This is the second in a series of articles about the 2007 Best of Reston Award winners.
<bt>Role models surrounded Wendell Byrd when he was growing up in Falls Church. They were on the playgrounds, in schools and in churches. Their impact on his upbringing led to a 31-year teaching, coaching and mentoring career, which is not over yet.
"Sometimes when you have great role models, you want to be like them," said 53-year-old Byrd. He grew up in a two-bedroom house in Falls Church, with hardworking parents and a brother who is seven years older than him. Byrd is a product of the first generation to attend racially integrated schools in Virginia, as he did from fifth grade on. Byrd attended George Mason High School, where he was a hall of fame football player. "I grew up in a neighborhood where everyone knew everyone. It was a strong neighborhood," said Byrd. "It was kind of hard not to fall in love with sports on that street. We were always outside, always running," he said. He then went to York College in Pennsylvania where he played basketball, met his future wife and decided he wanted to spend his career working with children.
Throughout his career, Byrd put himself in a position to be a role model. Last year he retired after 31 years of teaching second graders at Hutchison Elementary School in Herndon. He is currently in his 22nd year, his last year, as a head coach of the South Lakes High School varsity basketball team, and 30th year of coaching at South Lakes overall.
Also, Byrd's non-profit organization Readers Are Leaders is in its fourth year of existence. It is a mentoring reading program in which high school students read, and provide mentorship, to elementary school students. The program started with Byrd's players from South Lakes reading to students at Terraset Elementary School, but grew to be affiliated with six high schools, eight elementary schools and the Community Recreation Services. Byrd said the program does more than provide immediate mentorship for elementary school kids. It also helps the mentors learn the trade. "Student athletes in any community are looked upon [as mentors], and they should give back," said Byrd.
AS A TEACHER or a coach, Byrd always did his best to point his students in the right direction. The director of student activities at South Lakes, Linda Jones, said that was one of his life goals and achievements. "You just sense that, you know he puts kids first," she said. Jones has been at South Lakes for 17 years, and met Byrd in 1990 when she became his counterpart, a girls basketball coach at the high school.
"He has always been a great mentor to whoever he works with," said Jones. She added that she learned from Byrd how to deal with kids and how to deal with different situations that may arise. "He is very intense and always very positive," added Jones.
Aside from his first-hand efforts in providing a guiding hand to children of all ages through teaching, or coaching teams and camps, Byrd also represented children's interests in his roles as a community advocate. As a member of the YMCA Board of Management, Byrd made sure the youth benefited from YMCA's programs as well as the adults.
Karen Cleveland, YMCA Board member at the same time as Byrd, said he could easily bridge the gap between the adults and the teens at YMCA. "He is insightful and very thoughtful. His words are very well-chosen, so he doesn't have to talk a lot. When he does talk, you know that it comes from experience," said Cleveland about Byrd.
EVEN THOUGH CHILDREN these days, for the most part, do not live on the streets where they play the entire day, they still get opportunities to meet mentors. "Today everyone is in such a hurry that it is not the same flavor, but there are still after-school programs and different coaches, so the students are still receiving the support that I did," said Byrd.
While Byrd dedicated his life to mentoring all children, the 1990 Disney Teacher Award recipient and his wife of 28 years, Joanie, have raised two children of their own. Jason, 27, graduated from South Lakes where he played for his father. He is currently an assistant school master in North Carolina. His daughter Britney, 18, graduated from South Lakes last year, where she was a cheerleader. She is attending Elon University in North Carolina.
Byrd said he was elated to find out he was a recipient of the Best of Reston Award. "It's such a prestigious award, and to be among such an elite group of organizations and individuals," said Byrd.
Cleveland said she was thrilled that Byrd was named the Best of Reston Award recipient, and that she could not think of anyone more deserving of the award. "South Lakes will miss him [when he retires], but I'm sure he will still be a part of our community," said Cleveland.
Although Byrd is retiring from high school coaching after this season, he is entertaining thoughts of coaching at a higher level. "It is not a large concern," he said. "I am still doing some worthy things, still touching young people's lives."