance of family support has

helped her to achieve the goals she has reached. "I'm always happy to

have the opportunity to come back home," she said, noting that her

grandmother, who was her first grade teacher, and other family members

were in the audience. In other business on Friday evening Dr. Roger Ford, who has served on the agency's Board of Directors for the past five years, was presented with a plaque honoring his years of service. And the agency presented a check for $2500 to the Halifax Education Foundation to be used for scholarships for students from Halifax, Mecklenburg and Charlotte

Counties. The Board also re-elected W. P. Hudgins, Sr. as its chairman for the

coming year and Doug Bowman as vice chairman. Gloria D. Smith was

elected secretary and Catherine Howard, treasurer with Violet Fane and

Jules Modlinski as board members.