My standard line goes something like this: If you read very many editorials, you know we complain a lot. This is the time of year when the editorial board gets to say thank you.
That’s what I sometimes tell our Central Floridian of the Year finalists when I call to let them know the editorial board wants to recognize their contributions of time, talent or treasure to make our region a better place in 2019.
Last year we thanked Desmond Meade, the Orlando man who was our 2018 Central Floridian of the Year for leading the effort to change Florida’s constitution so that ex-felons could regain the right to vote. Florida’s voters overwhelmingly passed the amendment, restoring a basic freedom to people who had paid their debt to society.
This year the editorial board has a list of six finalists. That’s more than usual, but the editorial board couldn’t agree on whom to cut. Since it’s our award, and we get to make the rules, six it was.
Over the next few weeks we’ll publish stories about each of the finalists and their contributions. We’ll name the winner at an event on Feb. 27.
For now, here’s a quick look at our 2019 finalists:
Donna Hedrick. You may have read about her a couple of weeks ago in Scott Maxwell’s column. She was a kid, raped long ago by a teacher. In 2017, Hedrick decided to come forward and tell her story. But at first no one was willing to listen. Police said the statute of limitations for prosecuting her attacker had expired. Now Hedrick’s name is on a bill — Donna’s Law — that would do away with all such limits for kids who are sexually assaulted.
Alex Morgan, Ashlyn Harris and Ali Krieger. Soccer fans recognize this trio as players for the Orlando Pride and members of the U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team, which won the World Cup last summer and gave Central Floridians a thrill of local pride. But then the team used that high-profile platform to demand pay equality with the men’s team. Fame is good, but it’s better when you do something constructive with it. (Harris and Krieger just got married in Miami last week, so double congratulations to them.)
Mary Lee Downey. When the indie film “The Florida Project” opened in 2017, it revealed to audiences the kind of life that tourism workers live in Kissimmee hotels, the only shelter some can afford. The movie was nothing new to the Rev. Mary Lee Downey, who founded the Community Hope Center in 2013. The charity helps low-income families get by and find help, with a focus on the area’s homeless and hotel populations. The region’s housing crisis may be getting more attention these days, but Downey has been in the trenches for a long time.
Richard Ortega. At 96 years old, Ortega is a marvel of longevity, but also generosity. He came to the United States from Cuba in 1923, joined the Army in 1942 and two years later was running across the sands of Omaha Beach during D-Day. After a long career of military service he could have taken to the rocker but instead began a new career of volunteer services for the Civil Air Patrol, Meals on Wheels and the city of Orlando. What a remarkable life.
Revel Lubin. For some high school kids, sports can become all consuming. For three-sport Oak Ridge High athlete Revel Lubin, sports became dispensable after his mother died. Revel quit football, basketball and tennis in his junior year so he could help support the family. Then he started a holiday food drive here. Then, at the University of Florida, he came up with a grant program to help kids get their laundry done. Now he’s at Yale’s divinity school. All of this at 24 years old.
Ron and Lin Wilensky. Opening Dave’s House to shelter homeless people with mental illness was personal for the Wilenskys. Lin’s brother, Dave, struggled with mental illness for years but finally found a place where he could live his life in relative peace and safety. The couple now operate nine homes in Florida and Virginia, where some 100 people find similar refuge. In a region with a chronic housing shortage, they help those who face some of the greatest challenges in finding shelter.
These finalists were among the dozens of nominations we received from readers. We’re lucky to live in an area with so many people who deserve our thanks.
Contact Mike Lafferty at mlafferty@orlandosentinel.com.
