On May 27, 2009 the Peninsula Rotary Club's Martin Gracey Award for Extraordinary Service was awarded to John L. Johnson.  John has been prominent in the community for many years, and has served in many ways.  He received the Gracey Award, however, specifically for his work with Hampton Ecumenical Lodgings and Provisions, Inc. (H.E.L.P.).  John helped found the charitable organization in 1982 and assisted in its running for the next nineteen years, ending his tenure as Executive Director.  Under his leadership H.E.L.P. opened the first family shelter and the first free clinic in Hampton, and the organization assisted thousands of people in need.

The Martin Gracey Award for Extraordinary Service is the highest award that the Peninsula Rotary Club gives, and is for an unusually high level of service to our community.  It is awarded for a specific act or function that not only is extraordinary service, but also is of a lasting value to the community.  Although conceived as an annual award,  because of the high standards associated with the honor, the club recognizes that it will not necessarily be awarded every year.   Past honorees have been:   2002  Paul Trible, President, Christopher Newport University;   2004  Bobby Freeman, Port Warwick developer and president and founder, Newport News Public Art Foundation;   2006  Harry Wason, founding member and benefactor, Virginia Living Museum; and   2009  John L. Johnson, a founder and long-time leader of Hampton Ecumenical Lodgings and Provisions, Inc. (H.E.L.P.).

 

The Martin Gracey Award for Extraordinary Service is named in honor of Martin Gracey, a longtime member of the Peninsula Rotary Club.  Martin graduated from the College of William & Mary in 1939. He began his career as a flight instructor at air force bases in Florida, Pennsylvania and Texas, and then held various executive positions. While in Texas he began his interest in Rotary and in 1966 was president of the Houston Rotary Club, which had over 500 members. He returned to the Peninsula in the mid-1970s to work for a NASA contractor called Klate-Holt Company; he was a partner in the company, and president of the local branch.  In the Peninsula Rotary Club Martin was beloved for his humor, his abilities as a raconteur, his high ethical standards, and his generosity in giving both to the club and to the community.