Arlington Community Foundation Leaders Receive Man and Woman of the Year Awards

The Founder of the Arlington Community Foundation, the Honorable William T. Newman, Jr., and its Executive Director Wanda L. Pierce, recently received Man and Woman of the Year honors from the Zeta Phi Beta Sorority Nu Xi Zeta chapter serving Alexandria and Arlington, the group announced in a news release.

The awards recognized their work in the community.

“The Arlington Community Foundation has raised a lot of money and done a lot of great work, and unfortunately a lot of people don’t even know it exists,” said Krysta Jones, the fund development chair for the chapter and national director of social action for the sorority at large. “[Wanda] had done a great job of using her corporate experience with building the community foundation. Judge Newman was the first African American elected to the Arlington county board. It’s kind of a coincidence that he was the impetus behind the community foundation.”

“I care so much about this great community,” Newman said. “I will do everything I can to one day truly deserve this award.” Newman also said the sorority group had the right perspective. “When you do things for your community, you don’t do it for the recognition – you do it because you care,” he said.

“I’m really humbled,” Pierce told members of the sorority chapter, which was founded in 1986 and whose members work to address societal challenges in Arlington and Alexandria. In an interview with Arlington Independent Media, played at the ceremony, Pierce said there was no better way for aspiring philanthropists to start than by putting one foot in front of the other. “Get involved,” she counseled. “There are so many things you can do on a volunteer basis.”

“They were both unsung heroes in their own right,” Jones said of the honorees. “This is a powerful organization in Arlington.”