GASTONIA They brought people in the community together for different causes.

She rallied dozens of mentors for elementary school students; he marshaled a small army of volunteers to repair houses and provide food for the needy.

For those and other efforts, they're being honored on Martin Luther King Day with the 2012 Gaston County MLK Unity Award.

Peggie Ferguson is retired from Gaston County Schools as a teacher and administrator. The Rev. Dickie Spargo is senior pastor at Bethlehem Church in Gastonia.

Established in 2004 by the Gaston Clergy & Citizens Coalition, an initiative of the nonprofit Gaston Together organization, the award recognizes local folks who've performed exemplary community service to help build bridges across lines of race, class, gender and faith.

Gaston Together Executive Director Donna Lockett called Ferguson and Spargo "excellent choices."

"They're always out there doing things for others," Lockett said. "It's natural for both of them. A natural part of the lives they lead."

Ferguson: Education is key

Ferguson, 77, grew up in the Highland section, Gastonia's oldest African-American neighborhood.

An only child, she considered her mother, Vennie Hinton, a "woman of wisdom."

Hinton was active in the church and community.

"She stressed to me the way out is education," Ferguson said. "She said, 'Peggie, you are going to college. You'll graduate with a teaching certificate. You don't have to teach, but you never know which way life will go.' "

Ferguson followed that plan. After graduating from N. C. Central University in Durham, Ferguson went on to a career in education. For about five years, she taught gifted children in Charlotte and entered the administration after getting a master's degree.

Ferguson was assistant principal at Gastonia's Lingerfeldt Elementary School and Ashbrook High and later principal at Carr Elementary.

Her community service crossed many sectors of the community, including the Highland Family Resource Center, Salvation Army Girls and Boys Club, and Holy Angels.

In recent years, she's recruited as many as 40 mentors and tutors for Rhyne Elementary to help break the cycle of poverty through education. Working through her church, the Restoration Center of N.C., Ferguson said her goal is "empowering and inspiring parents and children for success."

Spargo, 51, who has pastored one of Gaston's largest churches for 21 years, feels the catalyst for change in the community should come from churches.

"And that includes racial reconciliations - churches should take the lead," he said. "Healing and building bridges is intentional, not accidental."

The Gastonia native spearheaded a project that involved many churches, including those from the African-American community. It's become the largest one-day volunteer event in the county.

Called Hope4Gaston, the humanitarian effort began in 2009 and focused on rebuilding blighted homes and providing food. That first year volunteers came from 10 churches and 40 to 50 each were assigned to 15 houses.

Hope4Gaston's partnership with the local Angel Food Ministries distributed boxes of food to 1,000 families, enough to feed a family of four for a week.

Later, organizers added a flea market. People donated clothes, shoes, furniture, appliances, toys, and household items.

The event has been ongoing ever since, with about 5,000 volunteers showing up for each one. About 100 houses have been refurbished. The next project is in May in Gastonia's Firestone area.