The selection of Dr. H. David Bruton, M.D., and Patsy Bonsal as "Man and Woman of the Year 2006" has been announced by the board of trustees of the Moore County Community Foundation.

They will be honored at a recognition dinner on Thursday, Oct. 12, at the Country Club of North Carolina, Pinehurst, beginning with a cocktail reception at 6 p.m.

The founding chairman of the Moore Free Care Clinic in Carthage, which provides primary, preventive and specialty care to limited-income people in the county who are uninsured and unable to afford health care, Bruton also led in organizing the Sandhills Community Care Network that helps Medicare patients and their healthcare providers in the improvement of the quality of care.

Bruton retired from a 30-year pediatrics practice in Southern Pines in 1997 and launched a new career in public service as chairman of the N.C. Board of Education and then as secretary of Health and Human Services under Gov. Jim Hunt.

During this time he formed Connect Inc., a non-profit organization that helps unemployed post-welfare clients find jobs and develop careers.

He serves as secretary of the Medical Mutual Insurance Company, and is a delegate to American Medical Association, House of Delegates.

A director of North Carolina Institute of Medicine, he serves as adjunct professor at UNC School of Medicine, and a director of FirstHealth of the Carolinas.

He was a director of First Savings Bank of Moore County, which merged with FirstBancorp, and now serves on its board.

In 2000, Bruton was awarded the Order of the Longleaf Pine, one of the most prestigious awards presented by the governor.

He also received Public Servant of the Year Award from the N.C. Center of Child and Family Health and was named a Distinguished Alumnus by UNC School of Medicine in 1980.

A graduate of the medical school of the University of North Carolina, Bruton performed his residency in pediatrics at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore.

He served as chief of pediatrics at Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama, during the early 1960s, was on staff at Moore Memorial Hospital and was chief of its medical staff.

He and his wife, Frieda, have three children: David, Evelyn and Ann -- all graduates of UNC -- and they have eight grandchildren.

Bonsal has been a community leader since she and her late husband, Rocky, moved to Southern Pines in 1960. She was awarded the Americus Chair by Habitat for Humanity in 2003.

Having served on the boards of both the Moore County affiliate and Habitat for Humanity International, she was board vice chair locally for eight years and fund development chair for 15.

During her eight years' service on the international board, Habitat grew from operating in 20 countries to currently building more than 250,000 houses in 89 countries.

Locally, Bonsal was a Girl Scout troop leader and camp director. She served as president of the board of directors of Pines of Carolina in Raleigh from 1971-77. Her national service began in 1975 when she served as vice president and international commissioner.

Appointed in 1983 to the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts, she was chair for six years and made 17 trips to India during that time.

She was a member of the Western Hemisphere Committ-ee between 1996 and 1999, which required trips to Central and South America.

She taught at Episcopal Day School for several years and was a founding member of the Classical Concerts, serving as president for two years.

An active member of Southern Pines Garden Club, for a number of years she has headed up the committee responsible for finding homes for the annual house and garden tour.

Bonsal was the first president and one of the co-founders of Friends of Penick, was a member of the organizing and founding group for The O'Neal School and served on its board for many years.

She received the "Service Above Self" award by Rotary International in 1996; the Kiwanis Builders Cup in 2000; the State of N.C. Certificate of Appreciation as a special volunteer, signed by Gov. Hunt; and the Saint George Award of the Episcopal Church in 1995.

Bonsal grew up in Tyrone, Pa., and attended Penn State. She is the mother of three and the grandmother of three.

Sponsors of the recognition dinner are BB&T and Prudential Gouger O'Neal & Saunders Real Estate.

For reservations or information, call Randall Phillips at 295-3598.

Claudia Watson, a Pinehurst freelancer, contributed to this article.