On February 5, 2020, Joseph G. Minton was honored with the Minnie Wood Perkins Humanitarian Award at the Rev. George T. and Luvenia B. Rouson Memorial Lecture in Turner Auditorium. 

This award honors a man who dedicated his life to the well-being of the community members and his family. Mr. Minton is a native of Aulander, NC. In 1963, he graduated from Frederick Military Academy in Portsmouth, VA and planned for a lifetime career in the military. The unforeseen happened and Mr. Milton was in a car wreck which almost ended his life. After recovering from the accident, he entered NC State University and received a BS in Animal Science in 1967. That same year, Mr. Minton completed a BS in Pharmacy from UNC at Chapel Hill. At this time, he settled in Murfreesboro as a pharmacist and opened Colonial Pharmacy in 1977. 

Mr. Minton says that he appreciates going to work every day because he enjoys what he does. He is a life-long learner and loves all of his customers. His community service in the Town of Murfreesboro includes: past President of the Rotary Club, past Master for the Masonic Lodge, a member of the Murfreesboro Chamber of Commerce, and a member of several Pharmacy Associations. Because of his family’s long legacy of military service, Mr. Minton became a collector of military items. He is well-known as a strong supporter of veterans in the region. Mr. Minton and his wife, Fran, reside in Murfreesboro and have two adult children. 

The Minnie Wood Perkins Humanitarian Award Honors an individual who dedicated their life to the well-being of community members and their families. Minnie Wood Perkins was born in Northampton County on January 31, 1910, to Will and Jane Flood Wood. She attended Waters Training School in Winton. She married Claude Deans in 1929 and their only child, Iris, was born in 1931. Later, she married Charlie Perkins and worked as a domestic until she was encouraged by Dr. Futrell of Murfreesboro in the late 1940s to seek a career as a midwife. With the help and encouragement of Reverend and Mrs. Rouson and Dr. Futrell, Minnie Wood Perkins attended classes in Fayetteville. She had nearly a 40-year career of midwifery and newborn care that, at one time, she assisted nearly every black and white child within Murfreesboro and the immediate area. Mrs. Perkins was a member of the First Baptist Church and several fraternal organizations. She counseled family and community members in times of family stress. Mrs. Perkins died in 1995 maintaining a legacy to this day, that her family, church, and community have come to embrace.