2020 Hometown Heroes
The Decatur City Commission gave out 10 Hometown Hero awards and a special group award at the December DBA Virtual Holiday party. They include Jack Amick, Norman Butler, Joe Engert, Shelly Fine, Kay Lee, Daxton Pettus, Genesis Reddicks, Dr. Doug Taunton, Jennifer Walcott, Lauryn Williams; and the Executive Board and Founders of the Beacon Hill Black Alliance for Human Rights- Executive board: Mawuli Davis (Co-Chair), Fonta High (Co-Chair), Paul McLennan (Secretary), Ingra Myrick (Treasurer), Phil Cuffey, Robert Jeffrey, Tammy Washington (Members at-large), Daxton Pettus (Youth Representative), Kunle Oguneye (Education Chair). Founding members: Mawuli Davis, Jana Johnson-Davis, Mayor Emerita Elizabeth Wilson, Kelli and Arlo Pitman, Leslie Munson, Tasha White, Kenneth White, Chenika and Robert Jeffery, Laverne and Kevin Ware, Ingra and Antonio Myrick, Erika and Malcome Wells.
Jack Amick
Nominated by Gregory White
Jack Amick is considered the work horse of the Legacy Park Cross Country Trail. His son Sam was a runner for Decatur High School for four years and Jack would often volunteer. After Sam graduated, Jack still supported the team as a volunteer coach to work with other Bulldog runners.
The running community was excited when Decatur purchased Legacy Park. Active Living staff, Athletic Director, Cross Country Coaches and volunteers discussed the possibility of cross country using the facility to practice and one day host meets. Jack’s engine ran full steam ahead. He created a map of a potential cross country trail and shared what work needed to be done.
Jack took the initiative to begin creating the trail. He treated poison ivy and ant mounds, cleared paths, protected vegetation and marked and mapped the course. He spent approximately 800-1,000 hours creating the course. His dedication and hard work has been vital in making Legacy Park one of the top cross country trails in the metro area. He helped create a course that is a 1.6 miles loop (2 loops make a 5k course) that goes through fields and wooded areas. The course can easily be made longer or shorter.
DHS Cross Team now has a place to practice daily and host meets. In Fall of 2019 Jack prepared for the First Annual Eddie Fowlkes Invitational. This year, with so many unknowns due to the pandemic, Jack works with his mask on. He envisioned that, once athletics could resume in 2020, they would hold two home meets and host the Region Cross Country meet. He was instrumental in DHS hosting two meets in October at Legacy Park.
In late October, Jack prepared the site for the Region Cross Country Trail. 200 runners, boys and girls, blazed the trial for a historic moment in Decatur. The Decatur Boys were crowned 2020 Region Champs and Decatur Girls finished second in the region meet. The space now serves the school system, community runners, bikers, walkers and dog walkers. All are able to enjoy the beauty of Legacy Park and the space Jack transformed.
Norman Butler
Nominated by Paul Mitchell, Mark Sanders, and Lee Ann Harvey
Norman Butler is a longtime volunteer with the Martin Luther King Jr. Service Project, a volunteer program that provides free home repairs and yard work for older residents of Decatur. He was recruited as a volunteer by a friend who lives in Decatur, even though he does not live here.
He has been part of the Project’s leadership team for several years and participates in monthly planning meetings throughout the year. Although the 2021 Project was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there continues to be monthly planning, especially since longtime Project Chair Paul Mitchell is in the process of stepping down. Norman and the rest of the leadership team have been busy recruiting volunteers to not only join the board, but also to expand the number of volunteers on the board.
Norman has now volunteered with the Project for 10 years. His home repair expertise and strong leadership skills have made him invaluable. Initially, he volunteered as a House Captain, supervising repairs done by volunteers over the Project weekend. He later became a Zone Coordinator, overseeing work being done by multiple teams of volunteers while also jumping in to make repairs himself. His sense of humor has helped to lighten the mood and create a sense of fun to the work that is being done.
Norman has been invaluable in helping with the Project’s logistics. He takes a week off from his job every year to help with picking up and organizing tools and other supplies, as well as a myriad of other tasks that need to be completed before the Project begins and again at the end. He has made a big difference in the lives of our older residents in Decatur. He not only has done so much work for them over the years, he has also gotten to know so many of them as the wonderful, unique individuals that they are. It says so much about his character and compassion that he has spent so many years providing this help while not even living in the City of Decatur.
Joe Engert
Nominated by Cheryl Burnette and Gregory White
We would like to nominate Joe Engert, owner of Chick-fil-a in downtown Decatur, as a 2020 Hometown Hero.
During the summer of 2020, USDA supplied lunches to the Ebster children for the month of June, but not July. Joe stepped in and donated 60 chicken sandwiches and bottled water daily for the children. Some days he was even able to stay and help to distribute the lunches.
This is not the first time that Joe has helped out by donating food. Joe has supported the Mike Glenn Hard of Hearing Basketball Camp held in Decatur by providing dinner to the team on Tuesday night of camp week for the last three years. Joe has also supported the Mike Glenn African American Exhibit at the Decatur Library by providing food for opening night. Touch a Truck also benefits from his generosity; he provides breakfast sandwiches, juice and coffee for the workers that bring their vehicles to the event.
Joe also donates 200 Chick-fil-a sandwiches every year to feed volunteers with the Decatur Martin Luther King Jr. Service Project. This is a three-day weekend event over the King Holiday to do home repairs and yard work for senior citizens. Many volunteers specifically sign up to participate on “CFA Saturday.”
Joe is huge supporter of many community projects throughout Decatur and enjoys being behind the scenes. He doesn’t do it for recognition, he just likes to give back!
Shelly Fine
Nominated by Ellen Gallow
Shelly Fine, along with Rob Johnson, began “A Home for Everyone in DeKalb” in August 2017 (https://www.ahomeforeveryoneindekalb.org/about). Its goal is to promote permanent housing solutions by expanding the options of affordable housing in DeKalb County and providing financial assistance to those in need of housing. It also attends to the immediate needs of people who are un-housed.
Seeing a lack of cold weather emergency housing in the county, “A Home” organized freeze shelters at two churches the winter of 2019. It was later consolidated into one shelter at Decatur First United Methodist Church for the winter of 2019-2020. November through March, on nights that were 35 degrees or below, 20 men, women, and children were offered a blow up mattress, a shower, and a warm meal. This year, 2020-21, the pandemic has interfered with operating a freeze shelter (primarily because shelter operation depends heavily on volunteers). “A Home” plans to help people who are un-housed on cold nights by providing MARTA cards to freeze shelters in Atlanta, motel assistance to families, blankets and sleeping bags to those unable to find shelter, and gift cards to restaurants or sack meals.
In March of 2020 the COVID 19 pandemic caused Decatur’s churches to close their offices. Holy Trinity Episcopal, Decatur Presbyterian, and First Baptist Church of Decatur had provided bag lunches to people who were homeless and/or hungry. Once offices closed, it was difficult to get food to those in need. Shelly Fine, along with Jen Walcott, responded by creating “Neighbor Helping Neighbor,” a lunch distribution program in front of the Decatur Public Library (and, later, the Presbyterian church). Seven days a week, rain or shine, Shelly and Jen make sure that those who need a lunch get one. Lunches are provided by those churches and a large network of volunteers that Shelly and Jen have cultivated.
On average they serve approximately 20 lunches/day, but at times during the pandemic they have served as many as 40 lunches/day. In addition they have provided masks, hand sanitizer, and other hygiene supplies. They also provide friendly support and helpful information about services. Shelly has worked with tireless devotion, so the neediest in Decatur are not left behind. Her leadership in organizing “A Home,” and her hands on management of the freeze shelters, and her tireless support of and advocacy for people who are homeless on the streets of Decatur, I believe Shelly Fine deserves to be recognized as a Hometown Hero.
Kay Lee
Nominated by Erin Braden
Since Kay took over as President of the Glennwood Estates Neighborhood Association in February of this year, she has transformed the role and our neighborhood. After holding one in-person neighborhood meeting, the Covid pandemic shut down much of our community. Since then Kay has done an amazing job of bringing our neighborhood together, safely engaging new neighbors and creating connections and goodwill in the midst of the pandemic.
Kay has brought creative ideas and worked with neighbors to find new ways of being in community. In May, she created a new event called “Art-In-The-Yard” which turned our neighborhood into an outdoor art gallery and musical venue. Neighbors strolled around the neighborhood and enjoyed art while practicing safe distancing. Dozens of neighbors displayed their created and collected art in their front yards: paintings, pencil and chalk drawings, photography, ceramics, gardening, tapestry, and more. Contributing artists ranged in age from 3 to 60+. Musical artists enhanced the visual artwork. Artists and strollers alike were uplifted and felt more connected to their neighbors through this community experience.
On the evening of June 19, dozens of neighbors in the Glennwood Estates neighborhood commemorated Juneteenth for the first time. Nine neighbors, ages 9 to 60-plus, read portions of the Emancipation Proclamation taken from the National Archives. Donations were collected for Black Lives Matter Atlanta and the NAACP Legal and Education Fund. It was an inspiring opportunity to unify the community and to recognize Juneteenth as an essential American holiday.
This fall, Kay collaborated with the Glenn Creek Nature Preserve to create neighborhood work days to take care of the preserve and honor Indigenous Peoples Day. For Halloween, she led the neighborhood in creating new, safe ways to celebrate the holiday. There was a wildly popular Halloween Treat Tossing Drive-by Parade with decorated cars, Halloween Yard Decoration Contest, and Pumpkin Illumination Nights. She has engaged young artists in the neighborhood to design neighborhood signs, including a fanciful sign for houses to opt-out of Halloween trick or treating.
Kay’s dedication, hard work, and creativity have made such a positive difference in our neighborhood. She has demonstrated the kind of Hometown Hero commitment to Decatur that makes us all proud to call Decatur home.
Daxton Pettus
Nominated by Wesley Hatfield, Assistant Principal, Decatur High School
As long as I have known Dax, he has been a champion for the rights of his fellow students. He was instrumental in the formation of the advocacy committee of the Black Student Union at Decatur High School and he is the key to its continued growth. He has also masterfully used his influence within this and other local community advocacy groups to make real change in Decatur. Dax has been a key student leader in marches against the confederate monument going back years and his continued persistence ultimately led to its removal.
Genesis Reddicks
Nominated by Jessica Sturm, Assistant Principal, Decatur High School
It is with great pleasure that I write this letter to nominate 12th grader at Decatur High School, Genesis Reddicks for the Hometown Hero award. My relationship with Genesis began six years ago when she was in my 7th-grade Social Studies class at Renfroe Middle School. Even after she left Renfroe and transitioned to Decatur High School, we stayed in touch. Today, I am writing this letter as her Assistant Principal at Decatur High School. It has been an honor to see her grow and mature over the years.
I cannot think of one other person who has made Decatur a better place than her. In order to truly make some place better, you have to be involved in all aspects of the community. Genesis makes our entire school system better, not just the high school. She is the Founder and Mentor for the RMS Journalism Club, encouraging her younger peers to get involved in an area she has much expertise. She not only sees how to better herself, but how to grow other leaders, specifically giving students a voice.
Genesis not only contributes directly to DHS and our school system, but directly to the community. She has volunteered and worked with our community gardens and specific organizations in the community. A current role/task she has in the community is the Student Organizer of the Indigenous People’s Day Protest, which focused on the removal of the Genocide cannon. In relation to this work she is the Student leader for the Arts for the People, a campaign to replace hateful monuments and relics with arts created by artists of color, once again, giving artists of color a voice.
Genesis is a fighter and a leader. She listens to her community and uses her voice as a voice for the voiceless. She wants her community to be a better place than when she left it and she is here for ALL people. She is creative and a hard worker, evidenced by her pieces in Carpe Diem, our school magazine, as well as having her own business (at the age of 17!). She empowers those around her to join in bettering the community. And if you need evidence of her bravery, checkout her article about racism written in Carpe Diem. She opened the eyes and ears of the community in one article.
When/if I have a daughter one day, I want her to be as brave and courageous as Genesis. I am confident that one day, we will watch Oprah or some other celebrity interview Genesis regarding her activism work. She is someone we will be talking about in this community well after she graduates.
If you want to have Decatur represented by a true Hometown Hero, Genesis Reddicks is your pick & she is my hero.
Dr. Doug Taunton
Nominated by Adele McKee
It gives me great pleasure to nominate Dr. Doug Taunton, Pharmacist. As a native of Decatur for many years I remember his uncle, Bill McKinney, who founded McKinney’s Apothecary in 1952. Doug came to work for Bill as a student in 1968 and took ownership of the business in 1978. The atmosphere of McKinney’s was a picture of friendliness and of the customer being welcomed. It was the personality of founder Bill McKinney to greet people and make them feel glad they had come there. He would greet customers by name, ask about the family, and chat while efficiently and quickly getting the prescription order together, or he would deliver the medicine for a small added amount.
Doug Taunton has the same welcoming spirit and personal relationships with his customers. Service with a smile has never been more apparent. From McKinney’s website: “His love for community and the desire to serve people has helped McKinney’s remain a fixed symbol of patient care in Decatur” and for Decatur. The website further states, “It is our goal to provide fast and accurate prescription filling, extensive patient counseling, and a professional atmosphere for patients living in and around Decatur. We strive to deliver a level of care that no chain pharmacy can match.” Doug’s competency as a guiding medical professional cannot be beat, and this gives patients comfort to have quality advice at all times.
The logo of this drugstore on their paper bags says, “Locally owned. Locally
loved.” That speaks well to how people in Decatur feel about their drugstore. Doug Taunton gets much credit for it. He has surely earned the designation of “Hometown Hero.”
Jennifer Walcott
Nominated by Reagan Horack Koski
Jennifer Walcott (Jen) currently volunteers with two important organizations, EVERY SINGLE DAY: A Home for Everyone in DeKalb, a collaborative initiative on homelessness AND Decatur’s Parent Network, through Decatur High School PTSA.
In the last three years, Jen threw herself into volunteering with the newly conceived idea, Decatur Parent Network, through Decatur High School PTSA. Jen’s been on its leadership team since conception. DPN has come a long way. Through her work at Georgia State, she regularly arranges for PhD guest speakers to present to parents about addiction, drinking, risky behavior and more. She promotes programming through social outlets to all parents throughout Decatur, including Renfroe Middle School. With Covid-19 eliminating in person programs, she works hard to make virtual programming possible.
Pre Covid-19, Jen would see the homeless on the way to work. She began making toiletry bags with snacks and passing them out. She’d promote making them on Facebook and local Girl Scout troops, friends, and others made bags and dropped them at her house. She’d pass them out daily, including socks and gloves in the winter. A few years ago, she began volunteering with A Home for Everyone in DeKalb, a collaborative initiative on homelessness. She delivered sack lunches during her lunch hour.
She became so involved with each person. She spent weekends taking folks to job interviews, or to get their drivers license for proper ID for jobs, lending her laptop so they could apply for new social security cards to be mailed to the shelter address. Then COVID-19 hit. Now she is feeding the homeless sack lunches every day. People far and wide in Decatur and DeKalb make lunches and she delivers them to the homeless in need all over the City of Decatur and DeKalb. They love her. She finds clothes for them to interview in. She helps them become the person they want to be. She treats them like a person and considers many a friend. She is one of the most selfless humans I know.
Lauryn Williams
Nominated by Lee Ann Harvey
In September of 2019, Lauryn Williams sent me an email that said: “I am junior at Decatur High School. I am highly interested in volunteering to serve as youth coordinator for the MLK day activities in order to recruit high school students to volunteer. I strive to be involved within the community as I recently interned at the Legal Aid Society in the City of Decatur, and I am an active member of the high School’s Mock Trial team.” I was thrilled not only to have a youth coordinator for the project, but also was impressed that she took the initiative on her own to come up with the idea and contact me.
Once she got started on recruitment, she proactively gave me regular progress reports. Lauryn came up with a good strategy of reaching out to a number of DHS clubs to recruit them to volunteer. She scheduled meetings with club sponsors to present the opportunity to them. She made it a point to bring waiver forms with her to meetings.
In January of 2020, she scheduled a school-wide email to be sent out to remind students to complete their waivers and have them signed by a parent/guardian. She also emailed the teacher sponsors of various clubs to ask them to help collect signed waivers. She worked at all three days of the Project, so she could be there for each of the five volunteer sign in shifts, so the students turned in their waivers.
At the end of the Project, Lauryn gave me a report on the student groups that had signed up with her to volunteer. There was also a significant number of students who were not affiliated with a school group that individually volunteered. I saw how much she embraced the work we were doing and how integral she and the other students were to its success.
I am also very proud of her for becoming a member of the Decatur Youth Council this year. I can’t wait to hear about what Lauryn will be involved with next. Whatever she chooses to do in the future, I know that she will make a difference!
Special Group Award: Executive Board and Founders of the Beacon Hill Black Alliance for Human Rights
Executive board:
Co-Chairs: Mawuli Davis and Fonta High
Secretary: Paul McLennan
Treasurer: Ingra Myrick
Members at-large: Phil Cuffey, Robert Jeffrey, Tammy Washington
Youth Representative: Daxton Pettus
Education Chair: Kunle Oguneye
Founding members:
Mawuli Davis
Jana Johnson-Davis
Mayor Emerita Elizabeth Wilson
Kelli and Arlo Pitman
Leslie Munson
Tasha White
Kenneth White
Chenika and Robert Jeffery
Laverne and Kevin Ware
Ingra and Antonio Myrick
Erika and Malcome Wells
Nominated by: Erin Braden & Sarah Hagenbush Jones
The leaders of the Beacon Hill Black Alliance for Human Rights have been instrumental in creating a more equitable, just community in Decatur. Beacon Hill “empowers, advocates, educates, and organizes people of African descent affected by systemic racism and oppression on issues of equity in education, housing, and the legal system in the City of Decatur and surrounding communities.” The members of Beacon Hill have been hard at work doing just that since forming in 2015. It may be unusual to nominate a group of people for Hometown Hero, but it seemed impossible to narrow it to just one or two. All of these community leaders have inspired our youth and fellow citizens to make positive change.
Beacon Hill has worked tirelessly to advocate and educate on equity issues in our community. They have several hard-working committees which have made great progress addressing equity issues, disparities in disciplinary outcomes, and the achievement gap in the City Schools of Decatur. They advocate for the need for affordable and accessible housing, working with other community groups to advance support for effective housing policies. Beacon Hill fought for the removal of the monument to white supremacy in the Decatur square. It was an inspiring and moving moment to see this hateful monument come down during a time when we are all facing nation's past and unequal present. In addition, Beacon Hill lifts up and supports youth, always making sure to follow their lead and support youth organizations including the DHS Black Student Union, Teens in Action, and the Interfaith Children’s Movement.
Beacon Hill has worked tirelessly to push Decatur and City Schools of Decatur towards a more open dialogue for racial justice and racial equality. We are grateful for their hard work and dedication as they bring awareness to important issues that affect all of our city. This group of leaders has inspired and encouraged so many to engage in this important work. The Decatur community is stronger and better for the work of these dedicated volunteers. They are truly Decatur Hometown Heroes.
