Max Ray Joyner Jr.
Awarded: Knight Commander’s Accolade – February 5, 2019
Presented by Knight Commander Darren S. Kay during a Brotherhood Reception at the City Club of Wilmington in Wilmington, North Carolina on Thursday, May 2, 2019.
First attending East Carolina University (ECU) in 1976, Joyner was initiated into the Gamma Rho Chapter in 1979. During his time as an undergraduate, he served his chapter as recruitment chairman and Number IX.
In addition to more than 35 years of experience in the insurance industry as an insurance broker, Joyner is an entrepreneur and real estate investor managing many properties and businesses throughout eastern North Carolina.
A lifelong Greenvillian, Joyner remains active in his community and has held various board positions including Representative of Greenville City Council (District 5), Chairman of the North Carolina Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission, Pitt-Greenville Airport Authority Board, and Greenville Utilities board. In 2013, then North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory appointed Joyner to ECU’s Board of Trustees, where he is currently serving his second term.
A 2004 inductee into the Greek Hall of Fame at ECU, Joyner has been involved with the Gamma Rho chapter for more than 35 years, serving in various roles including Alumnus Advisor, and both Treasurer and President of the Gamma Rho Alumni Housing Corporation. In 2015, Joyner led efforts to locally fund and complete an extensive renovation on the chapter house that provided nearly $300,000 in improvements.
Joyner has been inducted into the Ed Chambers Smith Province Court of Honor.
He is a member of the Loyal Order and the Kappa Alpha Order Educational Foundation’s Crimson & Gold Society.
Max lives in Greenville, North Carolina, with his wife Kelly Jordan Joyner. They have two children, a son, Max Ray Joyner III, and a daughter, Larkins Joyner Bell.