DATE: Friday, March 28, 1997                TAG: 9703260140

SECTION: PORTSMOUTH CURRRENTS    PAGE: 06   EDITION: FINAL 

TYPE: Cover Story 

SOURCE: BY REBECCA MYERS CUTCHINS, STAFF WRITER 

                                            LENGTH:  128 lines

A GIFT FOR GIVING PORTSMOUTH'S 59TH FIRST CITIZEN IS RECOGNIZED FOR DECADES OF VOLUNTEERING.

WHEN LISA SANDS came to Portsmouth two years ago to coordinate the city's United Way campaign, she needed an immediate understanding of the community and its volunteers.

Sands contacted J. Hunter Brantley Jr.

When Anne Iott, director of Tidewater Community College's Visual Arts Center, needed a volunteer to coordinate the center's fund-raising efforts, she, too, called on Brantley.

And whenever Alan Gollihue, the executive director of the Portsmouth General Hospital Foundation, seeks networking contacts, Brantley is always the first person he calls for help.

``He's been in everything,'' said Daniel W. Duncan, who has known Brantley for 20 years. ``You name something, Hunter's active in it.''

That's probably why Brantley was recently named First Citizen of Portsmouth for 1996.

``I think it's long overdue,'' said Duncan, who, as a former First Citizen himself, helped in the selection process. ``I think that people felt that he was richly deserving of it.''

The First Citizen of Portsmouth Award is based on civic, charitable and religious activities performed over and above anything reasonably expected - and done without pay.

After the first recipient was named in 1932, the award was put on hold until 1939 because of the Depression. Brantley, the city's 59th honoree, was chosen based on his involvement as a volunteer in numerous civic activities. His resume, four pages long, lists achievements dating back 20 years or more.

``If you have any talent or anything at all that you can direct back into the community, I think it's very important that you do that,'' Brantley, 74, said recently from his Pinehurst home.

Of all the recognition Brantley has received, the retired Norfolk Naval Shipyard employee is probably most well known for his efforts to enhance the relationship between the city and the shipyard.

``The three loves of his life: Lois (Brantley's wife), the city and the shipyard,'' said Barbara Hodges, who succeeded Brantley as the shipyard's administrative assistant in production after his retirement in 1986 after 45 years of service.

``Even after he left the shipyard, he continued to do things to bring the city and the shipyard together,'' Hodges said. ``He's always been good at getting shipyard people to be considered for service organizations and boards.''

In 1978, Brantley was named to the the board of directors for the Portsmouth Chamber of Commerce, making him the first shipyard worker ever to hold the position. Over the years, he has been an active member with the Chamber's Military Affairs Committee and the Norfolk Naval Shipyard Association.

``Hunter has principally raised most of the funds for the `Hail and Farewell' ceremonies that we do for our incoming and departing military people,'' said Lonny Staylor, director of the Portsmouth Division of the Hampton Roads Chamber of Commerce. ``He's been extremely instrumental in maintaining good military relations for this division of the Chamber.''

Recently, Brantley was responsible for the funding, construction and placement of a Virginia Historical Marker outside of Quarters A, the home of the shipyard commander.

``Even though he's retired from the shipyard, he's still very much a committed and loyal employee here,'' said Capt. William R. Klemm, shipyard commander. ``Through his support, the relationship between the shipyard and the city has grown dramatically, and it just could not have happened without Hunter's involvement.''

In addition to his work with the shipyard and the military, Brantley is involved in health-care issues and is completing his sixth year as a member of the Board of Visitors of Eastern Virginia Medical School.

Dr. Ed Brickell, the president of EVMS, describes Brantley as a ``very low-key, soft-spoken, quietly effective person.''

``He gets things done without a lot of hullabaloo and fanfare,'' Brickell said. ``And I think one reason for that is he really doesn't care much who gets credit for getting something done, just so it gets done.''

Brantley has also served on the board of directors of Portsmouth General Hospital, as well as the hospital's foundation.

``Hunter kind of took the tack that health care goes beyond just paying for things like clinics,'' said Alan Gollihue, executive director of the hospital's foundation. ``Obviously, we do much beyond that, and Hunter would always push the envelope and be very supportive of other things.''

In his spare time, Brantley enjoys working in his yard and playing golf. He is married to the former Lois Landrum of Portsmouth, Ohio.

``I'm just so proud of him, as all of us are,'' Lois Brantley said. ``But we've always been. We've always known how wonderful he is. I'm just glad everybody else knows now.''

The Brantleys have two daughters, Donna Saffold, a librarian at Olive Branch Elementary School, and Debbie Bolding of Marco Island, Fla.

``He has always put family first,'' said Saffold, ``and that has meant a lot to us.''

Saffold, a 1965 graduate of Churchland High School, said she can't recall an instance when her father's involvement in community service took time away from the family.

``I don't really feel like his involvement became intense until my sister and I were old enough that it didn't matter,'' she said.

Saffold, who has two daughters of her own, uses the words ``giver'' and ``doer'' to best describe her father.

``He is always doing for others and helping others, and that gives him immense satisfaction,'' she said.

Hunter Brantley was nominated for the award by Tommy Benn, a Portsmouth city councilman, and Billy Moore, a state delegate recently appointed a judge in Portsmouth.

``I've known Hunter as a neighbor,'' Moore said. ``I've lived in Pinehurst since 1975, so that's how long I've known him.''

Benn and Moore nominated Brantley independently of each other and will both speak at his banquet April 7.

``This was the third year that I've submitted his name as a nomination for Portsmouth First Citizen,'' Benn said, ``and he deserves it.''

``Former First Citizens themselves and everybody you see says, `Hunter Brantley's the guy,' because he is out there in the community doing the stuff.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photo on cover by RICHARD L. DUNSTON

J. Hunter Brantley Jr.

Photo

J. HUNTER BRANTLEY JR.:

If you have something to give back, he says, ``it's important to do

that.''

Graphic

THE CELEBRATION\ What: Banquet and presentation of the 1996 First

Citizen of Portsmouth Award to J. Hunter Brantley Jr.

When: 6:30 p.m. April 7.

Where: Holiday Inn-Portsmouth Waterfront.

Tickets: $25 per person. Cash bar.

Information: 393-9933.