Text and photo by Patty Huston-Holm
If you attend an Ocracoke School event you’re likely to see Noel Goodwin helping out.
And for all of her efforts, she is among 20 North Carolinians who will receive the 2025 Governor’s Medallion Award for Volunteer Service on May 12 in Raleigh.
Nominated by Ocracoke School Principal Jeanie Owens, Goodwin was chosen for the Medallion honor among hundreds of others nominated from all over the state.
These awards honor citizens who have shown concern and compassion for their neighbors by making a significant contribution to their community through volunteer service.
“We’re so happy for her to be selected,” said Chris Bowen of the Beaufort-Hyde partnership for Children, who coordinates the nominations for Hyde and Beaufort counties. “It’s just a huge honor to receive the medallion. We’re thrilled that we have another outstanding volunteer in our county.”
Goodwin doesn’t seek recognition for the hours she gives as a member of the Ocracoke School PTA and Boosters, organizing events and mentoring students.
“I volunteer not for the recognition but because it is the right thing to do,” Goodwin said in an interview. “For me, it’s all for the kids.”
Goodwin can often be seen helping behind the scenes for the events her kids, sons Danny, 17, Xander, 9, and Xavier, 8, and daughter, Lela, 12, are involved with.
Owens noted Goodwin’s steadfastness, dependability and ability to get things done that make her a valuable asset to the community.
“Noel is not just a volunteer; she is a steadfast supporter and advocate for students: ordering all the supplies for high school basketball concessions, ensuring the games run smoothly… organizing and coaching the Saturday youth basketball program, providing young athletes with opportunities to develop their skills,” Owens said in her nomination.
A native of Cedar Island, where she grew up playing basketball and softball, alongside her husband Danny Palacios, Goodwin has worked at the Pony Island Restaurant for 25 years and Jason’s Restaurant for 10 years.
And her family is everything.
“In my free time I enjoy spending time with my family,” Goodwin said. “We spend time together in our pool, on the boat tubing, clamming and trying to catch fish (try being the key word).”
Goodwin is humble about the honor.
“I always tell everyone Ocracoke is the best place in the world to raise your family and I just try to do my part to make it be the best that it can be,” she said
The volunteer service award was created by the Office of the Governor in 1979 and the Governor’s Medallion Award for Volunteer Service began in 2006 to recognize the top 20 volunteers in the state.
A statewide panel reviews and evaluates all nominations to determine the award recipients.