Tom McInnis of Ellerbe is one of five Republicans from North Carolina’s Eighth Congressional District nominated for the North Carolina Republican Party’s Hall of Fame.

The winner of the Eighth District will be selected by a committee appointed by NCGOP Chairwoman Linda Daves.

The inductees into the Hall of Fame will be announced Nov. 17 at the 13th Biennial Hall of Fame Awards Banquet, which is being held at the Embassy Suites Hotel in Cary.

Nominees must have been active in the party process in North Carolina for a minimum of 10 years.

 

Richmond GOP Chairwoman Teressa Beavers said, “Tom has been a leader in all areas of his life. He not only has served his party well, but he has served his community well. For this he should be inducted into the North Carolina GOP Hall of Fame.”

Beavers said McInnis has been a part of the Republican Party for as long as she can remember. Since she registered to vote in 1981, she said she always knew where to get Republican campaign signs, literature and information. “If I ever needed any information on the Republican Party, I could always go by Tom’s office and talk to him about it,” she said.

“Tom McInnis has many accomplishments that make him an individual that should be inducted into the Hall of Fame,” Beavers said. “Not only has Tom worked on campaigns for Senator Dole, Senator Burr, Congressman Robin Hayes, but he also has worked on every campaign for Senator Jesse Helms.”

McInnis has served the party as our Board of Elections member from 2002-06.

“Tom became our first ‘true’ Republican school board member,” Beavers said. “Tom has received nothing but accolades from the parents and citizens of Richmond County on his boldness for speaking out on behalf of the children and teachers of Richmond County.”

Before the Republican Party had a headquarters, McInnis used his office for the county’s headquarters and stored signs at his office.

“If we needed a donation, chairs for a fundraiser, a guest speaker, Tom always came through for us to help us out,” Beavers said.

McInnis has also served the party by being chairman and holding other offices.

He represented the party at the 2004 National Republican Convention in New York.

Through his auctioneering career he has used his influence to help the Boy Scouts of America as a member-executive committee of the Central Carolina Council, Beavers said.

McInnis is a life member of the NRA and also serves as a consultant to the National Rifle Association regarding Auction Fund through the Friends of the NRA program.

He has conducted approximately 600 charity, conservation, school and not-for- profit auctions over the past 30 years. McInnis is also an active member in the Masons and the Shiners.

Criteria for the Hall of Fame nominee includes being a living, registered Republican who believes in the ideals of the Republican Party.

Nominees must demonstrate a commitment to the party at the local level through years of service. Tickets to the 13th Biennial Hall of Fame Awards Banquet are $125 per person or $1,250 for a table of 10.