Winston-Salem legend Art Blevins
loses battle with cancer
BY TIMOTHY RAMSEY
THE CHRONICLE
Known for his kind heart
and giving nature, Art Blevins
impacted the lives of countless
children throughout his nearly
40 years of service in the Parks
and Recreation Department. Af
ter a brief fight with pancreatic
cancer, Blevins passed away last
week in hospice care at the age
of 62.
Blevins spent time in sev
eral recreation centers during his
tenure with the city, but is best
known for his time at the Hanes
Hosiery Recreation Center,
where the gymnasium is named
in his honor. He was beloved by
everyone he met and had a heart
for giving that was unmatched.
“It was a little overwhelm
ing, not that it wasn’t totally
unexpected, but I think you con
tinue to hold out hope until the
end and then when you finally
get that news, you are overcome
with a rush of emotions,” said
Gary Lash, district recreation su
pervisor for the Parks and Recre
ation Department.
Lash recalled the conversa
tions he had with Blevins when
he was first diagnosed with can
cer in May of this year.
“When he called and told
me, we basically just cried to
gether on the phone; it was kind
of devastating,” Lash said of the
conversation. “He helped me get
through a lot during my illness
last year and I felt it was my turn
to return the favor.”
During his time with the city,
Blevins positively impacted the
lives of thousands of children.
His wisdom, kind words and
selfless acts of kindness are rou
tinely brought up when people
speak of Blevins.
“Given the fact he lived in
Submitted photo
Art Blevins
the neighborhood I grew up in,
we were around each other a
lot,” said Ameer Watkins, who
was coached by Blevins at the
South Fork Community Center.
“He was just the kind of person
with a wealth of knowledge and
was willing to give it to you at
any time.
“He would pick us up, drop
us off and even feed us. When
I got to high school, he used to
stick my newspaper clippings
in my mailbox and tell us how
proud of us he was. As a high
school coach, now I see, looking
back, that’s the type of person
you want your kids to be intro
duced to before they get to you
on the next level.”
Watkins said it touched him
when he heard Blevins had can
cer due to the fact he lost his
mother at a young age to the
disease. He said Blevins was al
ways a fighter and was hopeful
he would pull through, but once
he heard of Blevins’ passing,
he had to take a few minutes to
compose himself at work.
Even a brief encounter with
Blevins would leave a lasting
impression. Jamaal Fowler, a
Winston-Salem native, says he
met Blevins on a few occasions
and could see immediately why
he was so beloved by the com
munity.
“He was always nice and
always had great things to say
about everyone,” said Fowler.
“When he came to games, he al
ways supported whichever team
that was playing. Even when
they messed up, he still kept en
couraging them. 1 never heard
him say a negative word about
anyone and in today’s climate
you will not find too many peo
ple like that. It’s not just Win
ston-Salem, but the world lost a
great one.”
Blevins was not only well re
spected by the kids he coached,
but also by his peers. Ben Pig
gott, former senior supervisor at
the Carl H. Russell Sr. Commu
nity Center, worked closely with
Blevins for nearly four decades
and had nothing but high praise
for Blevins.
“Art loved children and he
never looked at it as a job, it was
a ministry for him,” said Piggott.
“We always talked about the kids
and what we could do to improve
the life of a child.”
Piggott and Blevins retired
around the same time and stayed
in touch through phone calls and
text messages.
“Art will always be in my
heart for the rest of my life,” Pig
gott continued. “When I heard
that he passed, I was driving and
I had to pull over on the side of
the road, because it hit me hard.
Art loved people and he will al
ways be missed. I am just really
glad he was able to see the gym
named after him. Art Blevins
will always be an icon and a
great role model.
“He will always be my broth
er and he will always live within
me, because we related so much
together. I just thank God he was
my brother and it was an honor
and a pleasure to walk down that
aisle with Art when we retired
together, but Art’s spirit is still
here.”
Prepare now to vote in November
Here’s a must-do list to prepare for the election
BY HOWARD PEARRE
You’ve heard it over
and over: make sure you
vote on November 3! But
voting is not just a one-
day deal. There’s work to
do now to get ready. Here
are a few items for every
voter’s to-do list:
1. Check the N.C. State
Board of Elections web-
site, NCSBE.gov, to make
sure you are “Active” and
that your address is cor
rect. (Find VOTER/AB-
SENTEE LOOKUP under
VOTER TOOLS.) If you
have moved since the last
election, even across the
street, you may have a new
assigned polling place and
www.wschronicle.com
your ballot will be differ
ent from the one you would
have had at your previous
address. If you show up at
the voting place for your
new address but haven’t
updated your registration,
you will be asked to cast a
provisional ballot.
To look yourself up in
the Board of Elections’ da
tabase, you can go to the
NCSBE website, as above,
or Google search NC
VOTER LOOKUP, click
on VOTER SEARCH,
enter your first and last
names, click SEARCH,
and click on the name and
address that matches your
information. This will take
you to a page with your
personal voter information
including your stams as
ACTIVE or INACTIVE.
If you are listed as IN
ACTIVE or are not in the
database, you will need
to submit a new NC Voter
Registration Application
to the Board of Elections.
You have several options
how to do this:
*You can obtain an of
ficial Voter Registration
form from the Forsyth
County Board of Elections
office or other source,
complete it with your new
and old addresses, sign it,
and mail, fax, scan email,
or hand carry it to the
Forsyth County Board of
Elections. You must do
this at least 25 days before
Election Day (Oct. 9).
♦If you miss the 25-
day deadline, you can
go to any of the Forsyth
County early voting sites
and complete a Voter Reg
istration form. To update
your registration (or to
register for the first time)
and vote at the same time,
you will need documenta
tion with your name and
new address such as your
driver’s license, a utility
bill, or bank statement.
*If you have an N.C.
driver’s license, you can
use the Division of Motor
Vehicles website to update
your voter registration
or even register for the
first time. Google search
REGISTER TO VOTE
NC ONLINE, click OF
FICIAL NCDMV VOTER
REGISTRATION APPLI-
CATION-NCDOT, and
follow the links to use this
free service.
*If you can’t use any
of the above methods to
update your registration,
you can send a letter to the
county Board of Elections
advising them of your new
and old address. Be sure to
sign the letter and include
your phone number so an
election’s official can call
you if there are any ques
tions.
2. Learn where the
early-voting sites will be.
During early voting from
Oct. 15 through Oct. 31,
you can vote at any early-
voting site in the county
regardless of your assigned
polling place. The Forsyth
County Board’s plan is for
17 sites for the November
General Election. If the
State Board of Elections
approves the plan, early-
voting sites will be open
from 8 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.
weekdays; 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
on two Saturdays, Oct. 17
and Oct. 24; 9 a.m. to 3
p.m. on Samrday, Oct. 31;
and 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. on two
Sundays, Oct. 18 and 25.
3. Review a sample
ballot to become knowl
edgeable of the candidates
in the races. Google search
NC VOTER LOOKUP
and follow the same steps
noted above to find your
personal voter informa
tion. Click on SAMPLE
BALLOTS that will indi
cate candidates for races in
your specific precinct.
4. Don’t ignore the
“down ballot” candidates.
Get to know ALL of the
candidates in order make
smart choices according
to your values and inter
ests. While the major me
dia outlets will provide
See Voting on A3