MURFREESBORO – Jimmy Gray’s life has been full of golden deeds.

Now he has a beautiful plaque to solidify that fact.

On June 5, Gray was the recipient of the Book of Golden Deeds Award, an honor bestowed annually by the Murfreesboro Exchange Club.

Gray, an active Exchange Club member since 2000, was saluted for his contributions to his church and community.

At Murfreesboro Baptist Church, Gray has served as a deacon, helps with Summer Bible School, is a member of the Men’s Sunday School class and helps with the Sunday School attendance reports.

Within the community, Gray is engaged as a volunteer with the Murfreesboro Watermelon Festival and the Jefcoat Museum. While the Watermelon Festival is an annual smash hit due to the hard work of volunteers like Gray, it was his efforts behind the success of the Roanoke-Chowan Pork Fest that aided in his name being inscribed on the Book of Golden Deeds.

Since its inception five years ago, the Pork Fest has increased in popularity. Used as a fundraiser for the Jefcoat Museum, the event generated enough funds in the first few years to pay for the installment of an elevator inside the three-story structure. Now the funds from the event are earmarked to help pay for a new roof on the museum.

A native of Hertford County, Gray has spent his entire life in the Murfreesboro community. He is a 1958 graduate of Murfreesboro High School and worked with Union-Camp Paper until his retirement in 2000.

His wife, Lynn, is also a Murfreesboro native. They are the parents of two children, Dicksie McLean, a fourth-grade teacher at Harnett Elementary School in Lillington, and Ricky Gray who is employed by Bedford Printing Co. in Raleigh. The couple has one granddaughter, Ashton Lynn McLean.

The Book of Golden Deeds has been presented by the Murfreesboro Exchange Club since 1953. The club was established in 1946.