THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, January 5, 1996 TAG: 9601030133
SECTION: PORTSMOUTH CURRENTS PAGE: 10 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: HONORS AND AWARDS
LENGTH: Medium: 63 lines
J. Hunter Brantley Jr. recently was presented the Distinguished Service Award, given annually by the Portsmouth Division of the Hampton Roads Chamber of Commerce to honor its most outstanding volunteer.
``He's the kind of guy that when the chairman assigns him a job to do, he just goes out and does it and gets it done real effectively,'' said E.A. ``Lonny'' Staylor Jr., the chamber's executive director.
Over the years, Brantley has been an active member with the chamber's Military Affairs Committee and the Norfolk Naval Shipyard Association.
Among his accolades, Brantley was recognized for raising all the sponsorship money from local businesses for a ``Hail and Farewell'' ceremony held by the chamber for departing and incoming commanders.
Each year, a number of volunteers qualify for the chamber's award, Staylor said.
``It's not a nomination process as much as it is the executive committee discusses some of the achievements of the different volunteers and then from that group, we select an individual that we think is the most qualified for the particular year,'' he said.
Brantley was named to the chamber's board in 1978, making him the first shipyard worker ever to hold the position.
A second-generation Norfolk Naval Shipyard employee, Brantley began work as a trainee at 18. By the time he retired in 1986 after 45 years of service, he held the shipyard's top civilian job as administrative assistant to the production officer.
In 1980, he received the Navy Meritorious Civilian Service Award, the highest honor a civilian shipyard worker can receive for his service to the yard. Six years later, he received the Navy Superior Civilian Service Award, the second highest honor given civilian employees, for his contributions to seven other naval shipyards as well as the NNSY.
After retiring, Brantley became a special assistant to the Portsmouth city manager, working as the city's liaison to the naval ship repair facility.
In addition to his volunteer work with the chamber, Brantley has served as president of Portsmouth General Hospital's board of directors and was a member of the board of visitors of the Medical College of Hampton Roads.
In 1990, he was appointed to serve a second two-year term on the Virginia Emergency Medical Services Advisory Board, which monitors emergency medical service units around the state. Initially named to the board by former Gov. Gerald E. Baliles in 1988, Brantley was one of the few members of the board who was not a health-care professional.
During the 1980s, Brantley served as chairman of the city's Clean Community Commission for two years and was named Portsmouth's campaign chairman for the United Way of South Hampton Roads in 1986. Active in the Portsmouth Area United Way for several years, he served as vice chairman in 1985 and as Pacesetter chairman for three years prior to that.
The 1940 graduate of Woodrow Wilson High School, where he was captain of the basketball team, is a member of the Portsmouth General Hospital Foundation, the Portsmouth Rotary Club and is a past president of Elizabeth Manor Golf and Country Club. He lives in the Pinehurst section of Portsmouth. ILLUSTRATION: J. Hunter Brantley Jr.
by CNB