The three 2024 William T. Newman Jr. Spirit of Community Award took widely divergent paths on the road to civic leadership.
But the recipients share a number of commonalities, as well.
All are among those who, as honoree Jeanne Broyhill said, have “put a stake in the ground” to help make the community a better place.
Broyhill, Dr. Raymond Hoare and Martha (Marty) Swaim on Friday (Nov. 15) were inducted into the Spirit of Community pantheon in front of much of the county’s political and civic leadership.
They are the latest lauded in a nearly 35-year tradition of honoring those who have given back across a spectrum of leadership paths.
“The heart of the community is its people — tireless and unselfish,” retired Circuit Court Judge William Newman Jr. noted at the event, which drew hundreds to the Renaissance Capital View Hotel.
The awards are bestowed annually by the Arlington Community Foundation. It was Newman who, in the early 1990s, conceived the idea of the community foundation and the Spirit of Community Award. His name later was added to the award in recognition of his leadership role.
The initial recipient in 1991 was civic leader Joan Cooper, and Newman said the trio of Broyhill, Hoare and Swaim are “no exception” to the high caliber local leaders who were honored in ensuing years.
Broyhill grew up in Arlington, the daughter of U.S. Rep. Joel Broyhill, who served in Congress from 1953 until 1974. She moved away, but later returned.
“The Arlington I grew up in was a very different place,” Broyhill said. “I love the fact that [today] we have a little but of modern, a little bit of old.”
Broyhill has been active in organizations including Culpepper Garden, the Leadership Center of Arlington and Advance Arlington (formerly the Arlington Committee of 100).
Change is not always easy, she said, but “you have to get people to embrace the idea.”
Dr. Hoare, a cardiologist and local resident since 1962, was among the first to volunteer services when the Arlington Free Clinic began operations in 1994.
What began as a shoestring operation with a single nurse’s station has evolved into a comprehensive health-care provider for those without the necessary means to afford services.
“It is the best decision I ever made, besides marrying my wife and having my kids,” Dr. Hoare said of his experience with the safety-net organization.
His reason for becoming, and staying, involved? When it comes to seeing a need in the community, “I just can’t look the other way,” Dr. Hoare said.
Swaim, a retired social-studies teacher, was the founding force behind Challenging Racism, a local organization now in its 20th year that aims to provide training and support on issues related to equity and racial disparities.
“The goal is to give people the skills to navigate conversations,” Swaim said. The organization has provided workshops for government agencies, educations groups and performing-arts organizations, among others.
Being honored, Swaim said, was ” a very, very welcome acknowledgment of the importance of this work.” Swaim singled out for praise the six “founding mothers” of the organization, who have stayed true to its guiding principles over the course of two decades.
The Arlington Community Foundation plays multiple roles, including management of more than $35 million in assets and the award of more than $3 million annually in community grants and more than $750,000 in scholarships each year to Arlington students.
The organization also advocates on behalf of social-safety-net programs, and developed a guaranteed-income pilot program to see its impacts on participants.
