THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, October 27, 1994 TAG: 9410250128
SECTION: NORFOLK COMPASS PAGE: 02W EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JOAN C. STANUS, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 90 lines
When the East Ocean View Community Center opened 12 years ago in one of Norfolk's toughest and most troubled neighborhoods, recreation specialist Phyllis Evans became its resident mom.
Hers was the shoulder on which the kids in the neighborhood cried. She was the person to whom they told their troubles. She made sure they behaved at the center, that they kept the drugs, alcohol, the guns, the foul mouths and disagreements outside.
She was the one who cajoled them into taking part in basketball leagues, talent shows, arts and crafts activities. She was the one who fought to make sure that funding shortages didn't keep the center from offering a variety of leisure programs.
Once, strapped for cash to pay for entertainment at a center picnic, Evans dressed up like one of Gladys Knights' Pips and belted out the backup to ``A Midnight Train to Georgia.''
``She's willing to do anything to make a difference here,'' said Bernard Davis, the center's supervisor. ``She's been the mother figure for this center for so long . . . and my right hand. She's really going to be missed.''
After 20 years as a recreation specialist with the city, Evans, 57, decided to retire for health reasons. Her last day was Sept. 30.
For many in the neighborhood, Evans has been the East Ocean View Community Center since its inception.
She made such an impact during the center's first six years that in 1988, after recreation officials transferred her to the nearby Ocean View Senior Center, neighborhood residents petitioned for her return. Two years later, she returned to East Ocean View. She has been there since.
``She's a very special person,'' said East Ocean View Civic League president Jim Janata, who spearheaded the drive to return Evans to the center. ``She's always smiling . . . and enthusiastic.
``And she's well-respected by both the children and the seniors. She's always fit in so well. It was just a perfect match . . . we didn't want to change things.''
Evans said, ``It's sad . . . but I'll probably end up working harder than I did before. After I take my husband to Disney World and clean my house in and out, I'm planning to bloom back into the neighborhood as a volunteer in the senior division.''
Even though she lives a few miles away, Evans' neighborhood has become East Ocean View.
``I feel like I'm part of this community now,'' said Evans, a Bayview resident. ``I've met some fine people here, and I feel like I've made a difference in the lives of some of these kids. That's a very good feeling. I plan on helping out down here.''
A native of Charleston, W.Va., Evans came to Norfolk in the '60s as a young Navy wife. When her three sons were young, she stayed at home to care for them. But once they got old enough for sports, she started a volunteer ``career'' as a team mother for everything from baseball and swimming to football and wrestling.
Her sons ``were too short for basketball,'' she jokes.
At a game one afternoon, Evans started talking to one of the city's athletic organizers and the next thing she knew she had landed a job working for the city as a recreation leader at the Mary Calcott Center.
``I found I loved recreation and leisure activities,'' recalled Evans, who first taught ceramics and other arts and crafts. ``And I just loved working with people.''
She also believed strongly that keeping kids involved in sports and other leisure activities keeps them out of trouble, especially if they have their parents support.
``It all boils down to parent involvement,'' she said. ``It plays such an important role in a child's life. People are giving out money now to their kids instead of love. If you don't spend time with your children and discipline them and let them know what's right and what's wrong or what's safe for them, they're going to get in serious trouble.
``Even though I worked, I was always there (for my sons). And they were always involved in sports. Sports was their thing, but I was always behind them, supporting them . . . making it to their games. It kept them busy. They were too tired to get into trouble.''
Her recipe worked. Today, one of Evans' sons serves as a Navy SEAL. The other two work for the city, one as a homicide detective, the other as a firefighter. Evans' husband, Donald, is retired both from the Navy and the city, for which he worked as a carpenter.
As for East Ocean View's resident mom, she already has plans for those seniors. ILLUSTRATION: Photo by JOAN C. STANUS
After 20 years as a recreation specialist, Phyllis Evans retired
last month, but said she plans ``to bloom back into the neighborhood
as a volunteer in the senior division.''
by CNB