Newspapers / Winston-Salem Chronicle (Winston-Salem, N.C.) / June 9, 2011, edition 1 / Page 2
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Men praised for exhibiting best traits of fatherhood BY TODD LUCK THE CHRONICLE Father's Day came early at the Carl H. Russell Sr. Community Center. On Sunday, the Center held its Second Annual Honor Your Father and Do the Right Thing program. Any and everybody was invited to attend to pay tribute to their father or father-figure. S. Wayne Patterson's kids accepted the invitation and publicly praised their dad before a crowd of more than two dozen. "My father is a good dad, he is a great lawyer, he supports us," Wayne Patterson Jr. said of the elder Patterson, who is the presi dent of the local NAACP. Maurice Johnson remembered her late father, Walter Pitts, who was a well-known teacher. Johnson said away from school, her father enjoyed spending time in his gar den. In the classroom, he cultivat ed young minds, developing a rep utation as a strong disciplinarian in the process. "If the teachers had any trouble with the students, especially the young men^ 'Go on down and see Mr. Pitts' and they knew what was going to happen," said Johnson, whose father later become a truan I Photos by Todd Luck S. Wayne Paterson Sr. with his children (front, from left) Jarrell, Alexis, Lance and (back row) Wayne Jr. cy officer. Johnson also used the event to talk about her grandfather, Columbus Pitts, who was the sec ond settler to purchase land in Happy Hill, the city's oldest African American community. She recalled his generosity as he shared Never Stop Dreaming's Sony a and Ray Henderson with Ben Piggott. food and other necessities with his neighbors. Johnson is paying hom age to her grandfather and others with her ongoing efforts to restore historic Happy Hill cemetery, where Columbus Pitts is buried. Ben Piggott, the director of Russell Community Center, affec tionately recalled growing up on a tobacco farm in Columbus County with his father, the late Benjamin Howard Piggott. He talked of working long hour* in the tobacco field, work so grueling that it left him and his siblings "too tired to get into trouble." Piggott doesn't have any chil dren of his own, but he said he feels like a father after spending much of his adult life as a mentor and youth leader. "1 don't have any biological children, but in the community of . i. Grimes Johnson Happy Hill and different other places around, I'm a father to a lot of people," said Piggott. Wayne Patterson Sr. knows how true Piggott's statement is. Patterson, a product of public housing, grew up without a father in his home. He said Piggott became a father figure to him when he was a member of the Salvation Army Boys and Girls Club. Patterson said Piggott was the first black man that he encountered who had graduated from college. He said the positive image Piggott project ed showed him and other boys what they could accomplish. Patterson said he^hopes that the young people he comes into con tact with view him the same way he viewed Piggott. "When younger men see me, I want them to see a positive image like I saw in Ben," said Patterson. Steve Grimes also gave his per spectives. Grimes also grew up without a father, and he too relied heavily on role models. The one time NASCAR pit crew coordina tor says he tries to positively influence and motivate youngsters whenever he gets an opportunity. "Small dreams are for small people," Grimes, who now owns a car detailing business, often tells young people. "If you dream big you can achieve it." The non-profit Never Stop Dreaming, Inc., co-sponsored the event with the Russell Center. During the program, Never Stop Dreaming highlighted kids "doing the right thing" in a video made by local filmmaker Nathan Ross Freeman and the organization's founder, Sonya Henderson, a singer and former Wake Forest basketball player. The brief video showed local kids participating in art proj ects, playing basketball, perform ing in step shows and taking part in other activities. Never Stop Dreaming is hoping to someday create programs to engage kick using activities like the arts and basketball. You can't take a superhero to just any hospital. As you may have noticed, children are not adults. That's why they need care designed just for them. The completely new state of-the-art Emergency Department at Brenner Children's Hospital has been built entirely around the unique needs of children. It's the only Emergency Department in this area that treats children exclusively. Brenner is the only Level I Pediatric Trauma Center in the state and is strengthened by the research and advocacy of the Childress Institute for Pediatric Trauma. When it comes to your child's health, trust the specialists who understand that being small is a big deal. Visit BrennerChildrens.org/ED to take a virtual tour of our new Emergency Department. And to schedule an appointment with one of our physicians, call 336-71 6-WAKE. 336-716-WAKE I 888-716-WAKE 4 I BRENNERCHILDRENS.ORG/ED - Wake Forest" Baptist Health Btmvmt Children's Hospital
Winston-Salem Chronicle (Winston-Salem, N.C.)
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