Unsung hero: Block captain Gloria Blair

Have you ever heard the saying, “a good deed goes a long way?” Unfortunately, for one Germantown block captain, many of her deeds tend to go unnoticed.

Some of us are very familiar with our block captains while some of us do not know what a block captain is. If you were to ask the residents of 1500 Portico Street who their block captain is, they would immediately acknowledge, “Brown Sugar”. Ms. Gloria “Brown Sugar” Blair has served as one of two Portico Street block captains for over 25 years.

According to Sandra Pugh, a member of Wister Neighborhood Council, “Ms.Blair is a compassionate friend who cares a lot about the upkeep and wellness of herneighbors and block.”  “Her kind gestures make me more aware of the upkeep of my community such as advocating to get rid of graffiti or help watch over the children on the block.”

Pugh continued her praise, “Brown Sugar deserves the highest recognition for her work, I have never seen a block this clean and maintained in all of my 40 years of residing inGermantown.”I had the opportunity to take a walk with Gloria Blair through her block to see the work she has done. One of her many accomplishments included receiving herneighbors’ approval to paint the top of each house black and white. When asked why she wanted to paint the houses she’s stated, “so the houses can look neat and on oneaccord.”

After viewing the block, I agreed that the houses looked unified andorganized.

Blair’s daily tasks include making certain there is no trash on the ground. While  we were walking through the block she picked up a rock from the sidewalk to insure that the street remained safe and tidy for it’s residents.Blair continues to try and maintain a pleasant and livable block for her neighbors. She islooking forward to Portico Street’s annual Unity Day block party on September 5th, Labor Day.  The summer event has been occurring for over 20 years.

One of Blair’s future goals includes getting a mural painted on the side of a business. The mural will depict  images of neighborhood children and past residents. For these reasons and more Gloria “Brown Sugar” Blair deserves ‘Neighborhood Props’.