Now in its third year, Living Legends of Alexandria is an ongoing 501(c)(3) photojournalistic project to identify, honor and chronicle Alexandria’s Living Legends. The project was conceived by artist-photographer Nina Tisara to create an enduring artistic record of the people whose vision and dedication make a tangible difference to the quality of life in Alexandria. The project is funded in part by a generous donation from the Rotary Club of Alexandria.
These are two of a series of 12 profiles that will appear this year. For more information or to nominate a Legend for next year’s program, visit www.AlexandriaLegends.com
Chet Avery
By alexandrianews.org staff
Chet Avery (Photo: Nina Tisara)
Chet Avery, a long-time resident of Alexandria, has been active in devising and promoting programs enabling those with disabilities to participate fully in all life’s opportunities. For nearly 30 years he has served as a member of the Alexandria Human Rights Commission. His life’s work is dedicated to extending accessibility to all persons.
While many Alexandrians don’t know his name, they take for granted many of the important enhancements he helped to bring about: curb cuts; a central library with no stairs and an office dedicated to serving Talking Book users; an accessible courthouse, including accessible courtrooms; voting machines that persons with all disabilities can easily use independently and a human rights ordinance that includes persons with disabilities as a protected class.
Mayor Bill Euille first met Avery in 1974. “I was a youngster who had just been appointed to serve on the Alexandria School Board when I met Chet,” Euille said. “As a School Board member, I saw the need for a Special Education Advisory Committee and we selected Chet to be a member of that first group. For more than 30 years, he has been an advocate for children with special needs and for all persons with disabilities in Alexandria and throughout our country. He has helped to bring about changes that have made a difference in all of our lives. He is very deserving of this honor.”
Avery began his work as an advocate for persons with disabilities when he lost his own sight because of detached retinas. He was 17 years old. During his last year of high school, he visited friends at Harvard and decided he wished to attend that institution. “I spoke with the dean during one of my visits and he told me to go back home, get good grades and demonstrate my leadership skills and I would be a strong candidate for Harvard,” Avery said.
Avery earned his bachelor’s degree in history but decided to return to Harvard for a master’s degree in counseling and education. On the first day of class, a young woman sat down next to him and they were married a year later. “She was beautiful then and is still beautiful now,” Avery said of his wife Sabra.
In 1964, the couple moved to the Washington, DC metropolitan area. “I was offered a job with the federal government in the department of education,” Avery said. Their only son was born shortly after the move. Avery remained with the federal government, first at the Department of Health, Education and Welfare and then with the Department of Education, until his retirement in 1996.
In 1967, the Averys moved to Alexandria, to the home where they still live on Linden Street. “We’ve lived here longer than almost everyone on the block and we love it,” Avery said.
Jean Niebauer is the director of the Alexandria Office On Human Rights. “Chet Avery is a tireless advocate for persons with disabilities and I admire his tenacity, intellect and commitment to Alexandria. Chet pushes all of us in the City to do more, and more quickly, and I have no doubt that we would not have achieved as much as we have, as an accessible City, without him,” she said.
As part of his federal job, Avery oversaw the development of a handbook on federal student financial aid, served in the Office of Special Education monitoring the implementation of Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and then in the Secretary’s Office of Disability Concerns. He is also a member of the Board of Directors of The Washington Ear and was instrumental in developing the first descriptive videos in theaters.
“When blind people attend plays, they have no idea what’s happening on stage with regard to scenery and activity. In 1981, Arena Stage began offering descriptive videos for visually handicapped individuals during plays. Since then, that has expanded and many venues have descriptive videos, including movie theaters,” Avery said.
Since his retirement, Avery has continued his work in Alexandria and served on the Virginia Rehabilitation Council and the Virginia Assisted Technology Commission, appointed by then Governor Mark Warner. “Both of those groups have accomplished a lot,” Avery said.
Most recently, Avery was instrumental in advocating for the purchase of an electronic voting system that is accessible to all persons with disabilities. “He went with us to look at the available voting equipment and advocated for the system he felt was the most accessible to the most people, the system we eventually purchased,” said Tom Parkins, Alexandria’s registrar of voters. “I really believe that it was his persistence that convinced City Council to purchase the entire system rather than phasing it in. He’s amazing.”
He is the recipient of the Alexandrian of The Year Award for 2008 from alexandrianews.org, was enrolled in the Sanford High School Hall of Fame, received the Alexandria United Way Volunteer of the Year Award, the 1998 John Duty Collins Outstanding Advocate for Persons with Disabilities Award, special awards from the Alexandria Special Education Advisory Committee and the Alexandria Human Rights Commission.
Avery spends his time reading with his two granddaughters and enjoying Alexandria’s parks with them. He also watches movies on his computers and stays in touch with friends and colleagues via email.
Alice Merrill and Linda Odell
By alexandrianews.org staff
Alice Merrill and Linda Odell (Photo: Nina Tisara)
Seven years ago, Alice Merrill and Linda Odell began “SOHO: A Space of Her Own”, a partnership between The Art League and the City of Alexandria’s Court Services Unit. Their vision, commitment and collaborative fundraising efforts created an alternative arts program that touches the lives of at-risk young girls.
Linda Odell is the Director of Alternative Programs for Alexandria’s Court Services Unit and cofounded the program with Alice Merrill, former Director of Development at The Art League. The pair are the recipients of many awards, including the 2005 Leadership Fairfax Community Partnership Award, the 2004 United Way Eureka Award and the 2009 “Making a Difference Award” from the Commission on Women. SOHO was included as a chapter in the book “Healing the Inner City Child,” a treatise on at-risk youth and high-school dropout prevention.
“We started SOHO in an effort to reduce juvenile crimes committed by females,” said Odell, “Which appears to have worked because 96% of the 108 girls we have served have remained free from court involvement. Mentoring works!”
The art-based program serves pre-teen girls by providing yearlong mentoring through engagement in creative art activities and meaningful community service projects. Each volunteer mentor makes a one-year commitment to the program, which fosters long-term relationships and culminates in the renovation of each girl’s bedroom, HGTV-style. SOHO utilizes evidence-based life skills curricula and the National Mentoring Partnership’s model program guidelines. This year SOHO expanded from its original Old Town Alexandria location to Hammond Middle School. The Visual Arts Center of Richmond has also replicated SOHO.
Alice Merrill and Linda Odell (Photo: Nina Tisara)
“SOHO helped me a lot, to get back on track with school, and at home,” said a participant. “Now I go to school every day. I can honestly say that I am saying this from the bottom of my heart. Alexandria may be small, but does a lot of big things to help ordinary young girls improve their lives.”
According to a mentor, “It didn’t matter if they were great at what they did, but it did matter that they tried their best. Developing positive traits to turn out positive young women is part of what the program is all about.”
A citywide survey of Alexandria teens, parents and community focus groups concluded that at-risk girls would be most successful in avoiding juvenile criminal activity and improving social skills and self-esteem, through engagement in long-term mentoring involving art activities. Consequently, a partnership between the local Court Service Unit and the non-profit Art League was developed and a “Space Of Her Own” was conceived.
Girls are matched with adult, volunteer female mentors, who work with them in weekly art classes as part of the yearlong program. Homework support, life skills, communication and anger-management classes are infused into every program day. The mentors are not professional artists. They and the girls learn artistic concepts and techniques throughout the course. Mentor and youth work together to create expressive and attractive artwork for the girl’s bedroom, which may include a “dream” chest, mirror, personalized chairs, lamps and wall hangings.
Alice Merrill and Linda Odell (Photo: Nina Tisara)
SOHO is loosely based on popular HGTV programming because upon completion of the program, girls and mentors work in teams to remodel other girls’ bedrooms, being sure to include ample lighting and study space. Each girl is then required to “pay it forward” by completing community service projects with her mentor. Artwork and a before-and-after renovation videos are exhibited at a community reception at the end of the year.
The promise of gorgeous new bedrooms is the program’s hook, resulting in near-perfect attendance. Because of the program’s non-threatening approach, mentors, administrators and seasonal volunteers are welcomed into the girls’ homes during renovations. This often results in connecting families to appropriate city services. The success of this program is not only the one-year commitment by mentor and youth, but also the three-year follow-up of activities and supportive services through the SOHO Sisterhood Club, which is available to graduates throughout their middle school years.
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