When the personal injury law firm of Allen, Allen, Allen & Allen hit 100 years old in 2010 the local business felt it was time to celebrate. Instead of baking a birthday cake and hanging streamers, the partners decided to focus on the community. The idea for an annual Hometown Heroes award was born, a campaign that continues today.
“We are thankful for the people who make up the communities we serve and for the everyday heroes who make Virginia a great place to live,” says Courtney Allen Van Winkle, Partner at Allen and Allen.
To celebrate the local citizens making Greater Richmond a better place, Allen and Allen asked Virginians to nominate 100 hometown heroes in honor of its 100 years in business. The community support was overwhelming, prompting the firm to turn the heroes award into an annual event.
The selected Hometown Heroes in the past have represented teachers, firemen, doctors, foster parents, disability advocates, and neighborhood role models. The firm says that the individuals selected for the award represent the many unique and inspiring stories of giving, either on a large scale or through small, everyday acts of kindness.
Previous winners of the award include McClellan Jerry Bagby who was nominated by his daughter for creating an annual picnic, called MOTIV8S Citywide Recognition Day. Once homeless, Bagby brings three hundred residents together each year for entertainment, giveaways, and educational speakers. He has also created MOTIV8S non-profit to promote positive lifestyles, and he volunteers regularly at probation offices, hospitals, homeless shelters, and churches.
Other winners from last year include Katie Goodman of Ashland. At 11-years-old she set out to feed 1,100 people in one year. To accomplish her goal Goodman collected canned food donations, arranged Plant a Row for the Hungry campaigns in Hanover County, and created a drop-off site at the Ashland Feed Store for people to leave vegetables for the Central Virginia Food Bank. Today she speaks regularly to organizations about giving and strives to find new ways to get others involved in serving those in need.
Inspired by the good deeds from previous years, Allen and Allen has once again asked Richmonders to let others know about local heroes making a difference in the lives of those around them as part of the firm’s annual award. As a way to celebrate Virginians doing good things for others, Allen and Allen requested award nominations throughout the spring of 2012, with winners announced in late June.
Once this year’s crop of heroes are made public, the firm will kick off a series celebratory summer events throughout the Commonwealth, like Innsbrook After Hours and Fridays After Five in Charlottesville. “We’ve witnessed firsthand the everyday heroism found in our community and want to say thank you,” says R. Clayton Allen, Partner at Allen and Allen. “We welcome the community to join us in celebrating the local heroes in their community.”