Patriotic Chesapeake youth to be honored on Fox TV program
Charlie Hecht, a 14-yearold Chesapeake resident, will be honored Wednesday at The Patriot Awards in St. Petersburg, Fla. The Fox Nation streaming service will cover the event live at 7 p.m. from the Duke Energy Center for the Arts.
The following day, Hecht is expected to appear with other award winners on “Fox & Friends,” the Fox News Channel morning show that signs on at 6 a.m. The network will also report on the event in a special at 8 p.m. Nov. 24.
Hecht will be presented with The Unsung Hero Award for his fly-the-flag campaign this past Fourth of July. Hecht said: “I like spreading patriotism in my community. Flying the American flag on a holiday is a good way to show respect for those who fought in combat and died for our country.”
John Finley, executive vice president of the Patriot Awards event, said they were founded to honor military veterans, first responders and inspirational everyday heroes — like Charlie Hecht.
Hecht went door-todoor in his neighborhood placing small flags in some yards and handing out fliers encouraging residents to display the red, white and blue on July 4. When the folks at Lowe’s heard about it, they even offered a discount on flags.
“When I was riding my bike around my neighborhood, I noticed that there were not a lot of American flags flying,” he said in an interview with Beverly Kidd of WTKR.
His objective: Convince more folks to unfurl the flags. “To inspire patriotism,” Charlie said. His father, Navy Cmdr. David Hecht, said of his son, “I couldn’t be more proud.”
Before Charlie was chosen to receive one of the Patriot Awards, he was presented with Channel 3’s “People Taking Action” award, which came with a $300 Visa gift card from Southern Bank.
Also scheduled to be honored at the Patriot Awards as Most Valuable Patriot is Rob Jones of Middleburg, in Loudoun County, a former Marine who lost his legs in an explosion while serving as a combat engineer in Afghanistan dealing with improvised explosive devices. To show what wounded veterans can bring to the table, he ran 31 marathons in 31 days to raise money for charities supporting wounded warriors.
A new chapter
A new chapter has begun in the adventures of Jen Lewis, radio DJ, former local TV personality and wife and mother who is the owner of a horse, dog and cat. She grew up in Yorktown and lives in Virginia Beach.
When we last wrote about Lewis in July, she had moved from a mid-morning slot on WVBW 92.9 “The Wave” to join Jhas Williams-Wood for “The Jen and Jhas Show” – from 5:30-10 a.m.
The new duo replaced “The Morning Wave,” which had been hosted for years by Dick Lamb and more recently by Paul Richardson and Jennifer Roberts.
Well, change that from “Jen and Jhas” to just Jen, because Williams-Wood has left the station.
Speaking of “The Morning Wave,” I’ve heard from a number of readers, including Linda H. Evans, wondering what Jennifer Roberts is doing now.
Roberts tells me via email: “I spent a fantastic summer with my family. It was truly wonderful to be with my kids. They are teenagers who will be driving and experiencing college in the coming years. We spent many days at the beach, a week in the mountains and other days exploring the Eastern Shore. I read lot of books and truly enjoyed sleeping past 3 a.m.
“I’m not retired. I’m just enjoying a relaxing break from radio. I miss the listeners. It was a joy to be a part of the early morning routines of so many people.”
She logged 19 years and nine months in local radio, and said she is now polishing up her resume.