AHOSKIE – History buffs will surely enjoy a planned event here Thursday evening (Oct. 14).

A few tickets remain for the annual Membership Banquet hosted by the Ahoskie Chamber of Commerce. That festive event will be held at the Ahoskie Inn. A social hour kicks things off at 6 p.m. followed one hour later by the banquet.

Tickets are $20 each and available at the Chamber of Commerce or by calling 332-2042.

The banquet’s featured speaker is no stranger to local citizens as Hertford County native Marvin T. Jones comes home to weave fascinating tales of yesteryear.

Jones is the Executive Director of the Chowan Discovery Group (CDG).  The mission of the CDG is to research, document, preserve and present the 400+ year-old history of the landowning tri-racial people of color of the Winton Triangle, an area centered in Hertford County.

Founded in 2007, the Chowan Discovery Group (www.chowandiscovery.org) recently co-produced its first major presentation, a stage production, scripted by Jones, called The Winton Triangle.  Jones has also presented the story of the Winton Triangle in speeches and articles.

A native of Cofield, a village in the Winton Triangle, Jones began this project a decade ago by scanning the photograph collection of relatives and neighbors.  The Winton Triangle digital collection now has over 4,000 files of photographs, documents, maps, audio and video recordings.

Jones is the owner of Marvin T. Jones & Associates, a professional photography company in Washington, DC.  He has been published in well-known magazines and has worked in South America, the Caribbean and Africa.  Howard University recently hosted Jones’ exhibit on Somalia.

As a part of the annual banquet, a member of the Ahoskie Chamber of Commerce will be recognized for outstanding and dedicated service to the Chamber and the Ahoskie area.  The Roanoke-Chowan News Herald Front Page Award will be presented.  An award from the Roanoke Chowan Community College Small Business Center will also be presented.