ELIZABETHTOWN — Human life drove Mac Campbell Jr. to push for change to N.C. 87.
Like most causes he’s involved in, success came through teamwork. On Wednesday morning, in the airport terminal that bears the name of his father, he humbly accepted praise and immediately shared it with others.
The stretch of the N.C. 87 bypass from N.C. 41 to where the two-lane of N.C. 87 resumes near the Curtis L. Brown Jr. Airport was dedicated the Mac Campbell Jr. Highway. A room full of family, friends and dignitaries helped him celebrate, swapping stories and in some cases renewing acquaintances.
“When you look at the sign, it’s got my name on it, but I want you to think of the people who work for DOT and Division 6 and what they bring to the people of North Carolina,” Campbell said.
He thanked a number of people, in particular his wife and family that includes four sons, 15 grandchildren and one great-grandchild, and also people from DOT and Gov. Mike Easley, who appointed him to the board.
Campbell followed Lyndo Tippett to the state Board of Transportation when Tippett was named the DOT secretary, serving from 2001-09.
“Mac is a community and regional leader,” Tippett said. “He certainly evidenced that with his long history in Elizabethtown. When the governor chose him to replace me, we thought it was a great choice — someone with a presence in the community. His record of ability to serve … we knew he’d do a good job.”
Two projects he played a significant role in were driven by safety. One was at his native Elizabethtown, the other in the county of Division 6 he was least familiar — Harnett, home of Campbell University.
N.C. 87 had four lanes from the airport to its intersection with Cromartie Road and where N.C. 41/87 goes into Elizabethtown. The vision of Campbell and Tippett was to extend the four-lane highway to the Cumberland County line.
“Where Peanut Road connects, we had three people killed in about 24 months,” Campbell said. “We came in with a Michigan left turn. We had a public hearing at Wesley’s Chapel Church. We redesigned it to where it is today, and put in the Michigan left. People were crossing the road, and were not looking. We put that in, and to my knowledge, we’ve had no fatality since.”
Tippett said it was among his most memorable projects with Campbell.
“Mac and I worked together on four-laning from here to Fayetteville,” he said. “We had a vision for the bypass around Elizabethtown. We began the job in 2001. We’d been working on it as a priority during my time on the board. You really had to do some planning to get projects in. Every community needed a bypass.”
It is four-lane, including through Dublin and Tar Heel, all the way to Ramsey Street in Fayetteville.
Campbell told the group he worked diligently to learn more about Harnett County when he became a board member. That included meeting administrators with the county and each municipality, no matter their population.
“One of the most important things I came away with, at Campbell University, we met with the leadership there and came up with the idea of a roundabout,” he said.
Today, Leslie Campbell Avenue has two of them: at Marshbanks Road near the Pope Convocation Center, and at T.T. Lanier Street near the admissions office.
Campbell, who inherited and then grew Campbell Oil Co., said the importance of those accomplishments was eclipsed only in one way.
“The most important thing I did, for me personally, was the relationships and friendships,” he said. “These are friendships that I still carry on today, but relationships that I have with everybody with DOT that went out of their way to ensure what we did was a success.”
Campbell is president of the nonprofit Bladen We Care, helped bring the DOT’s call center to the Elizabethtown Industrial Park and has served on numerous boards and commissions. Among those are the Bladen County Committee of 100, Bladen’s Bloomin’ and the Airport/Economic Development Commission. Two of his sons now handle day-to-day operations with Campbell Oil and its subsidiaries.
He’s been a trustee at UNC Pembroke, his alma mater, and has made numerous impacts at Bladen Community College where his son Brian is now a trustee.
“I worked with a lot of board members during the time I was with DOT, and all across the state, and Mac Campbell was top of the class,” said Daniel DeVane, the key figure pushing for the road naming. “He worked for everybody, not just this region but everybody in the state. A lot of the projects you see today are results from his work.”
In his opening prayer, the Rev. David Holloway of Elizabethtown Presbyterian Church said, “We’re grateful for the good roads that allow us to travel. Today we gather to celebrate a favorite son of this community who has done so much, and we’re thankful for him.”
Grady Hunt, emcee of the morning’s event and a DOT board member, said, “We’re here to do something that I’m glad we do, dedicate things when folks are still around to appreciate it.”
Dean Hilton, a prominent 40-year-old businessman in the community, said he was about 16 when he realized Campbell’s impact all around him.
“When I think about Mr. Mac, I think about community,” he said. “He’s an icon of the community. His greatest work has been success with his business and his family, but he’s always put the town and county at the forefront. Communities, in this day and time, and unity is more important than business success. It’s an everlasting contribution to society.”
DeVane told Campbell and the audience, “He’s never forgotten where he came from, and the thing I admire about him is his generous spirit and kind heart. As long as he continues to be a champion for Bladen County, you people are very fortunate.
“We honor you and say thank you. This county, and this region, and our great state, is much better because of your service.”
Mac Campbell Jr. told an audience Wednesday morning, ‘The most important thing I did, for me personally, was the relationships and friendships. These are friendships that I still carry on today, but relationships that I have with everybody with DOT that went out of their way to ensure what we did was a success.’
Daniel DeVane, speaking of Mac Campbell Jr., told Wednesday’s dedication ceremony audience, ‘He’s never forgotten where he came from, and the thing I admire about him is his generous spirit and kind heart.’
The Mac Campbell Jr. Highway extends the length of the N.C. 87 bypass of Elizabethtown, starting at N.C. 41 and going to Airport Road.
Mac Campbell and his wife, Sylvia, share a laugh with the audience and Lyndo Tippett (left) at Wednesday morning’s highway naming dedication ceremony in the Campbell Terminal at Curtis L. Brown Jr. Airport. The terminal is named for his father, Dallas McQueen Campbell Sr.
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