Register for the event and complimentary dinner below:
Luke Farley was sworn in as North Carolina’s 20th Commissioner of Labor in January 2025. At age 39, Farley is the youngest Labor Commissioner elected in a century and the youngest sitting member of the N.C. Council of State. As Commissioner of Labor, Farley’s mission is to make North Carolina the safest place to work and the best place to do business.
Before entering public service, Farley was an attorney in private practice focusing on workplace safety law. With nearly 15 years’ experience in the private sector, he was on the front lines of keeping workers safe and helping small businesses create more and better paying jobs.
Farley grew up in Onslow County and graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Wake Forest University School of Law. He and his wife have three young sons and they live in Raleigh.
The Jesse Helms Center’s flagship youth program is the Free Enterprise Leadership Challenge. Established in 1995, FELC is a five-day leadership training program for high school students held during the summer on college campuses around the U.S. Students are taught the differences between the free enterprise system and socialism, entrepreneurship, personal responsibility, and ethical leadership. Over 13,500 students have graduated from FELC.
The E.A. Morris Free Enterprise Leadership Gala is named in honor of Edwin A. Morris, businessman, philanthropist, and one of the founding fathers of the North Carolina conservative movement.
Morris was born in Cabarrus County and grew up from humble beginnings to become one of the country’s premier marketing and clothing executives. His company, Blue Bell, introduced Wrangler jeans to the workplace. By the mid-1900s Blue Bell had become the world’s largest manufacturer of work and recreational clothing.
Morris was well known for his generosity. He was active in philanthropy through the E.A. Morris Charitable Foundation until his death in 1998.
In 2007 he was inducted posthumously into The Charles A. Cannon Free Enterprise Hall of Fame at The Jesse Helms Center.