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The Community Heroes Brunch honored 11-year-old Adrianna Brown of Hampton for her Hampton Youth Conference which saw 75 youth in attendance.

K’Shona “KK” Peterson and fellow Hilton Garden Inn Suffolk Riverfront staff were also honored as Leading Leaders and given a standing ovation during the 7th Annual Community Heroes Brunch at Hilton Garden Inn Suffolk Riverfront on Sat. Oct. 12.

Bishop Carey Jefferson Brown, Sr. of Deeper Life World Outreach Ministries and Kingdom Builders Fellowship was one of many who were honored as Leading Leaders at the 7th Annual Community Heroes Brunch at Hilton Garden Inn Suffolk Riverfront on Sat. Oct. 12.

Amongst the Peanut Fest festivities saw Hampton Roads community leaders receive recognition for their honorable work serving the community.

The Hilton Garden Inn Suffolk Riverfront held its 7th Annual Community Heroes Brunch: Leading Leaders Awards on Saturday, Oct. 12, which saw plenty of local leaders recognized for their service. With Landmark Hotel Group and Hilton Garden Inn Suffolk Riverfront Director of Sales and Catering Lisa Burrell serving as emcee, the celebration welcomed around 400 attendees. Bishop Andre’ K. Dent of St. John Community Church served as Guest Speaker with Gates County, North Carolina. Praise and Worship Group The D.O.V.E.S providing musical selections alongside saxophonist Channing Moss. Plenty of door prizes, clergy appreciation and surprise awards were also given out. Burrell had a chance to reflect on the awards while discussing the theme of “Leading Leaders.”

“So this year, I really looked at people that not only are leaders in their own right, but they’re leading other leaders as well,” Burrell said.

Award recipients included both Dent and Cynthia Everette Dent, Do Gooders of Hampton Roads, Bishop Carey Jefferson Brown, Sr. of Deeper Life World Outreach Ministries and Kingdom Builders Fellowship, Dr. Ervin L. Harvey, Sr. and Pastor Sonja Harvey of Increase International Ministries and Ervin Harvey Worldside Ministries, Rev. Dr. Milton A. Hathaway and Dr. Sylvia L. Hathaway, Dr. Dwight Riddick, II, Dr. Teresa R. Sutherlin of Grace Bible College and Theological Seminary, Dr. Dervin L. Smalls and Co-Pastor Lillian Smalls of New Hope Deliverance Center Inc., Richard and Mari Robinson, Shirley H. Scarborough and Alyvia Hathaway of Mills E. Godwin High School. Mayor Michael Duman, who also attended the event, was also an award recipient.

Surprise Leading Leader recipients also included The D.O.V.E.S, Grove Baptist Church Head of Media Lee Anderson, and 11-year-old Adrianna Brown who had her own Hampton Youth Conference, which saw 75 youth in attendance. Similar to last year, hotel staff members were also honored with awards for their service as well, where they were given a standing ovation.

“They got to meet some of the department heads that they didn’t ever know who fixes everything and who’s back there doing all the cooking and who’s setting up everything…and that was amazing. And they even surprised me with something yesterday,” Burrell said. “It was a day of giving. Everybody was giving…”

Also noting that October is the Landmark Hotel Group’s month of giving, Burrell says they raise funds for United Way towards mental health awareness. 

On the origins of the awards, Burrell says it started in 2016 as a Pastor Appreciation and soon evolved into a focus on community leaders.

“Because pastors are community leaders,” she said. “And I wanted to open it up so it wouldn’t just be only pastors in the room. That we would have business leaders in the room, nonprofit leaders in the room, government, anybody that’s a leader, they could all be in the room because if we work together, that’s what the whole thing is, just the bridging [of] that gap.”

As Burrell gears up for next year’s awards, she expressed the feeling she gets when giving back to the Suffolk and Hampton Roads community, calling it “the most rewarding feeling.” 

“It’s just so rewarding to be able to be a part of a community that comes together, that encourages one another and helps one another,” she said. “I am really so thankful to be here in Suffolk, here now 10 years myself, and I’m just seeing it grow by leaps and bounds and the people I’ve met here, I can say are true friends and be lifelong friends of mine. So I’m just so thankful to be a part of it.”

Next year’s Community Heroes Brunch is currently set for Oct. 11, 2025.

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