THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, April 7, 1995 TAG: 9504060136
SECTION: CHESAPEAKE CLIPPER PAGE: 03 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JENNIFER C. O'DONNELL, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 75 lines
Harry Blevins knows what he'll be doing on April 22.
Along with some 700 other volunteers, he will be working on the annual ``Paint Your Heart Out Chesapeake'' campaign, a program he helped organize in 1992.
The Great Bridge Sertoma Club recently recognized Blevins with its Service to Mankind Award for his contributions to ``Paint Your Heart Out Chesapeake'' and other community services. The Sertoma award is just the most recent of many awards, all of which are on the floor of his home office waiting to be hung.
``I'll get to them eventually,'' said Blevins. ``I just haven't had the time to decide where to put them.''
That's no surprise, given his busy schedule. In addition to his work on ``Paint Your Heart Out Chesapeake,'' Blevins is serving a term as the president of the Chesapeake Rotary Club and is on the board of the Chesapeake Crime Line.
When he is not involved in volunteer work, you'll find him working on various home projects, including an addition to his home, a new sunroom and dining area, and adding built-in china cabinets to the kitchen.
Blevins and his wife, Margie, moved to Chesapeake in 1957, when the region was, as he put it, ``a sleepy, slow-paced community.''
He has watched Chesapeake grow over the years, but unlike many longtime residents, he believes the growth the community has experienced has been very positive for the residents.
``If you don't have growth, you stagnate,'' he said.
As much as Chesapeake has grown, Blevins believes the community has managed to maintain a comfortable, small-town atmosphere.
``Clubs like the Rotary Club and programs like `Paint Your Heart Out Chesapeake' organize large cities to come together and help the citizens. `Paint Your Heart Out' is, after all, just a modern-day barn-raising.''
The awards on Blevins' floor mean a lot to him, but not for the usual reasons.
``Whenever anyone is recognized by an organization, what they are really saying is that this person has had the opportunity to spend a lot of time with great people.
``I've been lucky to be a part of `Paint Your Heart Out' and to share my time with the people who have worked on the project. The same goes for my work with Great Bridge High School.''
In 1991, Blevins retired after 34 years with the Chesapeake School System, beginning as an industrial arts teacher with Great Bridge High School. After 10 years of showing students how to build bookcases and safely use saws, vises and other equipment, he moved into school administration and eventually became the principal of Great Bridge High.
During his 24 years at the helm of Great Bridge High, Blevins saw two generations of Chesapeake students graduate and move on.
While serving as the school's principal, Blevins held leadership positions with the Virginia High School League, the National Federation of State High School Associations and the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.
His academic recognitions are just as numerous. In 1984, Blevins was selected as the ``Outstanding Secondary School Principal'' in Virginia and served as the Virginia spokesperson at a National Conference on Education. In 1985, Blevins represented Virginia and six other states at a conference on high school activities where he met with then-Vice President George Bush.
A year after his retirement, Blevins was inducted into the Virginia High School League Hall of Fame for his service to the academic community.
``If I had to do it all over again, I would still want to be involved in teaching and academics,'' said Blevins. ``The profession draws so many outstanding people.'' ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by STEVE EARLEY
The Great Bridge Sertoma Club honored Harry Blevins with its Service
to Mankind Award for his contributions to the community.
by CNB