WS Chronicle

By Busta Brown

She has a superhero name, but doesn’t wear a cape or a tight flamboyant costume with big letters. But for 19 years, whenever there’s a family in need of love for the holidays, Boss Lady has always been there to save the day. 

Each year she reads every single letter from over 200 families in need of love and a hand up. She shared a few lines from one of the letters: “Boss Lady, I’m having some bad luck this year. I don’t have a job, and no place to live. Can you please help me with my babies?” 

“Busta, everybody from time to time goes through something. You may be up today and tomorrow you may have a misfortune,” she said. I’ve met Boss Lady and I have no doubt that God has ordained this Super Woman to lift up parents during their down times. 

When she’s not in the community lifting up spirits, she’s doing it on the air. Anita Dean-Arnette, intimately known as Boss Lady, has been a radio legend for over 40 years. Her radio show airs on The Light, 1340 AM in Winston-Salem and 1400 AM in Greensboro. If you’re having a rough day, turn on the Boss Lady! Her inspirational words of wisdom and The Light’s excellent selection of gospel music is the best medicine. 

Anita said that she’s extremely blessed to work for a radio station that supports her love for the community. “For the past 19 years, they have always supported Boss Lady’s Toy Drive. So many families look forward to this,” she said. Then she was silent. She took a few seconds to compose herself, trying to hold back her tears. “All these kids want is a toy for Christmas. Just one toy!” 

At that point, I had to take a few seconds to compose myself and hold back my tears. Wow! 

She continued, “One lady came to me and said ‘All I need is a mattress.’ Another lady just wanted a Christmas tree. She told me she didn’t have the strength or will to figure out a way to get a tree for her children. I can relate to both situations because at one point, I wasn’t able to get for my children or myself. And somebody had to help me, so that’s why I do this.” 

That’s what real life superheroes do. No cape, no costume, no flying in the sky. Just being on time, when there’s a need for love. 

Have you ever heard that saying, you reap what you sow? Well, Boss Lady is reaping. Lots of the families she’s helped in the past are now able to bless others. “Families come to the toy drive every year and tell me, ‘You helped me some years back and now I’m paying it forward.’ So, this is what really drives me and keeps me going with this toy drive.” 

The Boss Lady Toy Drive began after she witnessed many families getting turned away from other organizations during this time in December. “So I said to myself, Why would I keep giving my money to places where I don’t know where my dollars are going? So I had a talk with the station and said I want to do a toy drive, and it’s been a wonderful experience.” 

The toy drive is well organized. The families are contacted and then given a time to come pick up their gifts. The families receive lots of new and unwrapped toys, along with new bikes, dolls, video games, clothes, and more. They even receive a basket of fresh fruit and a bag of groceries. 

Busta’s Person of the Week is Anita “Boss Lady” Dean-Arnette, a real-life superhero, sharing real-life stories of everyday people. 

For more information, contact Boss Lady at 336-480-2039 or visit aarnette@truthnetwork.com.