Roy grew up in Richmond, Va in a family with six siblings, three older brothers and two younger sisters. Roy’s dad was a prominent Dentist in town. He attended Douglas Freeman High School where he excelled in football and went on to play at the Virginia Military Institute (VMI).
Roy graduated VMI with a BA in History and a commission into the US Navy. From VMI Roy reported to the USS Barbour County as a Surface Warfare Officer stationed in San Diego, CA. On the Barbour County, he did two six-month deployments, one to the Persian Gulf and one to the South Pacific. During these deployments Roy saw much of the world, including Hawaii, Hong Kong, Sidney and Brisbane, Australia, Phuket Thailand, Lumet Malaysia, both American and Western Samoa, Kora Palau, Tonga and many other small islands in the South Pacific.
In November of 1989 Roy transferred to the Military Sealift Command in Washington, DC. Here he served as an Admiral’s Aid and again was able to travel the world, mainly throughout Europe. Roy met his future wife, Paige Willhite, also from Richmond, while in DC. Roy resigned from the US Navy in 1994. He went on to work for the Department of the Navy as a civilian for the next three years. He and Paige were married in April of 1994. In 1997 Roy started a career in Sales. They resided in DC until 1997 when they were both transferred to Atlanta, Georgia.
Roy and Paige moved back to Richmond in December of 1999 to start a family. Their first son Frank was born in February of 2000. Robert was born in January of 2003. Roy moved into Sales Management in 1997 and has continued in that field for the past 22 years. He has been in various industries but mainly in Health care. Roy currently works for 3M as a Key Account Manager in the Southeast. Unfortunately, in January 2007, his wife Paige passed away from a brain tumor.
Roy married Emily Mumford in April of 2015. She has four kids, three girls and a boy. They immediately became the “Brady Bunch”. They made it through “the experience” of blending a family. On August 6, 2016 their lives changed. Frank, at the age of 16 was killed in a single-car accident. He had a blood alcohol level of .19, over 2 times the legal limit. He was going into his Junior year at Douglas Freeman and had an outstanding future as both a football and lacrosse player ahead of him. The family immediately became an open book about the situation and the accident. In February 2017, Roy established “The Frankie Woolwine Story Foundation.” Based on Frank’s story with the hope and feeling that if he could help kids to stop and take that second to “think,” these types of accidents can be avoided.
2019 Inspirational Speaker: Alex Peavey
2018 Inspirational Speaker: Mathew Hirschberg
2017 Inspirational Speaker: John Dau
2016 Inspirational Speaker: John O’Leary
2015 Inspirational Speaker: David Gallagher
Thank you to our 2020 EARLY Live Your Dash Sponsors
To many, it is but a hyphen… marking time between the years, but in that little dash, is a lifetime of laughter, love and tears.
We each create the legacy our dash will someday represent and decide if the life we’re given is truly lived…or merely spent.
Excerpted from “Live Your Dash, Make Every Moment Matter” by Linda Ellis.
Live Your Dash Award
Live Your Dash awards are presented to a select few in the Richmond area who are truly making a difference in our community and are a shining example of the Live Your Dash motto in action. They are selfless, hard-working, dedicated to their cause, and compassionate towards others. These award winners are using their dash to make sure our Richmond community is a better place to live and work.
2020 Award Recipients will be announced SOON
2019 Recipients
Cheryl Bemis
Cheryl founded “Pay It Forward Outreach,” an organization that helps the homeless and those living in poverty with clothes, food, household items, toiletries, and other resources to help them get back on their feet. Since August 2016, Pay It Forward Outreach has partnered with more than 20 organizations to pool resources or channel donations to Richmonders in need. Working with groups like Caritas, Feed More, the Ronald McDonald House, and hundreds of individual volunteers, Pay It Forward Outreach organizes, distributes, and channels people and products to those in need. In the last year, the organization has set up and furnished over 30 homes for those coming out of homelessness or living in poverty.
Karla Helbert, LPC, C-IAYT
Cheryl Bemis – Cheryl founded “Pay It Forward Outreach,” an organization that helps the homeless and those living in poverty with clothes, food, household items, toiletries, and other resources to help them get back on their feet. Since August 2016, Pay It Forward Outreach has partnered with more than 20 organizations to pool resources or channel donations to Richmonders in need. Working with groups like Caritas, Feed More, the Ronald McDonald House, and hundreds of individual volunteers, Pay It Forward Outreach organizes, distributes, and channels people and products to those in need. In the last year, the organization has set up and furnished over 30 homes for those coming out of homelessness or living in poverty.
Emily Koski
Cheryl Bemis – Cheryl founded “Pay It Forward Outreach,” an organization that helps the homeless and those living in poverty with clothes, food, household items, toiletries, and other resources to help them get back on their feet. Since August 2016, Pay It Forward Outreach has partnered with more than 20 organizations to pool resources or channel donations to Richmonders in need. Working with groups like Caritas, Feed More, the Ronald McDonald House, and hundreds of individual volunteers, Pay It Forward Outreach organizes, distributes, and channels people and products to those in need. In the last year, the organization has set up and furnished over 30 homes for those coming out of homelessness or living in poverty.
Youth Award: The Vantre Children
Youth Award: The Vantre Children – After volunteering on MLK Day, Drew Vantre (13) and his three siblings, Nick (17), Steele (15), and Ella (11) decided to make an impact in the community as a family. These siblings saw the need in Richmond schools for supplies, which are necessary to help kids learn. The Vantres launched “Just Drew It,” in 2015, collecting new and used school supplies, packaged snacks for an early learning reading program, curriculum materials, and backpacks. These siblings have combined their passions for soccer and art by holding a children’s art contest each fall and creating notecards from the winners’ art to sell during the winter holidays. They also hold well placed bake sales at soccer and futsal events. These funds enable them to purchase basic school supplies as well as fulfill special requests from schools, such as an awning for a front office, water coolers, and a humidifier.
2018 Award Recipients: Dr. Omar Abubaker, Venus Bolton, Tamika Shelton, and Mark Smith
2017 Award Recipients: Bob Argabright, Danny Avula, Monroe Hill, and Anne Moss Rogers
2016 Award Recipients:Cindy Harris, Dr. Allison Jackson, Cindy Maynard, and Alexander Sims
2015 Award Recipients:David and Grace Gallagher, Shirley Ramsey, Shirley Richardson, and Anna Whiston-Donaldson
