Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Annual Banquet

Friday evening I was so honored to have received the Dr. Perneller Chubb-Wilson Humanitarian Award. It really was a humbling experience I will never forget. I was nervous being among so many deserving award winners. I gave my brief remarks and my friends comforted me with kind kudos as they always do. This is my second year attending and I can tell you it is an inspirational event. Below is what I tried to say. There is a message here in my remarks that was for someone on the dais though he probably did not notice. See if you can find it.

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"Thank you- Dr. Perneller Chubb-Wilson, Jeff Artis, Mac McCadden and all who thought me worthy of this acknowledgement. I am humbled by it.

I would be remiss if I did not acknowledge my Countryside Neighborhood Alliance members and friends who have supported me, listened to me whine, sent me cards and flowers of encouragement when I was at my most emotionally strained.

My dear friends and neighbors Rosanne Saunders and Susan Hall my most cherished confidants. Dr. Virginia Stuart, our Secretary who speaks her mind and tells it like it is - something we all should aspire to. Our dependable and insightful block captain Al Steele who is still waiting to be paid for the job of putting up our “Save Countryside” banner.

And my Neighborhood Services friend and adviser, Bob Clements, thank you.

Mary and Mark Young - Mary who has sent me so many cards of encouragement I lost count. This Christmas Mary gave me a beautiful bouquet of orchids that left me speechless which some of you know is hard to do.

Last but not least my resent card of congratulations from Lavern Garren whose health prevents her from attending tonight. I am wearing the delicate beaded tree of hope she enclosed in the envelope. Lavern, if you think I put it aside in a drawer you are mistaken. These are the awards of a lifetime. I will never forget them.

I thank my son, Joe, for withstanding the torture of having to dress up to come honor his mother this evening. My daughter, Kelly, in Charlotte, who advised me not to become stage “road kill” as I step up to accept my award.

Briefly for those of you who are not familiar with Countryside Golf Course - it is an affordable public golf course for the blue-collar working man, their sons, and their daughters. Our community was turned upside down upon learning that Roanoke City had purchase this most cherished Northwest City asset for development.

Here are some thoughts on my journey of resistance upon learning our community asset was on the chopping block:

Listen to your instincts - question everything. The best advise comes from Dr. King who said, “You don't have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step.”

On my journey I have made mistakes, repositioned, adjusted, and moved ahead. The greatest mistake you can make is inaction fearing you will make one.

Nothing you do in the name of what is right and just is wrong.

As Dr. King said, “The time is always right to do what is right”.

But most of all please BE TRUE TO YOURSELF.

Too few men have the virtue to withstand the highest bidder. The right way is NOT always the easy way and if you dare nothing then you hope for nothing.

HOPE is a powerful thing.

In the words of Robert F. Kennedy - “Each time someone stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope.”

Never, never, never give up.