WVVA Hometown Hero: William “Rocky” Hill helps his community

BLUEFIELD, W.Va. (WVVA) - WVVA’s latest Hometown Hero takes us to Tazewell County, Va.. However, this man says he’ll go wherever help is needed in Southwest Virginia.

William “Rocky” Hill started a non-profit organization, and channeled his love of sports into a coaching opportunity for special needs children -- who he calls “God’s Rockstars.” Nowadays, however, that group is reaching beyond ball fields or basketball courts. They even step-in to help when disaster strikes.

The last time major flooding ravaged Buchanan County, help rolled in from a lot of places -- including Tazewell County next door. That’s when 49-year-old Hill gathered the resources of the non-profit he co-founded, and they pushed through to help the people in need. Hill’s missions of mercy did not start with natural disaster relief, however. It began with a life-changing injury he suffered when he worked in the coal mines.

“So I had to go in for emergency surgery six weeks later and they couldn’t save the shoulder and they put a reverse shoulder in. Elderly shoulder for 65 and up. It’s metal ball, metal bar,” said Hill. “Can’t go above my head, behind my back and had to have surgery at least every ten years. Yeah, I’ve been through pure hell but that’s why why we give back so much.”

Hill said his giving back began seven years ago, following a high school classmate’s journey on social media which chronicled their son with special needs.

“I just admired Chad from a distance as a father. And he posted Jack on there, one day playing ball and I thought it was the coolest thing ever,” said Hill. “We had always coached youth league and I looked, and I looked, and rolled over to her one morning, and...I said ‘it’s time to quit coaching and I want to start coaching special-needs kids.’”

Hill says that’s how God’s Rockstars was born. And while special needs athletics remains the foundation, Hill says their mission to help others is all-inclusive.

“To be honest with you, life is tough enough just life. And I just, our goal when we wake up every day is...everybody deserves a smile and some enjoyment in life. Our goal now, is like you said, expand it. Bring joy to everybody that we are in contact with in this world. Whether it’s Hurley, Whitewood, Honaker, Lebanon, Richland, whatever. If somebody needs us, and we have the capabilities to do it, we feel like we are entitled to do it to give them a little better day,” said Hill.

One of the latest projects for God’s Rockstars is a total rebuild of Lake Park in Richlands, Va.. It’s been re-fitted for fun for people of all abilities. Hill says there’s more than pride in the work at that park, because he and his team of volunteers know it will pump positive vibes into the community for years to come.

“That’s our goal. You know people take legacy, I think they twist that word much too much. I think as a human, you should want to leave a legacy,” said Hill. “Because if you leave a good legacy, like the park, it’s generations from here on out it’s generations from here on out enjoy that who will get to enjoy that park, and that is the ultimate goal....I may have a child a child that comes to that park, and that park may have got them through that day to survive. And then that person may turn around and grow up one day and change the world. they may be the kid that comes up with the cure for cancer. They may be the next President of the United States. And I would have a small part in that. And that’s what I think about and that’s what I think about when I help kids. I want them to have the chance to make something of their life. And one day a joy can get you through to the next day. And then you don’t know what’s going to happen from there. You keep building, and pressing so, we just love giving the kids some smiles and enjoyment, trying to encourage and trying to encourage them to be , something great one day.”

Hill says everyone has the potential to do something positive in their community, but it doesn’t have to be as enduring as rebuilding a playground. What some might consider a fleeting act of kindness, for others, could resonate throughout their lifetime.

“We came up with the saying be a miracle saying, “be a miracle”. It’s BAM, if you ever see me on social media, it says, BAM! Like BAM! Like make it happen. But it says “be a miracle”. What we mean by that is you know the great miracles of this world, that’s up to the great father,” said Hill. “That’s his doing. But I do believe that we are put on this earth to make a difference. And when I say be a miracle I don’t mean like cure cancer, or or a great surgeon or this, or that. What I mean by that is like me, I may be having a bad day, and if somebody gets that door for me tonight and smiles and says, ‘how are you doing Rocky? Do you need something?’ Be what it takes to get me out that may be what it takes to get me out of depression, or something bad for the next day. And that person didn’t realize it but them doing that kind statement got me to the next day. I really believe that with all my heart. if we would walk around in this world and in our communities and look at the elderly when they are by themselves and pick pick the grocery bag up and help them, take it to the car, that may be what they need to get to the next day. so don’t think big, think simple when it comes to being a miracle in this world. You know, do the small things. Small things will create the big things.”

It’s all the things, large and small -- from carrying groceries, to delivering meals to people in need. That’s along with, of course, coaching kids to be their personal best, that makes William “Rocky” Hill a WVVA Hometown Hero.

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