COLUMBUS JOBS FOUNDATION

The North Carolina Museum of Science in Whiteville’s Foundation Board Chairman Bill Thompson, right, accepts a $21,000 check from John K. Elliott, Duke Energy’s director of government and community relations. Others in the photo are Gary Lanier, Charles Yelton, Jennifer Holcomb, Keith Alsup, Carlton Williamson and Butch Blanchard, left to right. Yelton is regional director of the N.C. Museum of Science in Raleigh and the others are members of the local museum Foundation Board

The N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences at Whiteville was the site of an event bringing together representatives of other small towns that could one day have similar museum branches. Officials from the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources sent invitations to city and county representatives in 96 communities, offering them a look at a successful museum that could serve as a template for other regional expansions. Charles Yelton, Regional Network Chief for the N.C. Museum o