Living Legends of Alexandria

Thursday, August 8, 2024

The 2024 Living Legends of Alexandria have been selected with nine individuals chosen for the prestigious honor.

“We are excited to announce the list of our 2024 Alexandria Living Legends,” said Alexandria Living Legends president Mary Wadland. “This year we had a pile of nominations to consider. It’s an important process, and the board gives each nominee careful consideration.”

According to the organization’s mission statement, the Living Legends of Alexandria is an honor bestowed upon individuals who live and/or work in Alexandria and have contributed to the community in an exemplary and lasting way that has significantly impacted the quality of life in Alexandria and inspired others.

Founded in 2007 by photographer Nina Tisara, the first Legends were honored in 2008 including former City Manager Vola Lawson, longtime state senator Patsy Ticer and Civil Rights icon Ferdinand Day. Today, over 147 people have been honored as Living Legends of Alexandria.

The newest Legends will be celebrated at the annual Meet the Legends reception in the fall.

This year’s honorees are:

Ed Arthur — A lifetime of giving led to Hearts of Love, a foundation Ed and his wife Kathleen started, dedicated to providing food and temporary shelter for abused and neglected women and children. It is now one of the most successful efforts to help provide food, shelter, employment, mentoring, tutoring, encouragement, and confidence-building opportunities for women, children, and families at risk or in need in Alexandria’s Chirilagua neighborhood and surrounding communities.

Myron Conte — As the chaplain for the William G. Truesdale Adult Detention Center, Chaplain Contee uplifts the hearts and souls of hundreds of incarcerated individuals each year. He carries the added credibility that comes from having once served time himself at the very same jail 30 years ago. Beyond the jail walls, Chaplain Contee supports the formerly incarcerated through his Second Chance Ministries. A professional plumber with his own business, he also hires returned citizens.

Paris Davis – On Saturday, June 17, 2023, exactly 58 years from the date he saved countless men while enduring heavy enemy artillery fire and multiple injuries, and 10 weeks after President Biden awarded him the Medal of Honor, the nation’s highest military award, Colonel Paris Davis was honored in his hometown of Alexandria. After he retired in 1985, he founded the Metro-Herald, a newspaper that focused on the local Alexandria community, civil rights issues, and African American accomplishments.

Lawrence “Lucky” Elliott — Elliott is best known as a youth sports coach, activist, and advocate for teens and young adults in the metro area. He coached youth football and basketball for close to 20 years. He has dedicated himself to fighting alcohol abuse among young teens as co-founder of the ‘We Care Organization,’ a group formed to combat alcohol and substance abuse.

Andrew McDonald — Macdonald has made countless and significant contributions to the City of Alexandria during his lifetime. He is a staunch conservationist, both environmentally and architecturally, and fights nonstop to preserve that unique and irreplaceable character that makes Alexandria so special. He is a former City Councilman and Vice Mayor and served for many years on the Environmental Policy Commission (EPC). He is the chair of the Environmental Council of Alexandria (ECA).

Willem Polak — Founder of the Potomac Riverboat Cruises, Polak built and expanded the footprint of his company, establishing the water taxi service and activating the Alexandria waterfront. But more important than that is his work with the Alexandria Police Foundation. In front of the Police Headquarters is the Fallen Officers Memorial bearing the names of 18 fallen officers who lost their lives in the line of duty. The Memorial would not exist if not for the efforts of Willem Polak, who took over as board president in 2013.

Mac Slover — You would be hard-pressed to find an organization in Alexandria that has more cross-collaboration than the Miracle League of Alexandria, founded by retired City of Alexandria Department of Recreation, Parks & Cultural Activities, Mac Slover. Slover said he started talking about building a field for kids and adults with special needs in 2005. Construction began in 2010 and the field opened in 2012. It was the first city-sponsored program to be developed for special needs youth and adults. which includes private, government, non-profit, and educational organizations.

Fran Terrell — Terrell’s lifelong contributions to preserving and telling the history of Alexandria’s historic African American communities have made a lasting difference in how the city now acknowledges and memorializes its past. A specific highlight of her contributions is the work she did with the Fort Ward and Seminary African American Descendants Society to recognize the African American community who had first come to Fort Ward following the Civil War.

David Weintritt — Dr. Weintritt recognized the crisis in the Alexandria community based on the statistics that the area has some of the highest incidence and mortality rates from breast cancer in the nation, as well as some of the highest rates of late-stage breast cancer. Founded in 2014 by Dr. David Weintritt, the National Breast Center Foundation (NBCFoundation) is the only comprehensive breast health foundation located in the city of Alexandria. Since its inception in 2014, NBCFoundation has been instrumental in providing free cancer services to the medically underserved community.

www.alexandrialegends.org