Former Arkadelphia resident Tammie Hall was recognized recently for her career in public service. Hall is the outgoing director of North Carolina’s Historically Underutilized Businesses, a position she has held since 2017.

North Carolina’s Department of Administration secretary presented Hall with the Order of the Long Leaf Pine, one of the most prestigious awards given by the state’s governor.

Hall is a 1983 graduate of Arkadelphia High School. She is the daughter of the late Anderson Thomas Sr. Her mother, Maggie Thomas, and five of her six brothers reside in Arkadelphia. A graduate of the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, where she earned a bachelor of science degree in business administration with a minor in finance. 

She has lived in Durham, N.C., for 20 years. She has more than 25 years of experience in creating supplier diversity programs in government, eight years of which she spent as a congressional policy advisor under U.S. Sen. Tim Hutchinson.

Under her directorship at HUB, the office opened the N.C. MBDA Business Center in Durham’s Research Triangle Park. The center will provide minority-owned firms a platform to reach global and domestic markets, enhancing growth, access to capital, contract opportunities and assistance in identifying strategic partners.

Tammie has been a long-time member of the N.C. MWBE Coordinators Network where she served over 10 years on the board of directors and six years as president. She is a former member of NC State University HUB Advisory Board. She is currently staff liaison for the Andrea Harris Task Force and the Governor’s Advisory Council for Historically Underutilized Businesses; Board Member at Global Scholars Academy in Durham, NC; Raleigh-Durham International Airport Board of Director; and Dominion Energy Environmental Justice Advisory Council Member.

Following her tenure as HUB director, Hall’s new role will be assistant county manager of Durham County.