Faces of Richmond

2009-05-04T11:25:00.000-07:00

The EarthTone Crew
How five guys came together from all corners of Richmond to shake the music scene.

“Music is what we love. We came together to do what we all love,” said rapper Corey Smith learning forward, elbows on his knees.
The tall, dark, 20- year- old musician sat on an older green couch in his apartment. He wore a dark blue Obama T-shirt and his signature navy blue Boston hat with a red “B.” Smith grew up in nearby Chesterfield County. After graduating from Monacan High School in 2006, he attended Virginia State University. After a year, he transferred to Virginia Commonwealth University, where he met most of his band mates.
The EarthTone Crew started as two-man rap group, Score One for the Little Guy. Smith rapped along with fellow band member Brad Caudle, from Chesterfield county, before the creation of The EarthTone Crew.
Smith and Caudle added three more band members to form the crew; J.R. Booker, originally from New Jersey but graduating from James River High School in Chester, Brad Doggett from Arlington graduating from Yorktown High School, and John Quigley from Front Royal, graduating from Randolph Macon Academy.
The Earthtone Crew comes together as two rappers, Smith and Caudle, a Spanish-speaking singer, Booker, an acoustic guitarist, Doggett, and a talented beat-boxer, Quigley. The group is a mix of everything from hip-hop to rock. They are a rap group with a twist and an acoustic guitar.

The EarthTone Crew broke into the music business through hard work and pure desire to be known. Shows at Toad’s Place were a regular weekend event for the five band members.
“They were inventive. They got crowds by inviting people on Facebook, making a Facebook group for the band with pictures and videos, doing shows on campus, all kinds of stuff,” said Brittany Edwards, fan of The EarthTone Crew.
When all the members had free time the band would go play in the Compass at VCU’s Shafer Court for anyone to listen. “We did what we could to get our name out there and get people to just hear our music,” Smith said.
In fall 2008, The EarthTone Crew had saved enough money from shows and personal finances to buy some time in the Up and Down 95 recording studio on Main Street. Any spare time the guys had after classes was spent in the recording studio.
Aftong Boykin, long time friend of Smith and fan of The Earthtone Crew said “They’d just finished a song, and Corey was standing up swaying back and forth, bobbing his head, while they played it back. He got this huge smile on his face and as soon as the song finished he snapped his fingers and was like ‘woo, that was fresh!’”
The EarthTone Crew has caused quite a stir around the VCU campus and the Richmond area since their start in the spring of 2008.
“Music has led us to great things. We played at Howard University in the fall, opened for N.E.R.D. at VCU’s homecoming, and we just got on iTunes,” said Smith.
The band knew what they wanted when they started - to be a sensation and an inspiration. Together they fought to reach their dreams. Getting on iTunes was one of those dreams. “We knew it wouldn’t be easy. We’ve had our moments,” Smith said “but we’ve never wanted to quit.”
www.myspace.com/earthtonemusicgrp
www.people.vcu.edu/~jcsouth/slideshows/black
-30 -

Charles Thompson: Always Smilin'

2009-04-30T21:45:00.000-07:00

By Jessica Crete

Charles Thompson was born with a tear on his cheek.

Although he wears a tear-shaped birthmark below his right eye, Thompson is one of the happiest young men you will ever meet.

“Charles is one of the most genuine people I know, he wears his heart on his sleeve, and I’m proud to call him my friend,” his roommate Mark says.

As he twists around nervously on a cozy brown couch he explains his sheltered childhood in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina with his quiet father, mild-mannered mother, and two sisters – Cara, 24, and Cherie, 22, who he describes as responsible and motherly.

He recalls a funny and rebellious act from when he was four. He was playing outside, and knowing nothing more than that the middle finger meant something bad, flicked off a cat in a driveway. He did it just for the sake of knowing he could when no one was watching. That’s the kind of guy he is still today – cynical, but he appreciates the simple things in life.

Thompson sees his teenage life in high school like a TV show, where he bashfully admits to working retail at Bed, Bath and Beyond. “Pillow shams – that’s what’s beyond,” he says.

As lighthearted and quirky as Thompson is, he touches on a shadow of his past. “I didn’t get a lot of time to express myself,” he says. He believes a lot of who he is today reflects back on how he was treated while growing up.

He now attends VCU, majoring in English with hopes of becoming a professor there. College has been an eye-opener for him from the way people act, to the daily encounters with the various personalities of the homeless in Richmond.

Thompson describes his past self as the kid in the corner reading while everyone else did their own thing. He now finds himself to be in a nutshell- spacey, but continues on explaining himself as simple-minded, stubborn, and constantly distracted by his own thoughts.

“Upon coming to college Charles was both the first person I met and the first person I really connected with. There’s only one Charles Thompson,” Paul, a friend from VCU says.

Thompson calls his very best friends Eddie, Patrick and Danny. Eddie is the sporty party guy, Patrick is the clean-cut military guy, and Danny is the environment-conscious political guy. He’s known them since elementary school and says that no one knows him better.

He has a soft spot for war novels, and enjoys other random activities like cooking and watching the movie Step Brothers on repeat, “just for the music.” He is quite an original individual in both thought and action.

Thompson is the guy you love upon first handshake, and know that he will be yours friend unless you choose not to be. He doesn’t judge, he doesn’t hate, and he has an incredible capacity to love everyone he comes in contact with.

He doesn’t call attention to himself, you might call him average, but his friends and peers alike know that Charles Thompson is something incredible.

-30-

From Child Slave to VCU Graduate

2009-04-30T13:37:00.000-07:00

About fifteen years ago, William Deng was child slave in Southern Sudan. One day, he realized that he needed to get out of his situation and escaped to Egypt, and then to Richmond, Virginia. Today he has a bachelor’s degree in political science and homeland security and has started an organization that looks to bring education into the Southern Sudan area.

“Where I am from, no one told me that getting an education was important. I was taught to raise cattle and be able to find food. Finding food is not the issue anymore. I realized I have to take something back to the communities [in Sudan]. Let them know that they need to see something different than just taking care of animals. I know that if I can bring education to Africa, it will be a good choice.”

William has no clue how old he is, because all of his identification was lost when his tribe, the Denga tribe was attacked. Today he just tells people was born in 1979.
In Sudan, Deng was a victim of a war that started in the 1950’s. In 1987, Deng’s village was attacked by sub-Arab militants in Sudan. About twelve hundred children including Deng were taken as slaves. One of the first things they made the children do was convert them into Muslims. Daily tasks to for children included finding the owners’ water and feeding the animals. If you lost a cow or messed up on anything you would be in big trouble.

When Deng was 12 years old, he escaped.

“I realized that the treatment of the slaves was miserable and that escaping would be a good option for me. He said he was scared, but he knew there was “no option and you were going to die anyways.”
He escaped by cautiously walking away from his quarters and getting on a train he knew that came often, traveling from the north to the south. He ended up in Khartoum, the capital of Sudan. When he got there UNICEF (United Nations Children Fund) put him in school learned Arabic. In 1989 a local pastor gave him money, and he traveled down the Nile River into Egypt.

In 1999, Deng finally reached America by seeking asylum. “Coming to America, I didn’t know anything; I just wondered how am I going to survive? I didn’t know anything about America except that it was U.S.A. I heard that it was great country, you can find food, live a life and have shoes to wear.”
Deng even admits that he had never seen people of another ethnicity before. Seeing Asians as well as Hispanics were surprising to him at first because he only thought that the only people in the world were from Sudan.

Shortly after he came to America, he enrolled in English as a Second Language classes and from there he went on to J. Sergeant Reynolds Community College in Richmond. After getting an associate’s degree, he enrolled at VCU and graduated this past year.

Deng has formed a student group called The Southern Sudan Project.

“The goal of the Southern Sudan Project is to bring secondary education to Aweil (the capital city of the South Sudanese state of North Bahr al Ghazal). We want to rebuild Aweil's schools and put the children back in the classrooms. Education is of primary importance to us and those that we wish to help. With our project, students will be able to attend and graduate from secondary high school,” the group says on its website.

Bolaji Oyegunle a VCU senior from Upper Marlboro, Md., works with Deng on the project.

“I always liked him because he was always friendly and he smiled a lot. I was amazed when I heard his sad story, because I wondered how does he still manage to smile and be optimistic after undergoing so much trauma.” Oyegunle says sometime this January he became involved with the project. “He told me about his ambitions to build a school in Africa so others don't suffer the same fate as him.”

One last thing Deng wanted to share with other about his experience was that when one human owns another it is a very negative thing. “I want people to see that and also that everyone is human, and no one deserves to be treated as someone’s property.”

The last time Deng traveled to Sudan was in 2007. He hopes to get The Southern Sudan Project started and bring VCU students to Africa to educate people there within the next year.

Audio slide show of William Deng

Total Woman By Sequoia Ray

2009-04-30T13:06:00.000-07:00

By dusk on the Monroe Park Campus, most Virginia Commonwealth University students are winding down going home or socializing in the Commons -- but not everyone. Devin Peyton is just picking up her second wind because Peyton may have a meeting with Activities Programming Board or preparing an event through Student Ambassadors. Peyton is involved with several different organizations from A to Z.
VCU students have probably seen her on many other occasions besides APB, such as Intercultural Festival, and National Association for the Advancement of Colored People or as a Homecoming Queen.
Peyton has conquered all the major organizations at VCU by participating in Student Ambassador, Fall Block Planning Committee, and a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, a former VCU Cheerleader, and the 2009 Homecoming Queen. She has studied abroad in Guatemala.
Cherrelle Morrison a close friend of Peyton describes her as this humble and rambunctious woman as the Total Woman of VCU. Vivian Duru her sorority sister can agrees with Morrison.
“She is the ideal of what VCU students would want to accomplish in four years,” Duru said.
Not only is Peyton involved on campus but she commits herself to doing community service as well; she volunteers with the International Children’s Hospital and mentoring with the Big Brother Big Sister program.
With all of these programs underneath her belt, she still maintains a 3.0+ GPA and is graduating on time in May.
“I could not see myself not helping other people. I know that I could not be here if it was not for those people that helped me. When I’m busy doing these things, I feel like I have to go here, I have to there; it makes me feel important I feel like I am accomplishing a lot,” Peyton said.
She has a strong handle on her life as a college student, but she knows she is not perfect.
“I think that it’s important that people know that I am not perfect I had a few D’s and C’s on my transcript – well, not any more. I say things at inappropriate times, but so what-- I’m not perfect,” Peyton said.
Duru, has a close relationship with Peyton and describes it as “awkward loving, and goofy relationship.” Because Duru is one of her sorority sister, she sees the real Peyton.
“Devin is sometimes annoying, but I love her; that’s sister. I love the goofy times together; we even have our own radio blog where you can see us in action,” Duru said.
Morrison describes Peyton as dramatic and energetic. Peyton and Morrison have a mature friendship. Morrison said that they have a common ideal about life which is to become a powerhouse in life.
Although Peyton seems to be an accomplished powerhouse, she does not think so; she feels that it is just the beginning for her.
“There’s so much more that I know that I can achieve. The total woman to me is more like my mom or Michelle Obama - profound women in my life. I say this because I know that I have so much more to do to become that total woman,” Peyton said.
Duru and Morrison can agree that Peyton is “down -to-earth” when she is around her family. Both of them said that while around her family, she is more relaxed and comfortable plus she does not put on any airs.
Morrison has spent time with the Peyton family on Inauguration Day.
“It was very spontaneous when going to the Inauguration because it wasn’t planned or anything - we just went. Her family was already there, and they were very welcoming. The side of Devin that comes out when around here family is one that shows she is comfortable in her own skin.”
Peyton doesn’t have far to go when trying achieve her ultimate success, she is well on track. What does Peyton see in her future?
“I know that I will impact this future,” said Peyton.

Here is a link to the interview with Devin Peyton:
http://www.people.vcu.edu/~jcsouth/slideshows/ray

Being a Pastor is a 'Sweaty' Job

2009-04-29T19:14:00.000-07:00

www.people.vcu.edu/~jcsouth/slideshows/brown

By: Ben Brown

It’s a white 1985 Oldsmobile station wagon. The model is called the Custom Cruiser.
However, to several kids in the Manchester, Bainbridge and Hillside Court areas, this is not just some old station wagon; this is the church bus. And the driver is the Rev. Dr. Thomas W. Sweat, 57. Everyone around here calls him Pastor Tom.
“That’s what people know me as,” Sweat said.
Brinnay Bell, 11, chuckled as she smiled showing all of her teeth. “Pastor Tom is funny when he drives his car,” Brinnay said. She usually gets a ride with Pastor Tom to most church events. Sweat shrugged his shoulders, wrinkling his black argyle sweater and letting out a bit of a grin.
Pastor Tom then moved through the room shaking hands and hugging people. The smile never left his face as his cheek-bones lifted up his thin, black-framed glasses.
Sweat is the senior pastor at Central United Methodist Church, 1211 Porter Street. He hasn’t served a full year there, but he is bringing new programs and hopes to revitalize the community in the Manchester area.
“My concern is people are not congregating. I want folks to come together and get to know each other,” Sweat said.
That was the idea behind God’s Garden, one of Sweat’s ideas. It’s not much of a garden now; in fact, it’s just an empty lot next to the church that has been plowed and tilled over. Fruits and vegetables will be growing there soon, Sweat said.
Getting to know each other was also the inspiration for the “dog run” as Pastor Tom calls it. It’s a fenced area where people can let their dogs roam and the owners can get to know each other.
“It’s a gesture of ‘Hey, you’re important to us,’” Sweat said.
He hasn’t always been in the role of a pastor in an urban area. Most of the churches where he served in the past are suburban. Pastor Tom got the opportunity to serve at Central United Methodist and accepted the offer.
“I just didn’t want to see it die,” said Sweat.
Apparently several churches that are struggling have shut their doors for good and closed. Sweat would not stand for this at Central.
“I felt compelled and had a compassion for churches in transition, usually in lower economic communities, and I had a real concern about what was happening to these churches,” he said.
Central United Methodist Church used to boast more than 1,000 members. The church can trace its roots back to 1786, and the building that Central uses now has a cornerstone laid in 1900.
Sweat shared the history of how the community changed and people moved to the suburbs.
Just before Sweat took the job, the church was averaging about 40 people for a Sunday morning service and a choir of seven people.
Many people would see this as a lost cause, but Sweat didn’t. He accepted the position at Central knowing this would be different. With a smaller church comes a smaller budget.
“I did take a cut in salary, but that was my choice, my decision,” Sweat said.
A cut in salary meant that Sweat had to find a couple of odd jobs to make ends meet. Another position opened up, and he jumped on the opportunity. Pastor Tom is not only the senior pastor and the bus driver, but he has another title, too.
“I’m also the church custodian now.” Sweat said he doesn’t mind the work, and he’s at the church anyhow.
“I look at it as a good workout,” Sweat said with a grin.
Ann Shultz is a member and Central United Methodist Church. She says that Sweat is a hard worker.
“Tom is not afraid to get in there and roll up his sleeves and work right along with you,” Shultz said.
Why does he work so hard?
Sweat wet his lips and breathed in through his nose and said: “I still want to believe that some of the best years for this church are in the future.”
###

The Power of Perseverance

2009-04-29T17:00:00.000-07:00

here's an audio slide show about Yossera

http://www.people.vcu.edu/%7Ejcsouth/slideshows/teffera

by Lydia Teffera

Yossera Bouchtia, now finishing up her sophomore year at Virginia Commonwealth University, can finally look to the future with optimism, and a smile.

It was only last year that she was completely lost with her major and debating if school was even right for her. Shy, and assumed to be quiet, Yossera often put the preferences and problems of other people first.

Coming to America from Morocco when she was only 6, Yossera’s commitment to her family was always strong. She tried to please her parents but it often came at the cost of ignoring her desires.

Accepted to New York University for photography as a senior in high school, and then again as a sophomore transfer student, Yossera turned it down for the sake of saving her parents the expenses.

While at first extremely down about her decision, she decided that she would not sit in her regret. John Bowers, a friend of Yossera, often described her as determined, and extremely motivated.

“It was incredible to see how much she grew in a few weeks. It was like something came alive in her, and though it was trapped, she was destined to persevere through it all.”

In an attempt to start clean, she changed her major to undecided. Photography would still be a passion of hers, but she wanted to start fresh, leaving the past in the past. She wanted to take advantage of the fact that she was in school, and that because she wasn’t in New York, it didn’t mean she couldn’t still succeed.

Always having an interest in films and the work behind them, Yossera decided to look into cinema. Her parents seemed to find it a bit ridiculous, but she had it with people’s preferences and priorities negotiating her future. It was time for her to make this decision for herself.

She enrolled in two different majors, Cinema and Psychology. While both took a great deal of time and effort she found comfort with the decision. Working each weekend with her cinema team, she helped produce and direct many different scripts.

A growing and competitive major, cinema encouraged its students to take steps and achieve for themselves as well as the department as whole. The students wrote and produced scripts on together and on their own.

Brooks Finnie, a cinema classmate of Yossera noticed the effort and commitment she had for her work.

“I had just met Yossera this semester, and we were both beginners in Cinema, but she was excelling so quickly, and she seemed so determined to learn more,” Finnie said.

This semester, Yossera submitted a script that was selected for production of a movie entitled “Clepto,” a movie that incorporates a man being framed for a burglary. More Than 40 people competed to have their script chosen, but the director and Professor Tregenza chose hers.

“I can’t believe they chose my script, its incredible and I can’t wait for my parents to see the film,” Yossera said.

A bit of success began to sink in and the fact her script had been chosen was a symbol of her perseverance to achieve. At times you must start from nothing, to find everything, and her success is a simple reminder that you are only as lost as you let yourself become.

2009-04-28T19:24:00.000-07:00

2009-04-28T18:47:00.000-07:00

Debbie Jo Price

2009-04-28T16:17:00.000-07:00

"I’ve killed my baby!”

Debbie Price tends to overreact.

She seems to favor incoherent screaming when dealing with a crisis or her children. Especially if the crisis is her children. Consistently either of her sons or daughter is on the brink of being disowned.

But she has never killed any of them though. Really.

Occasionally, one of her children did travel to the mythical inch of his or her life during a well-deserved spanking. But no one ever died. As often as they tried to do themselves in as toddlers, none were very successful.

While they tried to make their children’s formative years as uneventful and boring as possible, Debbie and her husband Herb were foiled at unexpected turns.

Herbert, Debbie and Joshua Price - 1974

When their oldest son, Joshua, was old enough to walk, but not yet mature enough to communicate his needs in something other than baby-talk, he tended to point and whine often. On one spring day in 1975, he was pointing and cooing at a mini-motorbike his mother was riding in her parent’s yard.

Clearly, he wanted attention. Secretly, he wanted to ride along.

After an intolerable amount of slobbering and panting, Debbie relented and placed Joshua on her lap. She steered with one hand while holding onto him with the other. During a turn on a small grade, the inevitable happened. The mini-bike tipped over.

Joshua’s mother and the bike fell onto one of his small legs.

It snapped like crispy bacon.

As a hysterical woman clutched a crying child to her bosom, a forlorn husband at her side fumbled for car keys, and Merit Lights, finding neither.

In the nearby kitchen, a grandmother shook her head disapprovingly.

Never taking her eyes off the dinner she was cooking and sipping slowly on a Miller pony.

In the distance, a grandfather deadpanned, “Well Debbie, I guess you’ve killed him.”

Those words echoed in Debbie’s ears as she and Herb sped toward the emergency room.

Debbie entered Morristown-Hamblen Hospital’s emergency room screaming, “I’ve killed my baby!” So convincing was her manner, the nurse on duty called the police.

Fortunately, the responding officer happened to be her brother-in-law, Jerry Reece. He reassessed the situation and decided the best course of action was to shut her up.

“Debbie…Debbie! You can’t say that in a hospital!”

Eventually, Joshua recovered.

The older he got, the less interested Debbie and Herb were in his well being as they were in what he might have done to financially ruin them. After an auto accident, they wouldn’t ask if he was alright.

They asked, “How is the truck?”

See my parents first home, the mini-bike in question and more at the Our First Home slide show.

Joshua in a cast - 1975

For the Love of Tacos

2009-04-27T20:04:00.001-07:00

By Toulaphone Chittavoravong

Here is an audio show of Gutierrez and his truck.

It’s almost 4 p.m. as Nate Gutierrez takes a break from packing up his taco stand, a metal
cart that looks like it could turn into a transformer in seconds. Wearing black-rimmed plastic
glasses and hair tied in a low ponytail, the relaxed and approachable Richmond resident and owner of Nate’s Taco Truck recalls what triggered him to start his own business.

“I decided to run a taco truck because I got sick of working for other people and I wanted to just be my own boss,” says the 34-year-old entrepreneur.

It’s been a season of changes for Gutierrez, who worked as an editor for a few newspapers and a restaurateur along the way.

Born in Santa Fe, N.M., Gutierrez moved to Virginia in junior high and lived in Roanoke, Reston and finally Richmond. He graduated from VCU with an art history degree 12 years ago.

Gutierrez moved back home to New Mexico to work as an editor for the Santa Fe New Mexican, and then returned to Richmond to work for the Richmond Times-Dispatch.

Transitioning from being an editor to a taco stand owner wasn’t as difficult as some may think. Gutierrez worked at many restaurants, so making his own tacos was no problem for him.

“I love tacos and I grew up eating them, so I know I’m good at it. I decided to do it, and it’s been working,” he says.

Business for Gutierrez has been successful since it opened three and a half years ago. Originally located at Monroe Park where all the VCU freshmen dorms were, the truck was relocated two and a half years ago to where Grove and Stuart avenues converge in front of the Performing Arts Building and VCU’s Cabell Library.

“I remember talking to Nate about this spot. I used to go every day for about two and a half years when it first opened. The tacos are a good deal for lunch,” says Chip Atkins, owner of Pibby’s Bicycle Repair located on West Marshall Street and a regular customer of Nate’s Taco Truck.

The move turned out to be a smart choice for Gutierrez. His best friend and business partner, Billy Gaeckle, says they get about 150-200 customers every day; this is determined by looking through how many packs of napkins that were used.

“We never thought we’d be working here,” says Gaeckle, who reunited with Gutierrez at VCU in 1993 after knowing him since the sixth grade. Gaeckle decided to help with the food stand after he got out of the Navy last year, making Gutierrez’s job much easier.

The two friends enjoy mingling and getting to know their regular customers as they concoct and sauté all sorts of meats, beans and spices into taco-sized tortillas. There are potato, beef, chicken and carnita tacos, as well as Gutierrez’s specialty, the Frito Pie. For that, Gutierrez opens a mini bag of Fritos and puts in it everything that would normally be tossed into a taco.

With much to choose from, both agree that the best-seller is the chicken taco. Customers are also able to purchase a canned soda to go with their food and mix in all sorts of hot sauces from the wide selection located on the truck counter.

At lunch hour on a recent Wednesday, Matt Spahr, a sculpture professor at VCU, ordered a potato taco, and his friend Chris Davis ordered a chicken on corn taco. Both say they try to come to the truck at least once or twice a week.

Although business is going well for Gutierrez on the VCU campus, he and Gaeckle also like to sell at other locations and events such as First Fridays and festivals involving recycling.

Gutierrez’s unusual decision to own his own taco business has proved to be one that will surely have him stick around for a while.

J'amie le français

2009-04-24T08:35:00.000-07:00

(Here is a link to a slide show about Anthony Hunt)

By: Megan Thompson

While most seventh-graders are focused on playing with friends in the park, this 12-year-old was busy studying French.

He sat in his room at his desk going over vocabulary and speaking aloud to himself. His mom would walk in and his responses were rehearsed in French. He looked through photographs, wishing one day he would have the chance to travel abroad and speak the language.

That’s when it all started at least. Anthony Hunt is now a sophomore at Virginia Commonwealth University. He has participated in every activity that he could to reach his goal of becoming fluent.

“My teacher in seventh grade, her passion really transferred over to me, as far as the culture and language. And the posters in her room really made me want to go,” Hunt said.

It has been nearly nine years since his seventh grade teacher was there to help guide him, and he has accomplished a lot. He participated in the American Buddy program, taken many French classes, interned at the French Film Festival, befriended exchange students, practiced in Montreal and soon will go to France to study abroad.

“He is just so open-minded when it comes to other cultures. He made it a point to make the exchange students feel welcome here. He is going to France for a year soon so I guess that’s how he would want to be treated, too,” said fellow student Diana Adzovie.

Hunt’s outgoing attitude has helped him learn more about French language and culture and even more about himself.

The American Buddy program gave Hunt the opportunity to communicate with a peer in France. He participated in the program for about a year, and sent messages back and forth, practicing his French while the French student practiced their English.

The French Film Festival this year was one of his biggest challenges. He needed to talk and think in French to be fully prepared for all of the guests, since most did not speak English. Although it lasted only three days in Richmond, he was able to broaden his skills by talking to the directors and actors. He also got contacts for his yearlong trip.

“Anthony gave all his free hours to the French Film Festival. He was always in the office or helping whoever he could. I am glad I got to meet him because now we can see each other in France,” said Frederique Ranger, a French worker at the Festival.

For spring break, Hunt went to Montreal for two days. He took advantage of the short trip by talking to everyone he could in French, including some people on the bus from Richmond to Montreal.

In September, Hunt will take the trip of his dreams through the study abroad program and taking classes at the University of Franche, in the state of Franche-Comte, for a year.

The study abroad program is a great chance for students to experience life and learning of different cultures and develop a better understanding of those cultures. The different programs allow students to travel the world while still fulfilling their major requirements.

Many students are nervous about leaving for a semester to a different country, let alone for a whole year. Hunt is more than excited and hopes to grow as a person. He is certain his skills in French will grow tremendously, and he hopes to make many friends and future contacts.

“Being gone for a whole year without anything really familiar usually makes people open up and think about things differently,” Hunt said. “And that is what I am looking forward to, just growing as person in many aspects.”

The Gift of Jazz - A Talented Musician

2009-04-23T21:58:00.001-07:00

by: Ebony Smith

[Slide-Show available here]

RICHMOND, Va. – Jazz is all about good improvisation, on-the-spot creativity and a respectable admiration for the historic genre. VCU student, Jake Sherman has been interested in all of these important concepts of a genre that he has come to love.

When Sherman arrived at Virginia Commonwealth University in the fall of 2008, his goal was to become a great jazz musician. The Arlington native auditioned over the summer and was accepted into the prestigious VCU Arts Foundation to study his passion, jazz. Antonio Garcia, associate professor of music, leads the well-respected music program, known and referred to as jazz studies.

Sherman is enrolled in a class instructed by Bryan Hooten, an adjunct professor of jazz and music theory who teaches small jazz ensembles, jazz labs and music theory. Sherman admires the talented and knowledgeable staff that teaches him the standards for becoming successful in performing arts.

“The VCU Music Department provides really good faculty for the students,” Sherman said.

Sherman has performed in various gigs in and around Richmond, ranging from the VCU Barnes & Noble Bookstore to the Richmond Pump House. He has contributed to the Yorktown Jazz Ensemble, Virginia Big Band and the Blues Alley Youth Orchestra.

Founded in 1985, the Blues Alley Jazz Society works with Washington, D.C., area student musicians to promote the philosophies of youth, jazz and education. Sherman embodies all of these same characteristics.

Sherman says that his dream gig would be to play for the Air Force Jazz Band, as well as doing solo performances. He would not be out of his league, as Sherman has been playing jazz guitar for eight years. He describes jazz music as a much different way to express himself.

“There is the complete freedom to verbalize and improvise,” Sherman said. “Listen to jazz because a lot of people don’t give it a chance. Now-a-days music is all too much the same.”

Kelli S. Lemon, A Passionate Woman

2009-04-22T11:49:00.000-07:00

Sitting at her desk in her usual position, behind her computer, Kelli S. Lemon, assistant director of programs and events of VCU is always in her office. This office is located upstairs in the Student Commons. Many people like Lemon to stay in her office because it has become known as a therapy room for almost ten years.

“When my sister died, it took a while for it to hit me. But the night that it hit me the only person that I wanted to talk to was Kelli,” says Justin Castonguay, event coordinator for programs and education services.

Born in Hampton, Lemon lived her life like a military brat, moving around every five years. However, her family was not in the military.

“They didn’t want us to stay in one place for too long,” says Lemon, smiling about the memory of her family.

Many people admire Lemon for her passionate, kind nature.

"Kelli is one of the most influential people in my life. She always has the answer to my problems." says Jameson Deloatch, longtime friend and student of Lemon.
Lemon’s passion for event planning began when she was in college. She attended the University of Virginia.

While in school, she was very active. Lemon was a Resident Assistant, a private recruiter, a volunteer worker, and a member of the sorority Delta Sigma Theta.

During this time, she also had three jobs. She completed her homework while she worked in the library. Between the hours of 5 p.m. and 9 p.m., she worked at the clothing store, The Limited. At night, Lemon worked at a convenience store until 2 a.m.

After she graduated from U. Va. with a degree in sociology in 1998, she became an intern for sports marketing at VCU. People whom she grew to know through her internship helped her to receive her first job on the campus of Virginia Commonwealth University. Her job title became assistant director of women’s basketball operations.

She was also known as “the mother” of women’s basketball operations. She was there to care for all of the students from their social to their academic life.
“I remember when I first met her. I knew her for only a week and she gave me her car keys with no hesitation,” says Castonguay.

Eventually was got promoted to director of student life and sports. This job gave her the ability to be a liaison between the Student Commons and the Siegel Center.

During this time she became very passionate with making VCU more than just a commuter school. People began to see her vision and promoted her to assistant director of programs and events in December 2003.

Kelli S. Lemon has had a hand in the creation of Fall Block, Homecoming and the fashion show, STRUT. All of these events have helped VCU to branch out and become more than just a school for people to come and go with no intention of socializing. Because of these events, VCU students began to want to be on campus.

“Never have I met someone who knows what they want and gets the job done every time,” Castonguay says.

Here is an audio slide of Kelli S. Lemon, A Passionate Woman

Male Fashionista at VCU

2009-04-22T11:40:00.000-07:00

by Kathleen Delva

Just when you thought it would OK to have a bad fashion day, Kolby comes to the rescue.

He is dressed in an orange button -up shirt with white pinstripes, a black cardigan sweater, gray slacks, topped off with a bow tie; and his legs crossed with confidence. You would never guess that Kolby wasn’t from a fashion capital but from Chesapeake, Virginia.

“People are always surprised when I say I’m from there. 757 (tidewater area) is not a fashion-based area, just really ‘urban copycats,’” he said.

Being the head stylist of this year’s STRUT Karneval show, Kolby says keeping up your appearance is necessary especially if it’s something you love. The word fashion tattooed on his neck, the Chanel symbol on his wrist, and a spool of thread and needle on his foot express the passion that runs through his blood.

“I love to thrift, I love clothes, I breathe fashion,” said Kolby whose real last name is Keene, but is better known on Facebook as Kolby Gothis Ownstyle.

Kolby was introduced to fashion in high school. He felt his friends dressed weird, and with the help of another friend who was into fashion, he decided to experiment. He describes that moment as the best moment of his life, sort of like the beginning for a fashion guru.

In the summer of 2007, he visited VCU for orientation and was approached by the group leader on his keen style for fashion. She told him that he should check out both STRUT and Group Moda, because they were right up his alley. A year later, he was the official head stylist of STRUT Karneval ’09.

Kolby’s close friend, Stefa’nie Thompson, felt he was perfect for the head stylist position. “I love Kolby. He is very creative and dedicated individual. During STRUT he always came up with a lot of crazy ideas. He made us do a photo shoot in 30-degree weather with barely nothing on, but because of him and that photo shoot we had posters and great advertisements for the show.”

As Kolby adjusted his bow tie to perfection and wiped his shoes down, he said that being a stylist was more than just putting clothes on models. His experience in being a stylist was doing everything from clothes to hair and makeup. He didn’t need to know how to sew the clothes, just how to make them work.

Kolby’s style of clothing and knowledge of intricate designs mght force you to believe that he was a fashion major. Kolby is actually an undeclared major, but he wants to pursue a degree in fashion merchandising. His inspirations are his fashion friends Marquis Gibson, Brandon Williams and Aaron Newsome -and don’t forget the famous designs of Chanel, Vogue, Jon Paul Gaultier and Givenchy.

“Every time I see him, I just want to run up to him and ask him to dress me every day of the week. I just don’t feel like I’m fashion, but he is definitely splashing fashion,” an admirer, Kasha Des said.

At only 19 he has accomplished a lot through STRUT and has decided that next year he would like to be creative director, fashion coordinator or director. Here is an audio slide show of Kolby Keene at his best.

“My future plans are to be a well known stylist in London or New York, own my clothing line, and magazine. I also want to open a $1 million home for the homeless and adopt a London child,” Keene said.
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Photorealistic chocolate art

2008-12-06T08:25:00.000-08:00

[Here is an audio slide show about Sharon Lalik and her artwork.]

By Samantha Downing

MECHANICSVILLE, Va. - Chocolate Hershey’s kisses sit partially unwrapped on a tall, 12-inch-square black table, with two lights and a camera staring at them.

No one is planning to eat this candy.

The chocolate kisses are the subject of Sharon Lalik’s current paintings – actually, the photographs of the kisses are.

“I’m a photorealist artist. I do paintings of photographs,” Lalik explained. “The subject matter is the photograph; it is not what is in the photograph.”

Lalik, a former VCU art student, has always painted realistically. Recently, she has been using her own photographs of chocolate as the subjects for her paintings.

“I’d always go to the store … I’d always grab a piece of chocolate,” she said. “I realized I love chocolate – I really love chocolate. Maybe I should just start painting some paintings that have chocolate in them.”

She took her passion for chocolate and reflective surfaces and turned it into art. Part of the reason Lalik paints chocolate is that it’s unique.

Also, she said, “Who could not love a chocolate kiss? So I figured, you know, if nothing else, people will love my pieces. It’s chocolate!”

Lalik attended VCU for Communcation Arts and Design, but was unable to finish after she broke her hand in a car accident.

Not knowing if she would ever be able to paint again, Lalik designed and sewed clothing, window treatments and a variety of other materials.

“The only thing I could do right-handed was cut, so it saved me,” she said.

It was 10 years before she started painting again, even though she never gave up drawing. She started with watercolors but eventually went back into oil painting.

Lalik said the sewing she did strengthened her hand so she could hold a paintbrush. Now she paints four hours each day.

“I have been an artist all my life, ever since I can remember,” Lalik said.

Her sister Sandra White said Lalik would be pulled out of classes in high school to work on the art for school dances and other functions. This happened so often that White had to tutor her in some classes.

“You’d always see Sharon in the big hallway with her paper rolled out, drawing,” White laughed.

She also said that Lalik is accident prone, can’t cook and should have been a therapist.

“She can tell me everything that’s wrong with my life. She can tell me everything I should be doing,” White said. “Unfortunately, most of the time she’s right.”

But, White added, Lalik is very good at making people feel good about themselves and encouraging them.

As a painter, Lalik is very detail-oriented.

“Everything has to be perfect,” White said. “I think she oversimplifies it because she does put a lot of her emotion into the piece. She just tries to hide that she does.”

Lalik’s inspiration for painting is the ability to help people see things in a different way.

“What inspires me is to do a painting that gives another person another set of eyes,” she said with a smile. “They see things they never saw before.”

Being an artist isn’t always fun and games and chocolate.

“I have to get up in the morning and make myself paint just like somebody else has to go to work,” Lalik said. “And some days I’d rather clean the toilet than paint.”

But, she went on to say, painting is a part of who she is – not just what she does.

“It’s like weaved fabric, like it’s part of your being.”

Lalik’s paintings have been sold and shown in a number of different places, including in VCU’s art center.

In a March art show, Lalik plans to feature 25 pieces. Many will be paintings of chocolate, some of which are not even painted yet.

She is also trying to get into the Meisel Gallery in New York, named after the man to coin the term “photorealism” during a time when abstract was the most popular form of painting.

“Nobody used a photograph to paint by,” Lalik said. “It was like the biggest sin across the art world.”

Even today, many artists still do not respect photorealism as an art.

“They feel it should all come from your heart,” Lalik said. “I think anything you do comes from your heart.”

Carytown Street Corner Jazz

2008-12-05T16:04:00.000-08:00

[Here's an audio slide show about Mary Hicks.]

By Juliette Delp

Carytown was blustering with people soaking in the warmth of the fall sunlight. In the distance the sound of jazz music draped over the crowd’s conversations.

A trumpet player, Mary Hicks, stands in front of a vacant store on the corner of Sheppard and Cary streets with a container if her music inspires people to contribute money to it.

“I feel like I’m inspired by everything, you know even when I’m just sitting in my apartment or I can hear sounds outside. Those sounds will kind of manifest themselves in music that I’ll make later,” Hicks said. “I’ll listen to cars passing or kids yelling outside or dogs barking, it’s all part of a sonic landscape that influences what I do.”

She was exposed to jazz at a young age: her grandfather played the saxophone in a big jazz band and she would watch his performances.

Even with this influence, she was not a born jazz player. The viola was the first instrument she played. But she had a falling-out with her strings teacher and that shifted her from strings to horns.

In the seventh grade, Hicks started to play the trumpet.

The trumpet changed the direction of this 19-year-old’s life. Hicks never planned on attending college, feeling that there was nothing she would learn from it.

She was going to travel the world – “just to travel” with no intention of playing jazz music because she did not know enough about networking.

Until she found out she could study jazz at a university.

Hicks chose Virginia Commonwealth University because one of the top jazz and classical players in the world, Rex Richardson, is one of the jazz professors.

“He’s a really great person and I knew that I could learn a lot from him. He was interested in helping me out as a person before he was interested in trying to get me to come to this school,” Hicks said.

VCU trumpet teacher and composer Taylor Barnett said Hicks is driven and ambitious, more than the average student.

“She has a grander idea of what she’d like to do,” Barnett said.

If she’s not playing in Carytown, she can be found in a variety of other places. Hicks plays:

In two jazz groups
In two classical groups
Free jazz with another musician
At house parties

Some of her favorite musicians are Richmonders that are on the same level musically as she is. Other favorites have a greatness to which she aspires.

Brandon Musko, a saxophone and woodwinds musician who practices with her, says she can be set apart from other musicians by the clarity of her sound when she is listening “to CDs that she has and trying to copy the tone concepts.”

Playing the trumpet has helped show others “her confidence and her personality,” Musko said.

Meditation has helped Hicks become a better musician.

She learned this technique through lessons from Tim Armacost, a renowned jazz musician in New York.

Hicks doesn’t plan on becoming a world-renowned jazz musician. After college, she plans to go to New York with expectations of “nothing fancy,” having a day job and playing whenever possible, practicing, taking more lessons and “hopefully getting some gigs.”

That would be making it for Mary Hicks.

“Making it” has a different definition for all musicians.

“It’s incredibly hard to make it just as a performer,” Barnett said. But ideally, he wants all this students to make it, in their own definition, in whatever career they long for.

The cycle of aspiring to be better in her talent is constant.

Like an artist has a canvas for their paint, Hicks has silence and “empty space and can create notes and rhythms around that. The world is kind of your canvas,” said Hicks.

Modern Day Multi-Tasker

2008-12-04T07:20:00.000-08:00

"Everyone seems to like you when you have a camera in your hands," says Steve Zanetti as he scrolls through file of wedding pictures on the computer. "I got into photography in high school as a way to get into sporting events free. Got a chance to meet a lot of people."

He continues to look through the pictures, interrupting for opinions on the bridal portraits that he shot the past weekend. His suburban home in the West End of Richmond is filled with the sounds of his son and neighborhood friend running and playing.

One daughter is studying on her laptop while the other is fully engaged in her father’s pictures of the bride. The married 38-year-old man is quite the multi-tasker with two jobs, three kids and three dogs.

Zanetti is also a high school teacher at Henrico County Public Schools. His wife, Maria, is a speech pathologist in Richmond and works longer hours so the evenings with the kids and dogs are under his rule. With each child involved in different after school activities such as tennis and ballet, it is up to Zanetti to get everyone where they need to be.

Upbrining

Born in Virginia and raised in Virginia Beach, Zanetti started his photography career in high school as a hobby and a way to "do something with his time" He took photos of sporting events and found it convenient to be able to get into games for free- sports being his other favorite past time.

Zanetti continued his education at James Madison University, where he continued to take pictures. He worked as a free-lance photographer shooting portraits and covering events. It was in college when he first started to work weddings, which would soon become the basis of his business.

The beginning of a new future

Despite Zanetti’s passion for photography, he proceeded to graduate in 1990 with a master’s degree in American history. While at college, Zanetti met his soon to be wife, Maria DelCorso. The two students of Italian descent conveniently met at a pizzeria in Harrisonburg near their school.

After college, Zanetti got a job as a photojournalist for a small newspaper in the Shenandoah Valley. "I only worked there for about a year, but that is where I got all of my knowledge on journalism and was able to take pictures of events rather than just portraits."

Zanetti then began his career as a teacher and wouldn’t pick up a camera again until he attended graduate school at the University of Northern Colorado. He and his wife moved to Colorado where they would marry in 1993. Two years later, Maria would give birth to their first child, Carmen. While in Colorado, they continued to have two more children, Annamaria and Joseph.

"As a way to pay for graduate school, I would shoot just enough to pay per semester so I could leave graduate school with no debt," Zanetti says as he checks his daughters homework and then proceeds to take one of their three dogs outside.

"You should always have fewer dogs than kids, and somehow we broke that rule."
During and after graduate school, Zanetti continued his work as a teacher at Valley High School and Fort Morgan Middle School in Colorado.

In 2001, Zanetti and his family moved to Richmond where he would continue working as a teacher and start his photography business, Zanetti Images, shortly after. He now works at Freeman High School in the West End where he teaches U.S. history, AP economics and Japanese 1 and oversees the yearbook.

"Probably for the low income and summers off," Zanetti jokes about why he went into teaching, "No, of course I do it for the kids, it’s always about the kids."

His photography business is based in the Outer Banks in North Carolina. He focuses on weddings and bridal portraits; however he also offers other packages including family portraits and commercial and sporting events.

"They are always on the go," says neighbor Vikki Haneberg, "but there is never a lack of love in their home. We have kind of formed one family between us two and I couldn’t ask for a better role model to live next door to us than Steve."

Throughout all of the chaos and busy schedules, there is a strong connection within the family.
"The kids have a hard working father who is always trying to help them grow in all aspects of their lives," Hanaberg said. "Who could ask for anything more?"

King of the Library

2008-12-03T23:33:00.000-08:00

By Megan Goldshine

Having scoped out the least-frequented bathroom in the Cabell Library, Tavarris was anxious to give it a spin. When it was ‘go time,’ he pranced happily down to the basement. Stress-free, Tavarris thought he would be alone on his late-night endeavor. First stall, clear; second stall, clear; third stall, heavy breathing. Realizing he was in unfamiliar territory, he paused to examine his surroundings. After noticing clothing draped over the top of the third stall, Tavarris made a decision to keep moving forward to that sought-after fourth. As he passed the stall in question, his eyes wandered inward only to feast upon a large, naked male using the facilities.

“…And that’s how I got rid of my public restroom fear. I mean, if that guy could sit there, naked, with the door open, I could sit fully-clothed, door shut and do my thing. Now I never have a problem going. God, I love the library.”

Tavarris Jeffrey Spinks was born in Richmond on Aug. 15, 1984. The only child of Cassandra Spinks and Jeffrey Ohree, Tavarris was raised from a humble household. Though neither of his parents attended college, Tavarris always dreamed of receiving higher education.

“I used to want to be a paleontologist. That’s how you get the ladies. I could ask them if they wanted to see my T-Rex, then point down and say, ‘it’s below your feet’,” Tavarris joked.

Affectionately named “King of the Library” by fellow students, Tavarris spends roughly 40 hours a week among the books. He and his friends convene every weeknight and share a group study table. Possessions sprawled about, Tavarris leads the “Library Crew” in their nightly activities. The library has stopped hushing the group because the laughter Tavarris causes has become a staple on the first floor.

As witness to these events, “Tvar” will drop whatever he is doing at the moment to cheer up a friend or say hello to a complete stranger. A member of the “Library Crew,” Vera Dham, was more than happy to gush about her friend.

“He is the greatest guy I know. He seriously is the most genuine and sincere person I have ever met. He’s the type of person you just don’t come across anymore,” Vera said.

His biting humor is evident within the first minutes of talking with him. Tvar refuses to miss an opportunity to deliver a punchline and his booming voice echoes through the floor.

“Do you have any white-out?” a student at another table asked.
“Um, no, Kevin, we’re adults, just cross it out,” Tavarris said.

As a fifth-year senior at VCU, Tavarris is a history major with plans to teach at the middle-school level. After completing one year as a member of the Student Government Association, Tavarris claims that his only achievement has been to get the water fountains on the first floor of the library fixed.

For the past six years, Tavarris has worked as client care administrator of the Boleman Law Firm, and he is all business when it comes to his passion for politics. Serving as a legislative assistant for the General Assembly in 2005, he got his feet wet and dove right in.

Since then, he has held many officer positions for the Virginia Young Democrats, such as the 3rd District Chair, the Central Region chair, vice president of political action and secretary. He has also held the positions of photographer and president and is currently serving as the vice president for finance for the Young Democrats at VCU.

A friend of Tavarris chose to make a mockumentary about the King of the Library for his French class named, “Le Roi de la Biblotheque.” With close to 500 hits on YouTube, the video continues to be passed on to newcomers in the Student Government and those who sit beside the reigning king in his domain.

“I’m sort of a hero, like Captain Planet. I’m not employed by VCU, but I like helping people with whatever problem they encounter on the first floor. I’ll even enforce certain rules like not blocking the book aisles with chairs, even though I sometimes do it,” Tavarris said.

The King may currently be off his game due to a viral infection in his chest, but even when he is popping cough drops all night, he still finds time to schlep out to his second home to spend time with his friends and the library staff. Everyone knows him, many love him, some even fear him, and one has even been “banished” to the third floor.

“Tavarris, have you lied during this interview?” asked fellow Crew member Danny Barefoot.
“Probably,” Tavarris said.

###

Food For Thought Results in Food for the Hungry

2008-12-03T21:33:00.000-08:00

“When I jumped off the ledge, I prayed that my wings would turn to heavy metal, so that when I hit the ground, my body would break.”

This is the opening line in a poem about suicide. The crowd sits in rapt silence as the poet leads them through a moment in his life when he had given up hope. The poem ends with angels clapping every time the poet blinks, reminding him why he needs to stay alive. Daniel walks off the stage to thunderous applause.

Daniel Jose Custodio is a 30-year-old New York City native and the Slam Master of Slam Nahuatl, a Richmond Slam Poetry team. He is a poet and a teacher, a financial advisor and a mentor. Through his work, he is also an inspiration.

Custodio grew up in a predominately Latino neighborhood in Brooklyn, N.Y. Most of his friends were part of the Latin Kings, the largest and oldest Hispanic street gang. His family was very poor, as both of his parents were immigrants. His mother came from Brazil during the dictatorship there and worked in a factory. His father was a farmer from Portugal and worked as a janitor.

Despite growing up in poverty, Custodio says he was raised well: “Some people are rich with a lot of wealth but feel neglected.” This was not a problem for Daniel and his brother. His parents’ firm hand kept him from joining any gangs.

Custodio first learned the power of the spoken word when one of his good friends, a gangbanger and a drug dealer, was shot to death. Part of Custodio’s healing process was to perform a piece called “Gladiator.”

“Writing a piece and presenting in front of people and having people … gain strength from it- that’s like a way that I heal from those experiences,” he said.

Next, he worked with Brooklyn schools, creating poetry programs to give students something more to their life and to broaden their horizons. The program was successful in keeping more teenagers off the street.

However, a traumatic event changed his life and led him on a new path.

“I found myself in a horrible relationship where a girl was cheating on me and I had quit my job and I was kind of in an apartment for a month,” Custodio said. “It’s funny, poetry when you’re in those times in your life, it’s like the only outlet you have.” In despair, Custodio jumped off the roof of his apartment and broke 33 bones in his body.

The experience left him with a new sense of purpose in life, and he left his Brooklyn apartment and headed to Richmond to find a deeper meaning to his existence.

When he first started performing in Richmond, he joined Slam Richmond, Richmond’s first Slam Team.

Slam Poetry is a competition in which poets read or recite original work and their performances are then judged on a numeric scale by previously selected members of the audience. Slam groups that are certified by Poetry Slam Inc. are eligible to compete nationally. Teams from all over North America and a few from other places converge in a different city every summer for five days of poetry, revelry and competition.

In Custodio’s first two PSI slams, his team took home 47th place.

Custodio wanted to create his own Slam group- one that would have more of an international focus, highlight his Latino roots and be more socially conscious. So he formed Slam Nahuatl.

Nahuatl is the language of the Aztecs and means “clear and commanding sound.” Last year, Slam Nahuatl took home the second-place trophy and PSI’s national competition and Custodio himself won the Slam Master Competition. However, since he was the only Slam Master to have also participated in a group piece, he gave his trophy to the runner-up.

Even though his team had just won such a prestigious honor, Custodio was not happy.

“I still felt the same way I felt when we had won 47th place,” he said. He decided that poetry was empty unless he could find a way to do good with it. He knew he wanted to do something involving people.

Custodio decided that one of the most basic human necessities is food, so he did some research and found out about the Central Virginia Foodbank. He decided that the next season of Slam Nahuatl would have the goal of raising enough money to feed one family for an entire year. He named the events the End Hunger Slam.

The End Hunger Slam consists of 10 slams that charge $5 admission. The admission price goes directly to the Food Bank. The slam has included features such as Brook Yung, an HBO def jam poet, and the next slam will feature 13th of Nazareth, an award-winning poet who has been featured on BET.

The new location of the slam is Gallery 5, in the historic Jackson Ward district of Richmond. For the last slam on November 20th, Custodio asked the audience to each bring a canned good, and announced that Slam Nahuatl was on track for raising the goal to feeding two needy families for an entire year. Daniel intoned the audience to bring friends and family to the next show on December 18, “so that we can make it three families.”

Jamil Jasey, a spoken word artist and 29-year-old Richmond native, had nothing but praise for Custodio’s event

“The promotion of unity and coming together,” he said. “And it’s for a good cause.” Jasey is the host of Thursday Nite Live, an open mic event at the Skyy Lounge on Broad Street.

His events also appeal to the younger crowd of poets as well. Many poets got their start at Slam Nahuatl, and from there found out about all of the other open mic events in the city. Brandon Basile, a VCU student and a spoken word artist himself, is one of the attendees at Slam Nahuatl and has known Custodio for a year.

“He really has a drive to make something really positive, more than just a few good poems, out of his poetry,” Basile said.

He said Custodio “gives me inspiration as a fellow poet, because he shows that one person can organize something big.”

Custodio is one poet who uses his actions, not just his words. However, he still said his greatest joy was having someone come up to him after a performance and say, “’That poem really touched me.’ In helping others, I’m helping myself.”
-30-

DJ Rayvon- From Start To Scractch

2008-12-03T19:30:00.000-08:00

It’s a chilly but clear Saturday night and Richmond’s downtown is alive with energy. VCU students and non-students alike are all outside either on their way to a party or on their way to a friend’s house to get ready for a party.

The place they are headed to is of one of Richmond’s premiere clubs- the Hyperlink, located in the heart of VCU’s Monroe Park campus. The line for the event, while moving is actually getting longer as more and more people enter it. Inside the venue, the opening DJ does his part by letting people hear the music as they enter and essentially prepping the party.
As 11 p.m. rolls around, the first DJ is finishing up his set, and the crowd is still socializing for the most part. But that’s about to change. Without cutting the music the opening DJ has left his turntables open for DJ Rayvon to take over. Rayvon quickly introduces himself and with a couple scratches of the records, he turns the venue upside down with an up-tempo dance song from the Ying Yang Twins and a simple "Lets Go!" to get the girls off their seats and onto the dance floor.
Dj Rayvon is one of the best known DJs in the VCU area and is also well known in a majority of Richmond’s clubs. Even though he hasn’t always been keeping parties going with the latest in hip and R&B he has always been a "hip hop head".
Rayvon "DJ Rayvon" Burrwell moved to Virginia Beach right before he got to middle school but he is a Staten Island native along with his parents. Rayvon says that his parents were one of his main reasons for his love of hip-hop music.
"My mother and father were real big into hip hop. When, they was young, they were B-boys and B-girls funny fact, my mother taught me how to break dance,’’ Rayvon said.
Being from hip-hop’s birthplace and having parents who were also deep into the culture makes it hard for a young person to not be involved musically in some way. When he was young Rayvon was he was into every aspect of hip-hop culture except graffiti. " I used to do everything when I was young musically, I used to sing and dance," he said.
Rayvon says that DJ’ing first came about his father brought in the house a new pair of turntables and told him not to touch it. "You tell a 14-15 year old not to touch it, you (are) basically telling him… touch it."
Through playing with his father’s turntables and picking up a few tricks from his father, He soon taught himself the art of spinning records. He also cites a few of his influences in the field are the famous "DJ Quebert" and "DJ Jazzy Jeff".
As Rayvon was honing his skills as a DJ, he was working to save up for turntables of his own. As 12th grade approached, he was finally able to buy his own set of turntables, but it was also time to make another major move. This was his move to Richmond for college.
Even though it was clear that he wanted to take his DJ’ing career to the next level. Rayvon realized that he also needed a good education. In the Fall of 2003, he entered VCU as a freshman at the age of 17. There he decided to pursue a degree in mass communications with a concentration in broadcast journalism. But you cannot keep a hip-hop head away from their love for long.
It wasn’t long before Rayvon got his opportunity to DJ in the Richmond area. Party promoter Swerve Dinero first gave Rayvon a chance at DJ’ing at Club 534 on Harrison street After seeing how well he could control the crowd, Swerve started offering him Dj’ing spots at VCU parties. " They were whack in the beginning, but got better and better as I started practicing more and more."
He says that That two things he likes to bring to his craft is the element of surprise and memory cues." Music is all about memory cues. Something that’s going to take you to a place you used to be in life,"
Rayvon is known for his Djing of the many of VCU’s parties in the Student Commons. He also has hosted parties after major events such as Greek step shows and rival basketball games. Along with Dj’ing Rayvon also raps and says he is currently working on a mixtape at DonLand Studios.
While throwing a graduation party at Toads Place Last year on December 12, his birthday, Rayvon came to the conclusion that instead of being paid to DJ he was going to start paying himself. From this point on he began throwing his own parties. This can also be called the birthday of his production group Parcore Productions, which Rayvon says "encompasses all of what he learned at VCU while in mass communications,".
Along with various clubs and parties you can also catch Rayvon at the DTLR in Virginia Center Commons mall as the assistant manager. In addition to DJ’ing and promoting parties Rayvon also offers advice to the younger generation "not be afraid to accept help.. it can be your parents, your friends parents or anybody that can teach you mentally. Don’t be afraid to accept help just because it’s not the kind of help you like."

Passion for Politics and Public Policy

2008-12-03T19:06:00.000-08:00

By: Kathleen Whitlow

Growing up in a household that instilled the importance of “voicing ones vote,” Elizabeth Hancock Greenfield was destined headed for a life in politics, even though she may not have known it.

As a freshman at Virginia Commonwealth University, Greenfield, (then Hancock) wanted to enroll in pharmacy school. After a short time studying pharmacology, she decided that the curriculum was out of her league. She was more interested in the humanities.

After taking a political science course at VCU, Greenfield discovered her love for the subject. “I had to take political science requirement and fell in love with it,” Greenfield said.

Greenfield, after an impressive path in political advocacy, is currently the director of public affairs for the Richmond Association of Realtors. She worked very hard and has gained much experience to get to this point.

While attending VCU as a political science student Greenfield gained a great deal of professional practice in her field.

“VCU is not known for its political science, but its proximity to the Capitol gives you an advantage over other students. I was able to take a full load of classes on Tuesday and Thursday and then intern at the General Assembly during the rest of the week,” Greenfield said.

Greenfield, during college, was an intern for the House of Delegates for a session. She was able to intern for the lieutenant governor, who at the time was Tim Kaine himself. Working under Kaine’s director of policy, Greenfield was able to research a great deal of important policy initiatives.

“I worked on Hunters Feeding the Hungry,” said Greenfield. “There is a certain amount of deer meat that you can kill and keep, and the rest goes to waste. Tim Kaine made a policy where this deer meat would be donated to the homeless.”

These types of policy initiatives are what got Greenfield interested and working with lobbyists, legislators and agency heads. “I realized that this was a path that I wanted to take,” she said.
The lieutenant governor’s director of policy got Greenfield her first job as a lobbyist. “My role as a lobbyist is to help shape and influence public policy. You can work for special interest groups or an association, like I do,” Greenfield said.

Her current position as the director of public affairs for the Richmond Association of Realtors consists of advocating for affordable housing initiatives and private property rights and taking the Realtors’ agenda and pushing that to the legislation.

“You’re either pushing it or defending it,” Greenfield said.

If anyone understands the importance of Greenfield’s public affairs initiatives, it’s one of her fellow government activists. Martin Johnson, governmental affairs and real estate consultant for FutureLaw has worked alongside Greenfield.

“Elizabeth has shown herself to be one of the up and comers in the halls of the Virginia General Assembly and in courthouses and city halls throughout Central Virginia,” Johnson said.

“The real estate industry has a lot to look forward to from Elizabeth as she applies practical, reasonable and rational logic to dealing with very complex and sensitive issues like how to deal with more people, more traffic and higher costs of living. When you think about it, because real estate affects us all, having Elizabeth promote policies that help sustain a healthy real estate industry really affects all of us who live work or play in Central Virginia,” Johnson said.

After graduating from VCU in 2002 with a degree in political science Greenfield got her first job with a law firm. “I had a job waiting for me when I got out of college. I made a lot of connections through General Assembly members,” Greenfield said.

Her job with the law firm was that of legislative consultant/junior lobbyist and was more of a contract lobbyist position. Clients that she worked with ranged from Johnson & Johnson, CitiGroup, environmental agencies and pharmacies.

After working with such a wide variety of clients Greenfield wanted to find something to specialize in. That’s when she found the job with the Richmond Association of Realtors.

She started at RAR as a public relations coordinator, dividing her time between government affairs and communication. Greenfield assisted the director of the department with press releases and an assortment of communications and media aspects.

Greenfield’s current position at RAR consists of working as a state and local lobbyist. She lobbies just for the association in the central Virginia area.

One of her colleagues at RAR, Kellie Whitlow, said, “Elizabeth Greenfield is an exceptional asset to the Richmond Association of Realtors with her knowledge of affordable housing and land use. She represents the Central Virginia Realtors at the General Assembly.”

“I am responsible for the seven local governments who make up RAR’s jurisdiction, including Hanover, Henrico and Chesterfield,” Greenfield said.

Greenfield is not a federal lobbyist. “I have never had the desire to work on the federal level. You see the most results at the local level. You see the things you’ve lobbied for take effect,” she said.

With all of her experience, some people would expect Greenfield to be older that she is. She is only 28.

When she first started lobbying, Greenfield was one of the younger, expert activists lobbying at the General Assembly.

“Yeah, I’m really young, but I also think that I’m really fortunate because it didn’t hurt to have a lieutenant governor getting me my first job,” Greenfield said. “And now he’s governor, so having him on my resume doesn’t hurt.”

- 30 -

Dr. Cliff Edwards: The Sage of VCU

2008-12-03T08:39:00.000-08:00

By Sam Grimes

RICHMOND, Va. - Hanging in the door are several long chains of seashells strung together that, as one passes through them, produce a sound remniscient of ringing bells. The room is filled with religious icons. Statues of Buddha and Eastern figures sit on tables while crucifixes adorn the walls. Other decorations are placed throughout the room: a statue of the Virgin Mary and another of Vincent van Gogh, hanging Tibetan prayer flags, a few trumpets and a cluster of cattails. Where there are no decorations the walls are lined with crowded bookshelves.

Professor Cliff Edwards reclines peacefully in a chair near the computer with a small smile on his face. This is his 33rd year teaching at VCU. There was no religious studies major at the university when he arrived. Edwards is originally from South Hampton, N.Y., on Long Island. He attended Drew University in New Jersey, where he studied history. It was there that he was drawn to religious studies.

"I always liked working with texts. I mean, my fun is discovering things in original sources," Edwards said.

He found so many sources in religion while he was studying history that he was led more and more into religious studies. Edwards also found a practical reason to study religion: To pay for graduate school at Northwestern University, he took a degree in theology to become a pastor and served in community churches in Michigan and Wisconsin.

"Every day I teach, I can think back to, 'Hey, I learned those lessons when I was speaking to a little congregation of people from a hundred years old to about three years old,'" Edwards said.

He eventually received his Ph.D.

"On the way to it and following it, I studied all over the world," Edwards recalls.

He studied for a year at the University of Strasbourg in France, where he befriended the famous humanitarian Albert Schweitzer, who was nearing the end of his life. Edwards also did a semester at the University of Neuchatel in Switzerland. He also studied at Hebrew Union School of Bible and Archaeology in Jerusalem.

It was in Israel that Edwards learned archaeology at the ancient city of Gezer - a city once owned by King Soloman.

He studied at an ashram, or study center, in India, where he learned a "teacher's brand" of Hinduism and lived for a year and a half at a Zen monastery in Kyoto, Japan.

In the early 1970s, Edwards traveled to Japan on a grant.

"Someone gave me this big grant and said, 'The only you have to do is you have to spend your time in Asia,'" he recalled.

He intended to use the grant to travel to China and went to Hawaii to procure a visa. The time was around 1970, however, and "China at that time was angry at the United States over several things."

The Chinese government refused to give Edwards a visa. He had been studying Chinese for about five years in the hopes that he would go to China. He quickly learned Japanese and went to Japan instead.

Edwards' love of writing haiku allowed him to meet students in a poetry group. They introduced him to the Zen master at Daitoku-ji Zen Temple in Kyoto, who allowed him to stay in the temple as long as Edwards agreed to teach English to three monks. He was allowed to live at the monastery and follow the monks' daily routine. That lasted for a year.

Much to Edwards dismay, he was not able to learn Japanese as much as he would have liked to, since the monks recognized him as the English teacher and only wanted to speak their "broken English" with him. The only rule for living at the monastery was to attend every meditation session and teach English daily, which meant that Edwards was unable to travel very far from Kyoto.

"I was literally told that 'if you miss one of these mediation sessions, we'll pack your bags and they'll be on the front porch when you get back and you won't be welcome,'" he said.

Edwards stayed in the monastery for a year, keeping at his routine of meditating everyday and teaching his English class. While in Japan he also began a life-long love for Van Gogh and the artist's work.

After returning from his studies abroad, Edwards took his first full-time teaching position at Macon, Ga. When he arrived in Georgia, the civil rights movement was in full swing.

"It was a tough time to be in Georgia because I was looked at as a Northerner coming south just when they were having lots of racial upheaval. I mean, it was a bad time in Georgia," he said.

While Edwards was in Macon, there were civil rights marches and people being beaten up. He was considered a "carpet bagger" as if he had "something to teach them about all this stuff."

"I can't say I was very well accepted, and often people threatened me about one thing or another," Edwards said.

Teaching in Georgia wore Professor Edwards down, so he eventually moved to Randolph-Macon College in Ashland, Va. There, he devised the school's first world religions program. He first started teaching at VCU as an adjunct at night and eventually took a full-time position teaching here.

He currently teaches classes on Zen Buddhism, the Bible as literature and the life and works of Vincent van Gogh. He also will teach a class on world religions at Union Theological Seminary in Richmond next semester.

This past summer, Edwards was a visiting fellow at Oxford University. He hopes to return as a Coolidge fellow for the third summer this year at Columbia University so he can continue his research of religion and art.

Professor Edwards has written two books on van Gogh and the artist's spirituality. His third book, on van Gogh's painting The Night Cafe, will be published soon.

###

Doris Smith - Connecting with Students through Science

2008-12-02T18:45:00.000-08:00

By Hailey Stuart

Don McLean’s “American pie” is blasting from the radio as Doris Smith drives down Broad Street toward Richmond’s James H. Blackwell Elementary School. “I love this station, 107.3. It plays all the oldies,” Doris Smith says as she sings along.

Swaying to the rhythm with her body-length dreadlocks wrapped up in a colorful scarf one could tell just by looking at her she was a life loving, energetic individual.

“I’m a naturalist, I would say, at heart,” Smith says. Nature gives her something to feel passionate about, filling her with energy.

Smith, a long-time Richmond resident and VCU graduate, runs the Virginia Science Museum’s “Science Connections” program. This program helps children excel in their science Standards of Learning tests with 10 after-school hands-on workshops.

How did Smith get her start?

Several years ago, she earned a degree in biology education at VCU and then went into teaching. “I actually taught in Richmond city schools many, many years ago,” Smith says with a laugh.

She later took a break from teaching to have kids and take care of them. After a few years, she returned to the workforce with the Virginia Science Museum in 1999.

“[It’s] and ideal setting for what I like to do because I get to teach children and yet I don’t have some of the constraints on me as you find in a regular classroom setting,” Smith says.

Smith returned to VCU to earn a master’s degree in science, then became the coordinator for Science Connections.

Science Connections works mostly with fifth graders during the school year and summer months. During the academic year, the program holds weekly afterschool sessions. Being grant-funded, the program provides their own supplies, relieving the schools from such a responsibility. The program not only focuses on students who show an aptitude for science, but also those who struggle with the subject and desire to improve.

During the sessions, the team gives a shorts lecture on the topic for the day, encouraging the children to ask questions and give answers. They are then given an activity such as creating a model of planet earth or digging for “fossils” in a sand dish. Over the summer, Science Connections turns into Science Explorers. This program is open to all children who apply and is much like a summer camp. Topics covered in both programs are decided by the team and local schools’ science administrators, deemed likely to be on SOLs. The same Science Connections team administers this program.

“I kind of do science in a way that, hopefully, is enjoyable for kids,” Smith says. “It’s certainly enjoyable for us.”

Smith’s Science Connections team consists of two other participants: Christine Daniel, a James Madison graduate, and Chris Hathaway, a graduate of Virginia Tech.

“I think we have fun, but we still get the job done,” Daniel says. “When we have these 10 lessons, each of us have different ones that we like more. So it works on sharing who wants to run each one.”

But lately - as the staff at the museum has dropped nearly 15 percent since January, according to Smith – they have a strong need for future graduates to share their passion for science. “We need you,” Smith says.

She offers some guidelines to being a good educator of science.

“Be a person who likes kids,” suggests Smith, “They pick up on whether or not they like you and they make a connection based on their sense of whether or not you have their interests at heart.”

She also finds it appalling how knowledge of basic science and math is lacking in science teachers. “These are things you can learn, but I would hope you would have some affinity for them. These are things you should like,” Smith says.

Smith is on a mission to bring the knowledge of the world to children in hopes that they will take the time and effort to take care of the only planet they have. “People need to be able to make informed decisions,” she says, so that the human species is able to balance their needs with the needs of the planet.

Musical Genius

2008-12-02T07:55:00.000-08:00

By Danielle Vaughn

The Black Awakening Choir at VCU threw out the old and brought in the new when they welcomed minister James Johnson to lead them as their director this year.

Although it hasn’t been easy coming in as the new director to an already established and well-known choir, Johnson has found a way to instill his musical skills and talents into his choir members. At age 25, he has achieved many accomplishments in music as well as in being a child of God.

“[My] spiritual goals [are] just to be a major light within the campus to bring other students who are nonbelievers to Christianity and bring them to God,” Johnson said.

He also said he wanted to work with the choir to enhance his skills and complement the choir as well.

Johnson’s musical journey started at age 5 when he began to play the drums at his church in Baltimore. At 14, he began to play the piano at his home church. It was then he realized his place in the ministry of music.

Johnson graduated in 2001 from the Baltimore School of the Arts, where he studied drums and piano. There, he received the 2001 National Association for the Advancement of Colored People ACTSO gold medal and various other awards. He graduated from the Peabody Conservatory of Music at John Hopkins University in Baltimore with a degree in jazz performance.

In 2002, Johnson began to produce music. He recorded and worked with many artists including Lauren Hill and Jonathan Nelson.

In June 2008, Johnson became the minister of music at the Cedar Street Baptist Church in Richmond.

So far, his greatest accomplishment is his nomination for a 2009 Stellar Award for producing Doreen Vail's album titled “Odyssey,” which is award for accomplishments in gospel music and is a national awards show.

As the new director of the Black Awakening Choir, Johnson has many goals for the choir. He strives for excellence in every performance. He tries his best to make the choir the best it can be. He said his goals socially were to travel and do recordings, but he also has spiritual goals for the choir as well.

Johnson pushes his choir members to be positive and to have confidence in whatever they do. In the choir rehearsals, he told the members to speak life and not death. He requires that the choir members take pride in their appearance as well as their performance. He believes in putting forth the best effort possible at all times.

In three months, Minister Johnson has turned choir around. He has brought the choir to high standard of excellence in ministry. He’s given many VCU students at a chance to showcase their musical talents.

Many of the choir members admire Johnson’s musical accomplishments. They said he was very qualified for the job.

Olivia Wilson, a choir member who has known Johnson for about three months, said he fits her expectations as a director because he is very talented and has all the experience a director needs.

Others agreed with Wilson’s statements.

“His musical talents have become an asset to the choir, and he exceeds my expectations for a choir director,” said Ashley Simmons, another member of the choir.

The young ladies also had their own opinions on Minister Johnson’s directing methods.

“He is doing a good job and is taking the right approach,” Wilson said.
Simmons said that she thought his methods were good, but the choir has to get used to them because they haven’t completely learned each other yet.

Katherine Blackburn -- Trying to be a Good Teacher

2008-11-30T17:53:00.000-08:00

By Alison Bilbo

For years, Virginia has used the Standards of Learning to test and evaluate students. Two years ago, a group of Richmond kindergarten teachers set out to change that system for their students. Among that group was Maymont Elementary School teacher Katherine Blackburn, the head of the kindergarten department.

Being a teacher was not something Blackburn had ever seen herself doing. While taking a year off after graduating from James Madison University, Blackburn worked as a teaching assistant for her mother, Kay Blackburn, a pre-school teacher in Fredericksburg.

While doing this, Blackburn was able to actually see how children learn and it excited her. This prompted her to get her master’s degree in elementary education from Virginia Commonwealth University, graduating in 2005. After receiving her degree, Blackburn started teaching at Maymont Elementary.

After a year of teaching, Katherine Blackburn, along with some of her colleagues, wanted to come up with a new way to evaluate kindergartners. At that time kindergartners were given an SOL test in the same format which high school students receive theirs. Blackburn along with other teachers in the area were starting to realize that their kindergarten students were not being evaluated properly and set out to eliminate this format for their students.

“They were being assessed in an SOL format or an; a, b, c, d format and the children could not attend, they could not pay attention and didn’t understand the questions; where they could demonstrate their knowledge in different ways,” said Blackburn.

Based on Blackburn and her colleague’s excitement to teach and the knowledge that their students were being unfairly evaluated led them to create the Kindergarten Alternative Assessment Task Force. During the past two years the task force used examples of similar programs from other state’s school programs and compiled its own system to assess Richmond kindergartners.

In the 2007-2008 school year, a pilot program was launched. After a summer of meeting with school board officials and training other kindergarten teachers how to use the system, the task force, waited to see how effective the program would be.

During the pilot year Blackburn, and Elizabeth Vermillion, another member of the task force team, worked closely with the Richmond-area kindergarten teachers. Going to all city-wide staff development meetings to ask for feedback to see what needed to be changed in the program and what was working.

“One common problem that we heard every time was that some principles were on board with this, other principles told their Kindergarten teachers they had to do it the old way,” Blackburn said.

After hearing this common problem throughout the schools Blackburn and Vermillion made presentations at city-wide principal and vice principal meetings. In order to get everyone involved with the project and on the same page as to how things needed to be done in order to make the new system successful.

Breaking down what the SOL tests require kindergartners to learn, Richmond teachers now evaluate the students over the course of every nine weeks. During each nine weeks, Blackburn said that the students have up to three chances to prove their mastery of any of the tested material.

The students can be tested in a variety of ways -- worksheets, hands-on activities, or an oral form where the teacher can observe that the child understands the material. It’s these different ways of testing that Blackburn says is key to correctly evaluating the students. This way, not only are the teachers making sure that the student knows the taught material, they are also learning the best way to teach the student, based on the different learning styles.

Now in Blackburn’s fourth year of teaching, the first official year of the assessment, and she says that the program has been much more successful than the pilot year because “everyone in the city is on the same page.”

Putt-Putt is No Game for Gary Hinshaw

2008-11-30T10:11:00.000-08:00

by Laura Owens

All children love the thrill and excitement of going to a Putt-Putt course, complete with animals and obstacles along the way. However, most children don’t dream of making a career of it, but that’s exactly what Gary Hinshaw did.

Sitting in his office, with the usual Polo and khaki shorts ensemble, Hinshaw’s voice is muffled against the background sounds of clinging, pinging, and other unexplainable noises coming from the arcade right outside his door. This doesn’t seem to faze him as he politely points out the distinct differences between miniature golf and Putt-Putt, which some people make the mistake of mixing up.

Hinshaw is used to this world, having been the general manager of Putt-Putt Fun Center in Midlothian, Va., for more than 20 years. Putt-Putt is a notable source of entertainment in the Southside community, offering an arcade, three golf courses, go-karts, and bumper boats.

As a child, Hinshaw would take trips with his family to his grandmother’s house in Siler City, N.C, close to his hometown of Greensboro. He can still remember the small 18-hole Putt-Putt Golf Course located nearby.

“I used to tell my father that one day I would manage a Putt-Putt Golf Course,” Hinshaw said.

Hinshaw’s Putt-Putt career began in 1969 when he won the Kiddies Day Tournament at the Putt-Putt Golf Course in Greensboro. When Hinshaw was 16 years old, he got a part-time job at that very same location, and by 1972, at the age of 19, he was the general manager of the establishment. Two years later, he was also made the manager of the Putt-Putt in Highpoint. By this time, he had finished studying at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and was still dating his high school sweetheart, Patsy.

Putt-Putt was a seasonal operation at this time, since golf, the only available activity at the time, is dependent on weather.

After nearly six years of managerial experience in North Carolina and a marriage to his longtime girlfriend, Hinshaw was made an enticing offer. Todd Lecka, the owner of numerous Putt-Putt locations along the East Coast, asked Gary if he would head up the Putt-Putt in Richmond.

“He is the embodiment of what a Putt-Putt Golf Course manager should be,” Lecka said. “The epitome of all we stand for in wholesome family entertainment.”

Hinshaw and his wife, Patsy, were both born and raised in North Carolina, so this decision was not an easy one. The Richmond market was growing fast at the time and had a lot to offer.

Ultimately, Hinshaw decided to relocate to Richmond and become the general manager there, with Patsy at his side as the assistant manager. After only a year in Richmond, Gary earned the title of Putt-Putt Golf Courses Manager of the Year for 1979.

Soon after, Hinshaw and Patsy welcomed in their first son, Matthew. Another son, Jeffrey, followed three years later. A blossoming family did not stop Hinshaw from continuing his life-long pursuit of all things Putt-Putt.

As general manager of the Richmond location, Hinshaw oversaw huge renovations.

“Putt Putt continues to be a great form of entertainment. The biggest obstacle is the amount of land required and the up-front cost of construction,” Hinshaw said.

Originally, the Richmond Putt-Putt was built with four 18-hole golf courses. A larger building was constructed in 1983, which now contains a snack bar, party room and over 60 video games. Courses one and two became themed with animals, waterfalls and caves. Course four was demolished to make room for the addition of bumper boats and go karts.

Hinshaw more than fulfilled his boyhood ambition by winning eight state tournaments, helping to co-found the Professional Putters Association Hall of Fame in 1986 and founding the PPA State Tours in North Carolina and Virginia.

Nowadays, you can still find Hinshaw competing in the local tournaments at Putt-Putt Fun Center every Tuesday night. But this PPA Hall of Fame inductee is far from done. Hinshaw is currently planning more renovations to the building and working on his stroke average so he will be prepared for the next tournament that rolls his way.

“I know my dad will be at Putt-Putt until he is forced to retire,” Matt Hinshaw, Hinshaw’s oldest son, said. “He just has so much love for that place, it’s hard to explain.”

###

2008-11-26T10:58:00.000-08:00

Adam Capps (left) and Ryan Bradshaw as Post 146 teammates

Former Blue Devils turning heads on and off the diamond
By: Taylor Howsmon

Hopewell, VA- Adam Capps and Ryan Bradshaw were two of Hopewell’s best baseball players in recent years, taking to Forrest Glass Field as a third baseman and pitcher, respectively.

Now, the two have moved on to Chowan University in North Carolina with the goal of showing what Blue Devil baseball is all about.

Both Capps and Bradshaw began playing baseball together at the age of 5. Early on, their passion for the game was evident.

After years of success at the Pee-Wee and rec league level, the two moved on to high school baseball.

Bradshaw decided in eighth grade to pursue basketball. After playing on the junior varsity team for two years, he changed his mind and decided to focus on baseball.

Capps stuck with the sport he loved, playing for Hopewell’s j.v. team. Eventually making it to the varsity level as a freshman.

The Hopewell program, led by then first-year coach Ricky Irby, was glad that the two chose that sport.

“I can’t express how much Adam and Ryan meant to this program; they are excellent young men and talented baseball players,” said Irby, who is now going into his sixth season as the Devils’ head coach.

By the time they were seniors, Capps and Bradshaw had earned starting positions on Hopewell’s baseball team.

Although a winning season would be elusive for their four years, both said the experience was life changing.

“It was where we really learned the game and got exposure,” Capps said.

Both players also played American Legion baseball for the Post 146 Eagles.

In four years of Legion ball, Capps and Bradshaw were able to get a glimpse of the future, playing against and with college players.

Last season, Bradshaw and Capps, along with Jackie Bradley, led the Eagles to the playoffs.

“This past legion season was the first time since recreation league that we had made it to the playoffs … it helped out a lot,” Capps said.

After their graduation in June from Hopewell, both were receiving college offers from schools at the Division 2 and Division 3 levels.

Capps and Bradshaw said that they did not expect to attend the same college, but of all the schools both saw, one stuck out.

Chowan College in Murfreesboro, N.C., has one of the top programs in Division 2 baseball. Both Capps and Bradshaw were offered scholarships, and both accepted.

“They’re one of the best teams in the nation, so we knew we would be on a winning team. It was a no-brainer,” Capps said.

The two went down to the northeastern North Carolina school in August with intention of being noticed in a successful program.

Although it was not planned, they both said they are happy they are able to be at the same school as teammates again.

“They saved each other,” said Debbie Capps, Adam’s mother.

Both have had tremendous success since moving down to school.

According to Capps and Bradshaw, they both should be competing for starting jobs when the season begins in the spring. Capps plans to play third base, and Bradshaw will pitch.

Even in the short time they have been in Murfreesboro, it appears the offseason training has made large improvements in both players’ skill and conditioning.

But the balance between schoolwork and practice is what both say is the most challenging thing.

“The first two weeks we were out there at 6 a.m. every day, then we had classes and then more working out. It was a full day,” Bradshaw said.

Thanks to weight lifting and a lot of running, the two say they are much better players and much more prepared for the years to come.

Even though their college careers are taking off, Capps and Bradshaw will not forget the Hopewell program that they helped build and then had to leave behind.

Both said they plan on coming back on breaks from school to teach their new training regiments and drills they’ve learned at Chowan to current Blue Devils.

Although the program has a lot of young players, both said they feel winning is right around the corner for the Hopewell baseball program.

This coming summer, Bradshaw said he will use his final year of eligibility with the Post 146 Eagles as he returns to lead the team to a second straight trip to the playoffs.

Meanwhile, Capps will be too old for another year in the legion program and will attempt to play for another college-level summer league team.

###

A Small Town Boy in Outer Space

2008-11-26T08:41:00.000-08:00

By: Erica Paige

Every weekday Andree Haskins, 28, begins his evening by going into work and greeting his co-workers with a joke and a smile. His day officially begins when he checks his e-mail and finds his tasks for the day. After receiving his tasks, Haskins begins with the highest-priority assignment.

In order to complete his tasks, Haskins must leave his street clothes in a personalized locker and suit up, from bouffant to shoe covers, in an electro-static discharged clean suit.

For most of the workday, Haskins is confined to a pressurized chamber that contains large filters that constantly push “dirty” air out of the chamber. The environment that Haskins works in must contain no dust, or small particles that could contaminate the delicate components with which he comes into contact.

Haskins is an aerospace mechanical technician for Orbital Sciences Corporation.

Haskins is part of about a yearlong process of building communication satellites. These satellites help communicate important information, whether guiding a missile to a target or delivering television broadcasting services to millions of people internationally.

If Haskins is not installing heaters onto a component, you may find him twisting small screws that piece together the larger flight hardware.

“As a child, Andree’s favorite toy was always a Phillips head screwdriver,” his mother, Joan Pannell, said.

“He would use it to take apart his toys and try to put them back together. Annd if he could piece it back together, he would play with it. If he couldn’t, it would go into a trash pile or the bottom of the toy box.”

Although most of the toys ended up in a trash pile or the bottom of a toy box, Haskins never realized that this childhood curiosity would someday turn him into an aerospace mechanic.

Haskins grew up in a small town in Virginia called Rustburg, just outside the city of Lynchburg.

Although Haskins was not from the most privileged family, he was able to learn from other people through the influence of close family friends. These family friends gave Haskins the opportunity to do the things that other kids were able to enjoy.

“Somehow I always found a way to be able to do what I wanted to do even though it may have seemed like they were things I shouldn’t have been able to do,” Haskins said.

According to Haskins, this help sparked his determination to be able to achieve anything he set his mind to, and furthered his mentality that settling for a “no” or a simple explanation was unacceptable.

In 1998, Haskins graduated from Rustburg High School. Rustburg High had an entire population of about 500 students, with only 100 people in his graduating class.

“Many of the things you have aspirations to do are the things you see around you,” Haskins said.

“Basically, I saw a lot of retail store managers, construction workers, people who worked on computers, and bank tellers, and so that is what I thought success was.”

Haskins decided he wanted something more. So, in 2001, Haskins decided to further his education by pursuing a degree in exercise health and sports education at Radford University. According to Haskins, college is where he “began to question whether the world was like Lynchburg” and whether he “had a little something more to look forward to from life” than just what he had seen growing up.

Coming out of college, Haskins worked as a recreation leader in Lynchburg, where he helped develop youth activities during after-school care. Haskins worked back in his hometown for a couple of years, until he saved up enough money to move to Northern Virginia.

In Manassas, Haskins acquired a job for Colgan Air, an airline at the nearby airport. At Colgan Air, Haskins was an aircraft inventory scheduler who coordinated and facilitated aircraft component deliveries, such as engines, across regional supply chain networks.

Developing a love for airplanes at Colgan Air, Haskins decided to attend the Aviation Institute of Maintenance.

One day at AIM, Haskins noticed two men with folders covered with stickers of rockets walking into a group meeting room with other students. Intrigued by the stickers of the rockets, Haskins followed the two men and students into the room.

Haskins had no idea that he had walked into a recruiting meeting with Orbital Sciences Corporation and AIM’s potential graduate class of that year. Once inside, Haskins began learning about the company and became very interested.

During the meeting, those who were interested in a possible career with Orbital were administered a placement test and were given their results shortly after.

“After seeing his results we had to know who this young man was, so we began to ask more questions,” said Terry Young, Orbital Sciences recruiter and Haskin’s former supervisor.

Young immediately began to inquire about Haskins through one of his instructors. After learning more about Haskins, Young approached him with a job offer.

In 2006, Haskins became a full-time aerospace mechanical technician with Orbital Sciences Corp.

Since his hiring Haskins has worked on more than 10 successful satellite programs. According to Haskins, his most rewarding benefit is to be able to watch his completed spacecraft ascend to their final destination -- outer space -- from launch sites all over the world, including Russia, Japan, and South America.

“Although working with fragile million-dollar parts can be tedious, I also feel prestigious,” Haskins said. “The fact that someone trusts me with the responsibility of handling this type of hardware is pretty amazing.”

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