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For the 30th annual Spirit of Community Awards, The Honorable William T. Newman, Jr. delivered a powerful keynote address to both attendees and the larger Arlington community.

Earlier today, in a room shining with the full spectrum of the Arlington community - from centenarians to young journalists, local musicians to elected officials, refugees to corporate executives - hundreds gathered for the 30th annual Spirit of Community Awards.

On this occasion of the 30th annual Awards, Arlington Community Foundation's Founder, and the Award’s namesake, The Honorable William T. Newman, Jr., shared some reflections on Arlington at this important time in the evolution of our organization and our community. 

A video of his full remarks will be shared soon, so stay tuned! But in the meantime, we invite you to consider the same challenge that Judge Newman posed to the room today:

"This is why we are called to continue fighting the good fight. It can be easy to rest on our laurels, mostly patting ourselves on the back for how we were in the past: the history of being welcoming... the history of making the bold choice... But what is the value of only having been bold... if that is just a proud history... and not an ongoing commitment?"

Thank you for continuing to be bold with us. If you feel so moved and are able, we invite you to make a gift to our Community Fund which enables us to support long-term solutions and respond quickly to emergencies, and meet the changing social, arts and cultural, educational, health and human services, or environmental needs in our community.

These short videos should make your #FeelGoodFriday easy.

John Foti has been instrumental in ensuring Arlington youth have access to year-round sports facilities, while serving as board member and coach in many local athletics programs. Most recently, John helped establish After School Enrichment Matters (ASEM) which supports students of Arlington’s eight Title 1 elementary schools in gaining access to free afterschool programming. Since its inception, ASEM has raised over $120,000 and provided over 4,700 students access to activities such as theater, dance, arts, sports activities, robotics, cooking, and field trips. Watch John's video.

Dr. Tsehaye Teferra is the founder, President, and CEO of the Ethiopian Community Development Council and Enterprise Development Group. He has committed 40 years of his life to the resettlement and integration of refugees into the Arlington community. Appointed by the Arlington County Board, he served as a founding member of the County’s Multicultural Commission, as a member of Arlington's Future Task Force, the Diversity Dialogue Task Force, and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. In 2012, the White House named him a Champion of Change, and in 2013, was recognized as an Outstanding American by Choice by the Department of Homeland Security. Watch Dr. Teferra's video.

Andres Tobar’s community leadership includes serving nearly 20 years as Executive Director of Shirlington Education and Employment Center (SEEC), over ten years as president of the Arlington County Crime Solvers, eight years as president of the Kiwanis Club of South Arlington, current board member of Culpepper Garden, former board member of the Arlington Food Assistance Center, and former co-chair of the African-American/Hispanic Coalition, former Chair and current Treasurer of the Virginia Coalition of Latino Organizations, former State Director of League of United Latin American Citizens, and currently volunteer Executive Director of the Virginia Latino Leaders Council. Watch Andres' video.

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