NEWPORT NEWS ­– Hampton Road Academy, on Saturday, Jan. 26, was recognized during the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. conference and banquet with a proclamation for helping provide more 1,047 meals and another 500 families with food baskets.
Additionally, HRA juniors Mara Kish, Grace Ball, Edward Smith , Devin Harris-Wolf and  sophomores Nicole Patterson and Paige Wineinger served as moderators and panelists at the Rosa Parks Youth Leadership Symposium and Talent Showcase on the theme of “Making a Difference in the Community.” The event, sponsored by the Hampton Roads Chapter of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, empowered students to engage in topical discussions on how and what they can do to make a difference in the community.
Following the symposium, business leaders and community representatives sat on a community forum moderated by Ernie Gates, editor and vice president of the Daily Press, sharing ideas on issues of education, employment, public safety and diversity.
Included on that panel was HRA Head of Upper School Aaron T. Hill Sr.; Dr. Ashby Kilgore, Newport News superintendent of schools, Carmen Taylor, Hampton NAACP president; Edith White, Urban League of Hampton Roads president and CEO; Vice Chairman of Pomoco Auto Rick Gallaer, City Rental Manager of Enterprise Rent-A-Car David Levenson; Dr. Mary T. Christian, Virginia state delegate; Newport News Sheriff Gabe Morgan and Hampton Superintendent of Schools Dr. Patrick Russo.