Hanks Column: I'm proud to live in an All-America City!

A few thoughts and observations as I try to find the shade on this scorching weekend ...

You have to hand it to Kinston Mayor O.A. "Buddy" Ritch: When he ran for mayor in 2005, he promised to try to get Kinston back to All-America status. After Friday night's dramatic victory in Tampa, Fla., he did just that.

Ritch and the Kinston All-America committee highlighted three ways our city is working to improve itself. The presentation was impressive enough to garner Kinston the award for the second time; the first time was in 1988.

What was also impressive about the effort was that it was privately funded. The committee worked hard to raise the money needed to send themselves to Tampa, meaning not one cent of public money was used to fund the trip. Members of the local committee also volunteered hundreds and probably thousands of hours of their own time to help shine a positive light on Kinston.

How strong was our city's effort and presentation? Even a ridiculous attempt by anti-annexation advocates to derail the AAC bid couldn't keep Kinston from victory.

This is a proud time in our city's history.

But, there are those who will attempt to denigrate the achievement - but I encourage you to ignore them.

No city in America is perfect, including our own. Every town has problems, whether it be crime, poverty, high taxes or outrageous power rates. There is no shortage of people who will point out our city's problems; thank God we have good people in our town who want to accentuate the many positives in Kinston.

And here's another positive: We're an All-America City! Congratulations to us all.

On this very special Father's Day, we decided to highlight a very special father in our very own newsroom. Justin Schoenberger - our crime reporter, Jones Post writer, La Grange news beat guy and resident Buffalo Bills apologist - is also a single father of a beautiful 3-year-old girl named Kalista.

You always hear about single mothers, who work very hard to raise their children and deserve many accolades they never receive. But on this special day, I wanted to honor Justin, who is also an awesome up-and-coming writer.

Additionally, he's an amazing dad. Justin is a 26-year-old man's man, but when Kalista enters the room, he becomes the perfect "daddy." He doesn't hesitate to let anyone know that he loves his job, but his world revolves around that precious 3-year-old.

I also honestly don't know how he balances his outstanding reporting and excellent fathering, but he does both in fantastic fashion.

On this Father's Day, my hat is off to a real hero: Justin Schoenberger. Keep up the good work, young man.

Finally, a sort of a bittersweet moment for me to end this column. In the nearly seven years I've had the honor of working at this fine publication and living in this All-America City and community, I've written several stories about Paul Novicki, a young man who overcame blindness to become an unforgettable student-athlete at South Lenoir High School, Lenoir Community College and Mount Olive College.

Our sports editor, Ryan Herman, wrote a final story about Paul as an athlete that is on Page 15 today. Ryan does a great job of highlighting Paul's athletic career, which ended last month when MOC's baseball season came to a close.

Although there are literally a half-dozen images that immediately come to mind for me about Paul's spectacular playing career - which includes collegiate no-hitters, several game-winning shots on the basketball court and championships at each level he played - one stands out.

On Feb. 11, 2005, Paul hit the "Shot Heard ‘Round Deep Run" - an off-balance jumper at the buzzer in overtime that gave South Lenoir a 53-52 win against Greene Central. The amazing shot was the deciding factor that helped give South Lenoir its first conference basketball title in 25 years.

It also provided one of the best moments in local TV sports history when - immediately after Paul's winning shot - South Lenoir's legendary coach, Jimmy Smith, sprinted to halfcourt to start the celebration. WCTI ABC-12 Sports Director Brian North calls Paul's shot and Coach Smith's reaction one of his top moments he's ever filmed.

Although it makes me a bit sad that Paul's playing career is over, I'm excited to see how this incredible young man is going to start the next chapter of his life. How long before he's walking a football or basketball sideline or coaching in a baseball dugout at South Lenoir?

It can't be soon enough. Congratulations, Paul, for being the inspiration you have been to Lenoir County.

Bryan C. Hanks' column appears every Sunday in The Free Press. You can reach him at (252) 559-1074 or at bhanks@freedomenc.com. Check out his blog at http://bhanks.encblogs.com.