A popular church pastor. A state legislator. The leader of an organization dedicated to helping young people succeed. A community-minded police officer. The longtime head of an organization whose mission is ending racial, cultural and other biases. These were the honorees at the Pulaski County Youth Services' third annual Champions of Youth Awards Dinner, held Nov. 10 at Next Level events.
The Rodney Block Collective entertained arriving guests. Virgil Miller and Jan Scholl served as honorary event chairmen. Masters of ceremony were Pamela Smith of the Little Rock School District and Rob Evans of KTHV's THV This Morning.
Attendees were treated to a dinner of barbecued chicken and an update of Youth Services activities. Then came the kudos, with each award recipient introduced via video
The Rev. Paul Holderfield -- who goes by "Brother Paul" -- was presented the Visionary Award. Holderfield pastors Friendly Chapel Church of the Nazarene in North Little Rock, whose outreach services benefit underserved children. State Rep. Fredrick Love, parliamentarian on the Pulaski County Child and Youth Services Advisory Board, was the recipient of the Public Service Award. Sarah Robertson, executive director of City Year Little Rock and former City Year AmeriCorps member, earned the Advocate for Youth Award.
The Little Rock Police Department's Sgt. Willie Davis was presented the Director's Choice Award for his work with the Our Kids (OK) national mentoring program for black male youths. And the Lifetime Achievement Award went to Ruth Shepherd, outgoing executive director of Just Communities of Arkansas.
Pulaski County Youth Services identifies and meets the needs of youth and families in Pulaski County via funding and resources for programming, educational advancement and development activities.
-- Story and photos by Helaine R. Williams
High Profile on 11/27/2016