The Roanoke Branch NAACP invites you to attend its 18th Citizen of the Year Awards Program, a Freedom Fund raiser.
The event will take place on Friday, May 6, at the Holiday Inn Tanglewood Hotel and Conference Center, 4468 Starkey Rd. (off Rte. 419) starting with a reception at 6 p.m. including hors d’oeuvres and a no-host bar. The awards dinner will begin promptly at 7 p.m.
Distinguished guest speaker for the occasion will be the Honorable 11th District Delegate Sam Rasoul who represents the 11th District in the General Assembly House of Delegates and has won The Roanoker magazine’s Platinum Award for “Government Person Who Gets It” for the past two years.
He was raised in a working class family here in the Star City where he still resides with his wife Layaly and their 3 beautiful children. After receiving the Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Roanoke College and Master’s degree in International Business from Hawaii Pacific University, he became a small business owner and later the Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer of a non-profit healthcare firm. Sam channeled his passion for healthcare reform into finding more compassionate ways to care for seniors and helping with maternal and child health in East Africa. Aside from working hard to best serve the people he represents in the Roanoke Valley, Sam currently has his own small business that helps organizations become more successful through developing better business plans and through investing in their employees.
Award recipients: Life Achievement, Retired RCPD Chief Perkins; Chris Perkins was appointed Chief of the Roanoke Police Department by City Manager Christopher P. Morrill on October 13, 2010. He oversaw the largest police department in Southwest Virginia, leading a department of 248 sworn officers and 57 civilian employees. Chief Perkins was a police officer for 24 years with the City of Roanoke Police Department and retired on March 1, 2016.
He holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Tennessee, a Masters of Arts degree from Hollins University, and a Graduate Certificate from the University of Virginia. He is an alumnus of the Virginia Institute of Forensic Science and Medicine, the Professional Executive Leadership School, the National Criminal Justice Command College, and the FBI National Academy. His professional affiliations include: Virginia Homicide Investigators Assn.; Professional Executive Leadership School Alumni Association; Blue Ridge Chiefs of Police, President 2015-2017; the Virginia Association of Chiefs of Police (VACP), Second Vice President; International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) – member of the Police Investigative Operations Committee; the FBI National Academy Associates. He was appointed to the Public Safety Work Group for the Governor’s School and Campus Safety Task Force in 2013.
Chris is the recipient of numerous awards and medals including the Veterans of Foreign Wars National Law Enforcement Award; the American Legion Department of Virginia and Law Enforcement Officer of the Year; the National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution (2014 and 2016) and the Law Enforcement Commendation Medal among many others. He has been an instructor for the Virginia Center for Policing Innovation (VCPI) since 2007 and has provided classroom instruction, influencing hundreds of professionals in law enforcement, local and state government, emergency management, and communities across the nation. He comes from a family of law enforcement officers– his dad worked for the Smyth County Sheriff’s Office, his sister is a Lieutenant for the Roanoke Sheriff’s Office, and his brother is a deputy at the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office. Chris is married to Lori and they have one daughter, Toni.
Arts: Ms Cora Carpenter-Small; Founder/CEO, Paint Night; Business: Mr. Robert L. Jeffrey, Jr., Publisher/CEO Colors Magazine; Education: Mr. Fletcher Nichols, Educator/Life Coach/Motivational Speaker & Ms Synethia M. Nichols, Educator/Special Programs Coordinator; Education/Youth: Mr. Anton Jones, Eagle Scout/senior, William Fleming High School; Humanitarian: Mr. Ed Walker, Atty./Developer/Founder, City Works (X)PO; Media: Mr. Chris Hurst, News Anchor, WDBJ7 (a CBS affiliate); Ms. Brie Jackson, News Anchor, WSLS10 (an ABC affiliate); Medicine: Mrs. Nancy Howell-Agee, president/CEO, Carilion Clinic; Religion: Rev. Dr. Alonzo Smith, pastor, Price Memorial AMEZ Church. Rev. R.R. Wilkinson Memorial Awards for Social Justice recipients: Ms. Anita Wilson and Ms. Lorena Taylor Rollins Wilson; President’s Award recipients: Ms. Afira DeVires, President/CEO, United Way & Ms. Patricia Bradley Smith, president, Roanoke NAACP Youth Council; senior/Patrick Henry High School.
You are encouraged to get tickets early ($60 each) by calling the Roanoke Branch NAACP Freedom Fund chair, Ms. Cleo Sims at 540) 353-2159 or visit the Roanoke Tribune at 2318 Melrose Ave., NW. Your participation in and support of this very important event, reflective of the diversity and solidarity of this community, is greatly appreciated.
