Legend Award winner looks to lift up others

By MIKE BOLLINGER

Robin Sanders has spent the majority of his life looking to make others feel better about themselves.

“I’ve always been a people person. I try to always have positive energy that people can feed off of,” he said.

Sanders is a floor tech at UNC Health Johnston, where he has worked for three years. He retired from the Johnston County school division after 33 years and has been a minister for 20 years.

“I think I can somehow feel a person’s spirit. I just know when you’re up and when you’re down,” he said. “I can tell when someone is having a bad day.”

When he knows someone is going through a tough time, Sanders said he tries to sit and talk with them. He said he tries to guide them in the right direction and give the best advice he can. He said he got this trait from his family. “My mom, dad and brothers all have been people persons. They never met a stranger,” he said.

As a minister, Sanders said he is under the leadership of Bishop Terrance Jenkins at Interstate Ministries in Clayton. “During my 20 years as a minister, I’ve always tried to be able to help people and talk to people when they need it,” he said.

Through the church men’s ministry, Sanders has been involved in helping to feed the homeless. Before the pandemic, he said the group would visit homeless people once a month and provide food for them. “We’re trying to get that back to the way it was before the pandemic and get that back going,” he said.

While employed by the school system, he started the choir at South Johnston High School. The choir was a part of his efforts to help mentor young people. “I’ve tried to be involved in children’s lives in elementary and high school,” Sanders said.

Sanders also applies that mentoring and leading to his own family. He and his wife, Yolanda, have five children: sons Brandon and Jarell and daughters Rashonda, Latika and Shakirah. In addition, he and his wife have six grandchildren. “I try to lead by example and show them they can do the same thing,” he said.

Now that he’s working at UNC Health Johnston, he says it is still his mission to be involved in people’s lives when they need it. “I just love giving back. People have helped me down through the years, and I strive to turn that around and give back to others,” he said. “I try to look at life in a different realm. I see a need, and I try to help. Sometimes, you have to put yourself last and put other people first.”

While grateful to be recognized, Sanders said it is not his way to seek the spotlight. “I try to stay behind the scenes. I don’t care about the spotlight. I just do what I do and try to bring joy to people,” he said.

He said he was surprised to learn he would receive the Legend Award. “It’s an honor for someone to see that in you and think that you deserve to be honored in that way. I don’t take it for granted,” Sanders said. “I’m just thankful for the opportunity to be recognized and that someone appreciates what I have done to make an impact in their life.”

Sanders also makes time for one more important task. “I stay busy spoiling my grandchildren,” he said.