WS Chronicle

Former Hanes Hosiery Community Center Supervisor Art Blevins has been retired for six months.  That has not stopped him from keeping in touch with many of his kids or their parents from the neighborhood.  Recently, Blevins took 42 kids and parents to a Wake Forest game at the Lawrence Joel Coliseum for some fun.

Thanks to many of Blevins’ special friends and connections, he has taken the families to all of the Wake Forest home football games.  Thus far in the basketball season he has taken the families to five of the Demon Deacons basketball games.

“It takes a community to raise a child, and I have been blessed with wonderful friends that help me take care of my kids,” said Blevins.  “Even after I have retired, this still means a lot.”

According to Blevins, he misses his work at “The Hosiery” but doing special events with his kids every other weekend means a lot.  He says seeing them and their parents makes the transition that much easier.

“I’ve been blessed over the years and will always continue to give back and try to take care of as may kids as I can,” Blevins continued.

Blevins says he and his wife, Ruth Anne, will also provide Christmas gifts again this year for three families from the neighborhood at the community center.  They also provided meals for families during Thanksgiving from the center as well.

As far as retirement goes, Blevins is beginning to get used to it.  He says he keeps busy by taking his mom out, helping his wife, seeing his daughter Kayla more often and taking his kids to ballgames on the weekends.

Blevins credits and gives thanks to the “Good Lord” and special friends such as; Randy Norris, Jon Hoban, Bethany Davoll, Jack Green, Willie Hawkins, Charlie Griggs, Nick Jamison, Ron Wellman, Julie Griffin and Claudette and Joel Weston for all of their support and help throughout the years as well as during his retirement.

Blevins has also spent time with other recent retirees from the Winston-Salem Recreation and Parks Department such as Ben Piggott and Brian Manns.  Piggott says the time he has been able to spend with the “other legends” has been a blessing.

“We just sat and talked about how the times have changed and how our mission was to help the community,” Piggott said of his conversations with Blevins and Manns.  “It is amazing because we were walking in the mall with Art’s mom and we were stopped and spoken to by so many people. It just makes us feel so appreciated.”

Manns added, “Retirement has been great. We are all smiles right about now.  This has been wonderful to see the impact Art continues to have on the kids.”

Blevins says he looks forward to seeing the kids when he returns to the community center.  For him even though he is retired, this is what he feels he needs to do.  He feels this is definitely not an ending but a new beginning.

“I have already had several job offers, but I am going to wait and enjoy retirement a little while longer,” Blevins said of his future.