Barry Whitaker, a 1993 graduate of Pfeiffer College, likened his work at the N.C. Department of Transportation (NCDOT), his former employer, to a machine.

“Everybody’s got a cog,” he said. “If anything falls out, it’s going to mess up the schedule of a project.”

Whitaker wielded his cog with extraordinary assurance, dedication and skill. This past summer, just weeks before he retired from NCDOT on Sept. 1, he learned at a luncheon in his honor that he’d been inducted into the Order of the Long Leaf Pine, which is the highest award for state service granted by the Office of the Governor of North Carolina. All told, he’d compiled 30 years of service to the state, all but two of them at the NCDOT.

Whitaker, who majored in sociology at Pfeiffer, is best known to Falcons for his stint as manager of the highly successful men’s basketball teams coached by Bobby Lutz. These included the 1991-1992 squad, which was inducted into Pfeiffer’s Sports Hall of Fame in 2014, having become Carolinas Conference Champions and making it to the NAIA Final Four. 

At the NCDOT, Whitaker became something of a valued trouble shooter/diplomat, making his mark in a variety of ways in the Utilities Unit, which focuses on the moving of power lines, pipes, and cables that are in the way of new road construction, working with utilities companies in the process. This unsung imperative not only prevents delays in construction; it also mitigates the risk of electrocution, fires, and explosions, and it helps prevent service disruptions of electrical power, water, gas and internet.

In a statement nominating Whitaker for the Long Leaf Pine award, NCDOT officials praised the length of his service to the Utilities Unit, calling it “a testament to the loyalty he has shown to the unit and to every aspect of his job duties.” They also said that Whitaker “has been a true servant to the people of North Carolina in the way he takes pride in his work and treats every role with importance.”

Whitaker began his NCDOT career as a Utility Coordinator and once he demonstrated additional skill sets in Quality Control, he became the unit’s Business Officer, managing the financials of the unit’s outside Professional Services contracts and the budgeting of other various contracts. He also managed the due dates of road project deliverable dates.

Whitaker “consistently went outside of (these) job duties and discovered ways to serve, enhance and protect our unit from any and all liabilities,” said State Utilities Manager Keith Garry, who supervised Whitaker. “His attention to detail helped protect our unit from overpayments and other discrepancies in fiscal responsibilities. He took pride in doing things the right way and never wavered in his loyalty to his job, the people he worked with and his dutiful service to the people of North Carolina.”

Whitaker describes himself as a highly organized person who works hard and gets along with everyone — qualities that certainly contributed to his success at NCDOT. The qualities also served him well as the basketball manager at Pfeiffer.

Whitaker came to see the manager job as a focus on “operation things” — which meant doing “anything I could do to keep non-coaching stuff off of Bobby so that he could worry about coaching.” Among other things, Whitaker showed officials their accommodations at home games, saw to it that uniforms were washed after games, made sure there were enough clean towels and water to go around, and called in meal orders when the team hit the road.

Whitaker never really lost his zest for contributing to a basketball team behind the scenes, describing it as his “recreation.” Shortly after leaving Pfeiffer, he assumed a side gig for 22 years as a volunteer assistant coach of men’s basketball at Louisburg College in Louisburg, N.C. This meant tending to just about anything needed to keep the program running smoothly. It enabled him to work alongside J. Enid Drake for several years until that long-serving, legendary coach retired in 2006.

“Louisburg was like Pfeiffer in that there’s very little support staff,” Whitaker said. “I mean, you had to do everything yourself. You had to look after everything yourself.”

Whitaker sees himself volunteering for Louisburg basketball again, as something to do in retirement. He’s also begun reflecting on his time at Pfeiffer and the way it shaped the person and professional he would become after graduating.

“The school just suited me,” said Whitaker, who was drawn to its small size and the fact that everyone knew your name, even the president. “I’m so glad I was a student there. I got to help Coach Lutz as a manager, which was great, and I felt well-prepared for the work I did after graduating.”