Liz McCormick Published

Lewisburg Natives Receive 'Living the Dream' Award for Honoring Medal of Freedom Winner

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The Martin Luther King, Jr. State Holiday Commission honored Lewisburg natives Pamela Barry and Neely Seams with the “Living the Dream” award this year.

The two wrote and performed a powerful monologue that honored another notable West Virginia native, Katherine Coleman Goble Johnson. Johnson is an African-American whose work in mathematics was critical to NASA’s moon landing.

The award was in the area of “Sharing of Self – Selfless Leadership in the Public and Private Sector.”

Pamela Barry and Neely Seams wrote and performed the monologue on Johnson’s life for the 2017 Greenbrier Historical Society Homes Tour Weekend. 

The Commission said in a news release the script and performance “provide inspiration to minorities, women, and those considering careers in science and math.”

The Commission noted the monologue will be presented to all high school students in Greenbrier, Monroe, and Pocahontas Counties in March.

Katherine Coleman Goble Johnson was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2015. She is a native of White Sulphur Springs.