WVVA Hometown Hero: Debrah Ammar: A living legacy of commitment to community beautification
BLUEFIELD, W.Va. (WVVA) - The latest WVVA Hometown Hero honoree was nominated by her daughter, for years of tireless work to help beautify the city of Bluefield, West Virginia. Olivia Ammar says she witnessed her mother, Debrah Ammar, invest years of volunteer time to the herculean work of renovating an historic theater and much more.
Ammar moved to Bluefield, West Virginia from Man in Logan County decades ago as a young bride and new mom. Since arriving in town, she says she’s witnessed real change in the City of Bluefield.
“To have lived here all these years and seen, and have seen the progress that has been made, I’m impressed,” said Ammar. “I’m proud to live here. I love this town. I love this city.”
Ammar has weathered storms since moving to the area as well. Beginning with the death of her husband, she suddenly found herself a single mother to two young daughters. The youngest, Olivia, says she wrote her Hometown Hero nomination letter because her mom is “very driven,” adding “when she sets her mind on something, she always follows through. She gives it 100%.”
Olivia Ammar shared just how active her mother has been in that nomination letter -- writing “In her years of philanthropic leadership, she oversaw the restoration of the Granada Theater in Downtown Bluefield W.Va., chaired the Lemonade Festival for the Two Virginias, and incubated the Blue Spoon Cafe. [She’s also] the former president of the Bluefield Preservation Society and is the current Vice President of BARC (Bluefield Arts Rehabilitation Corporation) and a member of the Bluefield State University School Advisory Board.”
We shared the letter with her mother, who told us “it was a very sweet thing to do...I’m very honored, very honored. I hold this city, too, dearly in my heart.”
The man who first approached Ammar more than a decade ago to ask her to become involved in the Granada Theater Project, shared his impressions of Ammar’s ‘can-do’ spirit.
“Now that speaks volumes to me about the character of a person and how bad they want to make their mark so to speak,” said Skim Crane. “She didn’t just say it, she lived it. And I, I’m just so impressed with her and I’m so glad that she has been chosen for a hometown hero. She is much, much deserving of it. "
Ammar shared some advice as well -- for others, who want to leave a positive mark on their community.
“I would think about my passion, and then I wouldn’t be afraid to get my toes wet,” said Ammar. “If it’s just a little bit of time you could commit, that’s better than nothing, because we are always looking for volunteers. There’s not a city in this world that [doesn’t have] arts, or Agencies, committees. They need volunteers. They need volunteers and you need to step up and volunteer what time you have available. And it will be greatly appreciated. "
And it’s the difference Ammar has made, and continued to make on her community, that makes her a WVVA Hometown Hero.
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