Meet The Legends Reception and The Project

MEET THE LEGENDS RECEPTION

Fourteen exceptional Alexandrians will be honored at the sixth annual Meet the Legends reception at the U.S. Patent and Trade Office, 600 Dulaney Street, Alexandria on March 21, 6 p.m. Welcomed into the Living Legends of Alexandria “Class of 2013” will be Willie F. Bailey Sr., Kathryn A. Brown and Marlin G. Lord, Rosa E. Byrd, Elizabeth C. Chimento and Poul Martin Hertel, Joe Guiffre, Thomas Young “Jay” Johnson Jr., David M. Martin, Richard E. Merritt, Joann E. Miller, Lonnie C. Rich, William “Bill” Rivers and Lewis A. Stearman.

To register and for information visit www.AlexandriaLegends.com or call 703.625.2330.

THE LIVING LEGENDS PROJECT

Within two weeks in the fall of 2006 I was approached by the City and the Gazette Packet for photos of people who had died. When the photos weren’t in the Tisara Photography archives, the idea came to me to photograph people who were doing important things while they were still alive. With early support from the Gazette Packet and the Rotary Club of Alexandria, Living Legends of Alexandria was formed. It is now a private, not-for-profit corporation. Its mission is to identify, honor and chronicle Alexandria’s recent history makers. We have now told the stories of over 150 Legendary Alexandrians. Our goal is to become the premier recognition program in Alexandria and we’re working hard to make that happen. 

The catalogs of stories and photographs we create for distribution at the Meet The Legend receptions are collected by the Alexandria Library and the Library of Virginia in Richmond. They are registered at the U.S. Library of Congress.

The Legend portraits are exhibited in the prestigious Market Square lobby of City Hall. The Traveling Exhibit gives us opportunities to collaborate creatively with performing arts and other groups. 

We’re excited to include Family Legends of Alexandria as one of our activities. In Family Legends, children and adults work together to choose a “legend” in their family, write their story, and make it into a handmade storybook to take home. This year we held programs at the Alexandria Black History Museum and Carpenter’s Shelter.

We’re delighted to be working with the photography and music departments of Northern Virginia Community College. The 2013 Legend nominees were introduced at NOVA’s winter concert and NOVA music students will perform at the reception. A NOVA student created three of this year’s photos and we hope to be working with more students next year.

We are in the early stages of considering a new activity, Legends in the Making, that would recognize youth who are making a positive difference in our community and who may develop into Alexandria’s Legends in the future.

Living Legends of Alexandria is proud to have received an FY 2012-13 grant from the Alexandria Commission of the Arts. And I am very proud to be receiving the Donna Bergheim Cultural Affairs Award from the Office for Women on March 19.

The 2013 Living Legends are firefighters, artists, community activists, volunteers, lawyers and business people. You will find their photographs and stories published throughout the year by our media partners, the Alexandria Gazette Packet, AlexandriaNews.org, Local Kicks, the Old Town Crier and The Zebra.

The Legends have different passions and work in different arenas. What they share is the belief that they can make a positive difference and the perseverance to make it happen. What remains most exciting to me is the opportunity to gather this extraordinary group together in one place and time. Join us on March 21.