Marvin Powell is a big man with a big goal. He stands 6 feet 5 inches tall and wants to raise a $4 million endowment for the Centreville Community Foundation in Virginia.
Mr. Powell, a financial adviser turned business coach and community activist, has served as chairman of the foundation for six years. He also serves as chairman of the Fairfax County Small Business Commission. “After spending 16 years as a financial adviser, I still think the best investment anyone can make is an investment in their community,” he said.
The Centreville Community Foundation is a volunteer, nonprofit group that has supported community-building events since 1994. The foundation’s keystone event is Centreville Day, celebrated on Sept. 26. Despite intermittent rain, more than 1,000 residents of Centreville turned out for the 18th annual celebration of diversity.
With a population of 53,900, Centreville is a 9.7-square-mile unincorporated community in western Fairfax County, about 15 miles south of Washington Dulles International Airport and 20 miles from the District.
For three years, Centreville has been included in the CNN Money list of best small cities in America. Centreville is an upper socioeconomic community with large, upscale housing developments, luxury town homes and a median family income of $98,608, according to the CNN Money report for 2008. The racial diversity index, according to CNN Money, is 154.8. The national average is 100, with higher numbers indicating greater diversity. Whites, blacks, Asians and Hispanics are included in Centreville’s cultural mix.
“Our mission at the Centreville Community Foundation is to create a healthy, vibrant and caring community,” Mr. Powell said. “We accomplish this by supporting other organizations that share our mission, partnering with area businesses and hosting communitywide events.”
As part of its mission, the Centreville foundation helped launch other organizations, such as the Centreville Rotary Club and Centreville Regional Arts Council. The foundation supports youth organizations such as the American Legion Boys and Girls Club and the Southwestern Youth Association. Each year, the foundation provides college scholarships to three graduating seniors from the Centreville area’s high schools: Centreville, Westfield and Mount View High Schools. The students must have demonstrated community citizenship.
In 2007, the foundation set up a fund to memorialize the two Centreville students, Erin Peterson and Reema Samaha, killed in the Virginia Tech massacre on April 16 of that year. Through the fund, the foundation raises money to train Certified Character Development Specialists to teach children how to develop the character traits that help to build a community: trust, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring and good citizenship.
This emphasis on character development is a special project of Mr. Powell, who graduated from Kent State University in 1992.
“Kent State’s response to the student shootings in 1970 was to create a Center for Peaceful Change,” Mr. Powell said. “As a student there, I learned about the importance of developing positive character traits in children.”
Mr. Powell points to that fact that the gunman at Virginia Tech, Seung-hui Cho, “was raised here in Centreville.” “He was one of our own and we failed him,” he said.
In addition to scholarships, the foundation presents a monthly “No Recession Selling Workshop” for local businesses. The price of admission is a small donation. Earlier this year, the foundation sponsored a Boots ’n Bows Casino Night at the Austin Grill. The Boots ’n Bows Night was organized by local real estate agent Darren Marquardt, one of nine citizens who serve as the foundation’s board of directors. The directors are Mr. Powell, Mr. Marquardt, Cheryl Repetti, Sharron DeBragga, Anne-Day McCabe, Bryan Hunt (a nonvoting advisory member), Dan Kolansky, Paul Flood, Jim Daniels and Kimmon Williams.
Mr. Powell said the foundation’s annual budget is about $9,000 but that he is intent on raising the $4 million endowment. “I’ll commit to whatever I have to commit to make this happen,” he said. “I don’t want a grant. I want a gift. If we continue to do good things, we’ll find members of this community who have a good heart and who want to establish a legacy to do good things for others.”
Mr. Powell and his wife, Kimberly, moved from New York City to Centreville in 1999, when they were expecting their daughter Kailla. He said they chose Centreville because of its quality of life. Mr. Powell was raised in a military family. His father was a career Navy man. “We lived all over the country,” Mr. Powell said. “But every two years we’d come back to the D.C. area.”
“My wife and I are proud to call Centreville home for many reasons,” Mr. Powell said. “In spite of all of the recent development, this town still has that suburban feel. With the diversity of ethnicity and socioeconomics, it is absolutely an ideal place to raise a citizen of the world. It’s my hope that my daughter will be able to establish a lifetime of fond memories and develop a keen sense for what a great American community can be.”
Centreville’s history dates back to the 1760s, when the area was known as Newgate, a name derived from the Newgate Tavern operated by William Carr Lane. The town of Centreville was established in 1792. Its name comes from the fact that Centreville is located centrally from Alexandria, Colchester, Dumfries, Middleburg, Georgetown, Warrenton and Leesburg. During the Civil War, Centreville was the site of several battles, including the First and Second Battles of Manassas and the Battle of Chantilly.
• Polly Elmore is a public relations consultant and a freelance writer who lives in the Centreville area.
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