2/22/2006
Adolphus Young is a quiet, humble man who does not seek praise for the service he gives to his church and community.
Young, manager of the Welch office for the Division of Rehabilitation Services (DRS), pastors a church an hour’s drive from his Mount Hope home. He heads a group that coordinates services for McDowell County families and children, speaks to churches and puts up displays about African-American history, and does income tax returns for senior citizens and people with disabilities.
The 58-year-old’s deeds have not gone unnoticed. Young was presented with the Living the Dream Award for Human and Civil Rights during a Jan. 14 ceremony at the Cultural Center in Charleston.
“I feel really honored to be selected,” Young said. “I don’t look at what I do as something for which I expect to be recognized or to receive an award. It’s just something I enjoy doing.”
The West Virginia Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday Commission awards Living the Dream honors
in various categories. State Supreme Court Justice Larry Starcher helped present the award to Young, saying it was going to a person “who has been actively involved in the pursuit of equality for others and is an advocate for social change.”
What Young and his family busy themselves doing is serving other people. He pastors a church in Rocky Gap, Va., while his wife, Justina, pastors a church in Lebanon, Va. Both are ordained ministers in the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church. Their son, Adolphus “Terry” Young III, has been a minister for three years. He is stationed in Nevada with the Air Force.
At DRS, Young has spent his entire 36 ½-year career working out of the Welch office, where he “advocates the rights of people with disabilities just about every day.” He began his career as a rehabilitation counselor and has been office manager for 10 years.
Outside of work, Young keeps busy with his church and community activities. He is also a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, a group that is raising $100 million to build a monument in Washington, D.C., to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Young said he is “willing to talk to and help anyone I can” when it comes to civil and human rights issues. He believes advances have been made in these areas over the years, but there will always be a need to push for change.
Growing up in Keystone in McDowell County, Young has never strayed too far from home. He received his bachelor’s degree in business administration from Bluefield State College and has completed graduate courses in rehabilitation counseling at Virginia Commonwealth, Marshall, West Virginia and George Washington universities.
Young is humble about all the accolades. His first reaction was that he wasn’t very deserving of the award, but “then I said to myself, ‘Ordinary people can do extraordinary things without expectations of any recognition or praise.’ ”
Contact Information
Tracy Carr
304-766-4997