Stars shine at Henrico PAL banquet

Officially, at least, Miles Brown was the star of the Henrico Police Athletic League Oct. 13 awards banquet.

Best known for his role as Jack Johnson on Black-ish, Brown kicked off the annual PAL event with a keynote speech describing his career and his history as a "PAL kid."

At the age of four, Brown joined his local PAL in Oxnard, California and was part of the basketball and dance teams (where he was tagged with the nickname Baby Bugaloo), featured on the "Ellen Degeneres Show," and eventually went on to become a semifinalist on "America's Got Talent" and "Dancing with the Stars: Juniors."

As Brown told the banquet audience, those early experiences as a performer gave him the confidence to grow and to pursue interests in basketball, journalism and music. He became the youngest member of the NBA's Junior Leadership Council, and had a chance to interview several greats of the game.

"Who would've thought a kid from Oxnard," he mused, clearly savoring the memory, "would be interviewing LeBron, Stephen Curry or Kareem Abdul-Jabbar?"

In 2020, Brown released his debut rap album, with the goal of using his platform to speak for youth, give them a voice and help them dream big.

All that and more, while Brown has maintained a 4.0 average into his senior year of high school – and has yet to reach his 18th birthday.

Youth, community leaders honored

As with all PAL awards banquets, however, even celebrities like Brown have to share the spotlight with the actual stars of the show: the youth and community leaders honored for their service and excellence. This year, award winners included HPAL Volunteer of the Year Sandra Williams, Board Member of the Year Dennis Bickmeier, and Youth of the Year Diamon Johnson.

Along with Christon Smith, Diamon Johnson was also awarded a college scholarship.

Johnson, who has been with PAL since she was six years old, received the college scholarship award named for TyVaughn Eldridge.

Henrico PAL's first Youth of the Year winner, Eldridge went on to continue his involvement with PAL as an alumnus, and was the subject of a 2015 Citizen story featuring his work as a summer camp counselor. After college, Eldridge was training to be a Chesterfield firefighter when, tragically, he collapsed and died in 2021.

'Needed more than ever'
Executive director Kenny Ragland wrapped up the evening with a reminder that, in June, Henrico County gifted PAL with the keys to the Hartman Street building that formerly housed the Math-Science Center – and that soon will become PAL's new home.

Next year's banquet, Ragland said, will serve as a fundraiser in addition to an awards celebration, as PAL kicks off a capital campaign to renovate the building into a multipurpose space that will include such features as a boxing gym, dance studio, STEM lab, and room for after-school programs.

At the June ceremony, Ragland noted that the moment felt "surreal," and that he was delighted to have a permanent home at last for the PAL organization (one that has served more than 40,000 youth since 2007.)

Ragland emphasized that PAL serves some of the county's most vulnerable youth – and that in today's society, that's more important than ever.

"Programs like PAL are needed more than ever . . . particularly [in light of] youth violence and violence in our society overall,” Ragland said. “It takes kids off the street and gives them the support that we all need to be successful citizens.”

It's a sentiment echoed frequently by PAL supporters, including Michael Spear, winner of this year's Police Officer of the Year award.

In his remarks at the banquet, Spear noted that he spends much of his time at PAL helping elementary school students in the after-school program with their homework.

"It's not really work," he said of his role. "It's an investment in the future."

Besides, added Spear, he has too much fun being with the students to call it "work."

"[They'll] tell you I'm the biggest kid out there."

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2021 Henrico PAL Award recipients:Volunteer of the Year: Sandra Williams Youth of the Year: Diamon Johnson Employee of the Year: Whitney Johnson Board Member of the Year: Dennis Bickmeier Police Officer of the Year: Michael Spear College Scholarship Winners: Diamon Johnson & Christon Smith

2021 Henrico PAL Significant Contributor Award recipients:
Cultural Arts Center of Glen Allen
First Tee - Greater Richmond
HCPS - Pupil Transportation
HCPS - Nutrition Services
Henrico County Recreation & Parks
Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP
META
Richmond Strikers
Richmond Volleyball
Tuckahoe Sports Park