1 By Youth Shows What "1" Can Do

1 By Youth is coming to Point of Woods 1, 2 and 3 on Sat., May 14.   At least 700 people will gather for an 8 a.m. kickoff at Stonewall Park and then disperse for work projects with lunches provided by US Foodservice.

City Neighborhood Services has mapped them out:  Mulching pathways and marking off 30 plots in a community garden.  Painting lines at a basketball court and hanging new nets.  Installing new equipment at three playgrounds and a tot lot.  Habitat for Humanity repairs at four townhomes.  Donors like Lockheed Martin, Mike Garcia Construction, English Country Gardens and Manassas St. Thomas UMC and grants like Keep Virginia Beautiful supplied the funds.  But the sweat equity is "1" person at a time, rolling up sleeves on Saturday.

The centerpiece is a memorial gazebo and gathering place for the neighborhood, in the same 3-acre field as the community garden. 

On Friday, May 13 – same day as the 23^rd Annual Candlelight Vigil at the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington, D.C. – Kline Memorials is installing the memorial they donated at the gazebo. 

The memorial honors "1" man – a father of four – who sacrificed his life to protect the residents of Point of Woods on July 24, 1988.  His name is Sgt. John D. Conner III.  He is the only Manassas City police officer to die in the line of duty.   I lived on Laurelwood Court in Point of Woods in 1988, when Officer Conner and other City police responded to gunshots fired in my neighborhood .  My daughter was 2 at the time.

Now she’s 24, a George Mason student and Home Depot employee, and on Saturday, she will be “1” of the 700 working to honor this officer.  Our whole family is pitching in.  When the work is done, there’s a huge block party, complete with a live band (“Messenger”) and great cookout food, courtesy of Old Towne Sports Pub.  Manassas City Police are providing public safety throughout the event, along with Walgreens and their first aid tents. 

Why not join me, and be "1"?  You might get to sand and paint the gazebo, which has had a lively history of its own; it was the fairgrounds ticket booth.  Then it sat beside the Old Town caboose.  Then it was moved to Public Works, a place for children to have their face painted during Public Utilities Day.  Last Saturday, Chuck Poppe (Yard by Yard Landscaping) and Mark Olsen (Olde Towne Landscaping) gently deposited it, "1" last time, into the heart of a neighborhood.   A place for "1" to sit and watch the sun set, surrounded by the laughter of children, and the camaraderie of gardeners, digging in the soil.

To volunteer for 1 By Youth, call Christen Zenich at 703-257-8315 or email czenich@ci.manassas.va.us.