Inside A5 Resident overjoyed by birthday parade held in her honor
Powhatan, Virginia
B1 For girls tennis, Powhatan’s seniors were leaders on the court
Vol. XXXIII No. o. 47
May 27, 2020
BSH honors top students of 2020 By Laura McFarland News Editor
P
OWHATAN – James Hawkins and Raymond Avery lead the 2020 Class of Blessed Sacrament Huguenot Catholic School as valedictorian and salutatorian, respectively, with grade point averages of 4.318 and 4.2. Hawkins is the son of Steve and Cindy Hawkins of Powhatan. He plans to attend the University of Virginia but is currently undecided on his major. Hawkins said that being able to attend high school at Blessed Sacrament has been very impactful for him. They have been so supportive that it feels like he has a second family at school, which made being
named valedictorian even more special. “At BSH, everyone truly cares about your well-being as well as your academics. I am very honored to have been able to receive this award. I am very thankful for my family, friends, and all of the faculty and staff at BSH for helping me to get this point in my academic career. I am very eager to attend the University of Virginia next year but I will not forget all of the memories created at BSH,” he said. During his time at BSH, Hawkins served as president of the National Honor Society, a position he still holds, as well as being class president since the sixth grade. He is a member of the National Latin Honor Society and has been a member of
the Latin Club for multiple years. He has been very involved with athletics as a member of the varsity soccer team, varsity football team, and varsity basketball team. He was also the editor-in-chief for Blessed Sacrament’s yearbook this year. Outside of school, he has been a youth soccer referee for the past six years and a soccer player for the Richmond Strikers Soccer Club for the past three years. He also served as a volunteer coach for Own the Goal Elite Goalkeeper Training and has volunteered at various times for the Special Olympics, Backpacks of Love, and Veteran’s Hospital. Avery is the son of Ray and Susan Avery of Powhatan. He will attend Virginia Tech and
focus on university studies. Even though his senior year was cut short, Avery said he feels “incredibly blessed to have been able to attend BSH for as long as I have, and I am very grateful for the friendships and memories I made along the way.” While at Blessed Sacrament, he was the National Honor Society vice president, a member of the National Latin Honor Society, varsity basketball captain, and a member of Latin Club. Outside of school, he was a Sunday school teacher at Passion Community Church, went on a mission trip to Belize in 2019, and participated in the Powhatan 4-H Shooting Club. Laura McFarland may be reached at Lmcfarland@powhatantoday.com.
Hawkins
Avery
“In a time where many of us have felt isolated and depressed it has given us something to look forward to as well as the joy of blessing other beautiful women.” Powhatan resident Wendy Meadows
A dusting of
LOVE
CONTRIBUTED PHOTOS
Prsrt. Standard U.S. POSTAGE PAID Powhatan, VA Permit No.19
Above, Regan (left) and Charlotte Wilkes help their mom, Jessie, spread some cheer; Right, Jessie Wilkes created the Powhatan Sisterhood of the Traveling Spirits and Treats Facebook group to help brighten the day of local women and build community spirit.
Local “fairies” helping spread joy through secret gifting program
By Laura McFarland
DELIVER TO: Postal Patron Powhatan, VA 23139
Editor
POWHATAN – A dusting of kindness and neighborliness have been sprinkled over Powhatan County the last few weeks courtesy of some friendly “fairies.” Powhatan Sisterhood of the Traveling Spirits and Treats is a private Facebook group started by Jessie Wilkes to bring a little cheer to the women in her county. The concept was simple – put a neighborly spin to the childhood game of ding-dong ditch by secretly placing a gift bag filled with goodies outside an-
other Powhatan woman’s door. They refer to themselves as fairy sisters, and when they drop off goodies to friends or strangers, it is called a “dusting.” Wilkes had seen a similar group with members all over Virginia but didn’t notice any other Powhatan members. Knowing there had to be some women in the county who could use that pick me up, she decided to start a local group. “It is hard because everybody is feeling the isolation right now. I just really wanted to spread some love and find something to do with my time that would make me feel happy,” she said.
“So, I decided why not do this in just Powhatan?” Wilkes started the group on May 2 by inviting a handful of local moms from one of her Facebook groups. They started inviting friends, and by the next day they had 100 people in the group. The day after that, it was up to 300 women. Within a week, they were almost at 900 and she and two other women who stepped up to be group administrators realized they needed to slow it down a little to make sure women weren’t being lost in the shuffle because it was growing too fast. see Dusting, pg. 3
Effort helps brighten lives of area seniors By Laura McFarland Editor
POWHATAN – When the envelope arrived in the mail addressed to her, Mary Eggleston had no idea who had sent it. Opening it up, she pulled out a colorful hand drawn picture of a hamster named Harry Potter. With the picture was a letter from a 10-year-old girl named Charlotte that Eggleston had never met telling her a little about herself and her hamster. Holding the letter in her hand, Eggleston said she couldn’t help smiling. “I said wow isn’t that sweet. I never have gotten anything like this. It really made my day. I was trying to tell everybody ‘I must be special,” said Eggleston, CONTRIBUTED PHOTO 82, of Powhatan. Three of the five Whittington children are writing letters to Powhatan Eggleston and several other seniors in see Grandpals, pg. 4
seniors as part of the Grandpals program started by the department of social services.