DARDEN AWARDS

Celebrating contributions to regional leadership

Darden Awards for regional leadership

Wednesday, November 20, 2024

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  • Date: Wednesday, November 20th, 2024
  • Time: 5:30 pm
  • Location: Norfolk Waterside Marriott (Hampton Ballroom – 3rd Floor)
  • Registration: Register Here
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2024 Darden Awards Honorees

Richard and Carolyn Barry

Individual Darden Award

The Barrys have a long history of promoting philanthropy and civic engagement in the community. They have made numerous artistic and cultural contributions to Hampton Roads institutions over the years and endowed scholarships that have helped hundreds of students complete their education. In 1985 Richard Barry chaired the United Way General Campaign covering the South of Hampton Roads. The Barrys have also supported EVMS and CHKD as well as the Mariners’ Museum. They have been longtime benefactors of the Chrysler Museum of Art where they endowed the Curator of Glass position and where Carolyn served as a docent for 35 years and was on the board for 8 years.
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Perhaps their biggest impact can be felt at Old Dominion University with a $37 million gift – the largest in the University’s history – to establish the Barry Art Museum. This state-of-the-art, 24,000-square-foot museum features modernist paintings, historical dolls and glass sculptures donated by the Barrys. Richard, a long time Landmark executive, was a member of the University Board of Visitors for eight years, serving two years as rector. Carolyn has shared her love for the University over the years, teaching math as an adjunct faculty member, and most recently as a board member of the Barry Art Museum. In 2012 they made the lead gift to construct the Barry Art Building, which houses classrooms as well as the Elise N. Hofheimer Art Library and the Jean Outland Chrysler Library of the Chrysler Museum.

The Barrys’ community efforts will be felt in Hampton Roads for many decades.

Children’s Hospital of The King’s Daughters (CHKD)

Corporate Darden Award

Children’s Hospital of The King’s Daughters (CHKD) is the only freestanding, full-service, children’s hospital in Virginia and serves the medical and surgical needs of children throughout greater Hampton Roads, the Eastern Shore of Virginia, and northeastern North Carolina. The not-for-profit CHKD Health System operates primary care pediatric practices, surgical practices, multi-service health centers, urgent care centers, and satellite offices throughout its service region.
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Children’s Pavilion, CHKD’s new mental health hospital and outpatient center, opened in 2022 to address the region’s need for pediatric mental health services. When fully operational, the facility will admit approximately 2,500 children annually for inpatient care, conduct 48,000 outpatient therapy appointments each year, and create 400 new jobs in the Hampton Roads area.

Thanks to the community’s generous response to the CHKD Lighting the Way fundraising campaign CHKD was able to reach its $75 million goal.

Overall, CHKD plays a crucial role in enhancing the health and well-being of children and families in the Hampton Roads area through its comprehensive healthcare services, educational initiatives, and community partnerships and is deserving of the Corporate Darden Award.

“To be included among the organizations that have shared this honor in the past is both humbling and inspiring,” said Amy Sampson, CHKD’s president and CEO. “We are incredibly grateful to CIVIC for their acknowledgement and for all that they do to empower leaders in our community to make a difference.”

About the Darden Awards

The annual Darden Awards welcomes over 550 regional executives and community leaders to celebrate the honorees’ contributions to regional leadership.  Established in 2005, the Darden Award for Regional Leadership is named for CIVIC Leadership Institute’s Founder Emeritus, the late Joshua P. Darden Jr. 

Each year an individual and a corporation from the Hampton Roads region is selected to receive the award.  Those honored have delivered extraordinary service on boards, commissions and as community volunteers. They worked to create sustainable efforts toward the betterment of life for the people of the Hampton Roads Region and demonstrate exceptional leadership in the pursuit of regional cooperation.

Darden Award RECIPIENTS

    • 2023 Individual Honorees: Robert W. Cross
      2023 Corporate Honorees: LifeNet Health
    • 2022 Individual Honorees: Gilbert T. Bland
      2022 Corporate Honoree: Sentara Healthcare
    • 2019 Individual Honorees: David and Susan Goode
      2019 Corporate Honoree: Kaufman & Canoles
    • 2018 Individual Honoree: Harvey L. Lindsay, Jr.
      2018 Corporate Honoree: Ferguson
    • 2017 Individual Honoree: George Y. Birdsong
      2017 Corporate Honoree: Dollar Tree
    • 2016 Individual Honoree: John R. Lawson, II
      2016 Corporate Honoree: Landmark Media Enterprises, LLC
    • 2015 Individual Honorees: Joan and Macon Brock
      2015 Corporate Honoree: Newport News Shipbuilding
    • 2014 Individual Honoree: Jane Parke Batten
      2014 Corporate Honoree: Norfolk Southern Corporation
    • 2013 Individual Honoree: John O. “Dubby” Wynne
      2013 Corporate Honoree: TowneBank
    • 2012: Vince & Suzanne Mastracco
    • 2011: Dr. Deborah M. DiCroce
    • 2010: Jack L. Ezzell, Jr.
    • 2009: Harry T. Lester
    • 2008: Paul O. Hirschbiel, Jr.
    • 2007: G. Robert Aston, Jr.
    • 2006: J. Robert Bray
    • 2005: Joshua P. Darden, Jr., Founder Emeritus

Darden Awards Sponsors

Thank you for the support of our generous sponsors. We are especially appreciative to our Title Sponsor, TowneBank, for their commitment to the Darden Awards. For more information about sponsoring the Darden Awards for Regional Leadership, please contact executiveprograms@civichr.org.

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