Fayetteville Technical Community College Board of Trustees member Dr. Vikki Andrews received the Order of the Long Leaf Pine award, recognizing a decades-long career in statewide civic service.

The Order of the Long Leaf Pine is the highest award for state service granted by the Office of the Governor. Nominations for the award are considered for individuals with 30 or more years of service to the state.

Andrews received the award at a ceremony held on March 22 in Fayetteville. She said she was

“pleasantly surprised and humbled” by the honor, and considers volunteer service a foundational part of her life philosophy.

“I think we owe it to others to help if we can,” Andrews said in a press release. “Everything I’ve done has been because I had the time, a resource and the ability to do so.”

Andrews, a retired U.S. Army officer, has a career of service that spans more than three decades. She is the current chair of the North Carolina Democratic Party Veterans & Military Families Caucus and has served two terms as the chair of the Cumberland County Democratic Party.

While not a native of North Carolina, Andrews attended Duke University and returned to North Carolina permanently in 1990 at the end of her military service. She has considered the Tar Heel State home ever since.

“It’s special when the people you work, live and play with think enough of you to say thank you and recognize the things that you’ve done,” Andrews added in a press release.