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TextHuman Rights Awards to be Presented on May 19
Fairfax County Office of Public
Affairs
12000 Government Center Parkway, Suite 551
Fairfax, VA 22035-0065
703-324-3187, TTY 703-324-2935, FAX 703-324-2010
May 4, 2005
Human Rights Awards to be Presented on May 19
The Fairfax County Human Rights Commission will present its 28th annual Human Rights Awards to four residents, a faith-based non-profit organization and a global business with a local presence on Thursday, May 19, at 6:30 p.m. at the Sheraton Premiere at Tysons Corner, 8661 Leesburg Pike, Vienna. The guest speaker will be Lt. Col. Suzanne G. Devlin, deputy chief of police, Investigations/Operations Support.
The Human Rights Awards recognize outstanding accomplishments in the area of human rights in Fairfax County. Accomplishments may represent a single significant activity or long-term commitment displayed through various activities. The winners are selected from nominees representing three categories: individual residents, nonprofit organizations and businesses.
For more information or tickets for the awards banquet, call the Fairfax County Human Rights Commission at 703-324-2953, TTY 703-324-2900. Tickets are $50 per person and may be paid in advance or at the door. Reservations, however, need to be made by noon on Monday, May 16.
The Human Rights Commission was established in 1974 by the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors to eliminate discrimination on the basis of race, color, sex, religion, national origin, marital status, age or disability, in the areas of employment, housing, public accommodations, credit and education.
The 2004 Human Rights Award recipients in the individual category are:
Ernestine Heastie
Heastie has served as a public conscience to ensure all children,
especially economically disadvantaged children, have an equal opportunity
to flourish in an academic environment. Heastie has been a Head Start
instructor for more than 24 years, and she served as the first Providence
District member on Fairfax County’s elected School Board, also serving as
vice chairman during her second term — a position she held for eight
years. Heastie challenged the school system to increase minority
achievement, to maintain diversity at Thomas Jefferson High School for
Science and Technology and to ensure that a family’s economic condition
would not deter students from attending summer school.
For more than 30 years, Heastie has also worked in a number of volunteer positions and has served as an appointee to several Fairfax County boards, authorities and commissions. She was the chairman of the Fairfax County Child Care Advisory Council, she served on the steering committee for the Fairfax Alliance for Human Services, and she served on the Virginia Council on Child Day Care and Early Childhood Programs. Heastie currently serves as the Providence District representative to the A. Heath Onthank Awards Committee. She is a longtime member of the Fairfax County branch of the NAACP, and in 2003 she received the NAACP Outstanding Leadership Award.
Rev. James Papile
Papile’s unique contribution has been in reaching out to recent
immigrants and assisting them in settling into the community. He served
on the steering committee that planned for the first Anglo-Vietnamese
Episcopal congregation, and Papile was called as vicar of St. Patrick's
Church in Falls Church in 1994. Anglos and Vietnamese now worship
together in one service, which is conducted partly in English, partly in
Vietnamese. Papile made an intentional effort to incorporate people from
the Vietnamese community into leadership positions, including vestry, lay
readers and Sunday school teachers. The congregation lived out the theory
behind the vision: Each culture would be enriched by the other. The
bicultural congregation continues to thrive today. This year, in
conjunction with Reston Interfaith, to build on the existing ESL program,
the congregation began hosting citizenship classes, pairing each
participant with a mentor from the congregation. Papile currently works
at St. Anne’s Church in Reston. He also leads an annual mission trip to
the Dominican Republic.
Paula Prettyman and Kelly
Schlageter
Equality Fairfax began with Prettyman and Schlageter and a clipboard
at Capitol Pride in Washington, D.C. They were searching for gay,
lesbian, bisexual and transgender residents from Fairfax County, which
resulted in the first Equality Fairfax event — a picnic in Nottoway Park
in July 2002. Their hard work and devotion to fostering and building this
new group has created a vibrant organization with 900 gay, lesbian,
bisexual and transgender residents and allies in Fairfax County and the
surrounding communities. At the end of January 2005, Equality Fairfax
called a community meeting to provide an update on the anti-gay
legislation under consideration in the Virginia General Assembly. Fairfax
County Board of Supervisors Chairman Gerald Connolly spoke words of
encouragement to the 250 people gathered, showing how far Equality
Fairfax has come in its brief three-year history. Prettyman also has
appeared before the Board of Supervisors and the Virginia General
Assembly to lobby for Fairfax County’s right to include sexual
orientation in the County’s non-discrimination policy.
The 2004 Human Rights Award recipient in the nonprofit organization category is:
Fairfax Area Christian Emergency &
Transitional Services Inc.
FACETS brings together faith-based communities, caring individuals,
private businesses and public agencies to serve the needs of the
homeless, near-homeless and low-income residents of Fairfax County. The
staff and volunteers offer a continuum of services geared toward
investing disadvantaged people with the dignity, self esteem and skills
they need to improve their futures. FACETS provides shelter to the
homeless and food to the hungry, tutors children and helps them with
their homework, and mentors adults as they progress from welfare to work
and from homelessness to home ownership. Last year, FACETS volunteers
prepared and served more than 40,000 hot meals. The organization was
founded 15 years ago by Linda Wimpy, who serves as its executive
director. Carolyn McGee is president of its board of directors.
The 2004 Human Rights Award recipient in the business category is:
Booz Allen Hamilton
Booz Allen Hamilton was chosen for its extensive contributions to
the Fairfax County community, including efforts to expand job
opportunities for at-risk individuals and those with disabilities. Booz
Allen supports Northern Virginia Family Services’ Training Futures
Program, which targets unemployed and underemployed individuals; provides
scholarships for George C. Marshall High School students who have
overcome significant personal obstacles to graduate; supports George
Mason University's Early Identification Program to encourage and support
first generation college attendees; and created its Emerging Leaders
summer internship program to bring more qualified individuals with
disabilities into the workforce. In addition to ongoing volunteer
efforts, Booz Allen continued its support of Parents, Families and
Friends of Lesbians and Gays in the Washington, D.C. Area by sponsoring
the organization's annual gala in March.
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