By SCOTT MCKIE B.P.
One Feather Asst. Editor
CHEROKEE, N.C. – Some of the hardest working employees on the Qualla Boundary work in a building that now bears the name of a woman who dedicated her career to them. The building housing the Vocational Opportunities of Cherokee, Inc. (VOC) has been named the Kimlyn Sneed Lambert Vocational Rehab Center.
According to information from VOC, a non-profit organization, it “is a community-based rehabilitation program, dedicated to serving persons with challenges that reduce or inhibit employment and/or social community inclusion”.
The building housing the Vocational Opportunities of Cherokee, Inc. (VOC) has been named the Kimlyn Sneed Lambert Vocational Rehab Center. Lambert, center in turquoise dress, is shown with VOC staff and clients. (SCOTT MCKIE B.P./One Feather photo)
Lambert, an elder of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI), commented, “I am so humbled and excited by this huge honor. I have always felt truly blessed to spend my 40-year career working in my community and with my people. I always said if you love your job, it doesn’t feel like work.”
Latonna Plummer, VOC executive director, said, “She’s given her whole career to this place…so, it’s only natural that we give her that as part of being with us for so long. I wouldn’t give it to anyone else. She’s very deserving of it.”
In 2023, Lambert retired as executive director of VOC and she worked for over two decades with the EBCI Higher Education & Training Division. She served as executive director for 18 years (2005-23) and as a member of the VOC Board of Directors (1999-2005 and 2023-present). Lambert has also served on the TERO Commission.
Lambert is highly-educated holding a bachelor of science degree in business administration and a master of arts degree in educational administration from Western Carolina University. She was the first EBCI tribal member to serve on the North Carolina State Rehabilitation Council, and she also served as a Governor appointee to the North Carolina State Independent Living Council.
A resolution approved by the VOC Board of Directors states, “It is the desire of the staff and clients that the VOC Building at Cherokee, N.C. on the Qualla Boundary be named in honor of our beloved executive director and be known as the Kimlyn Sneed Lambert VOC Rehab Center.”
Lambert also served as the 2024-25 Senior Miss Cherokee and represented the EBCI at various events including the Gathering of Nations Pow Wow in Albuquerque, N.M.
