MURFREESBORO – Don Roberts describes every day as a blessing because he is allowed the opportunity to open his eyes following a night’s sleep.

Unfortunately, there are others not so lucky.

Roberts, who co-anchors the early morning news at WAVY TV 10 from the station’s studio in Norfolk, VA, was the featured speaker at the 64th annual Murfreesboro Chamber of Commerce banquet held Monday evening at John’s Seafood & Steaks.

While Roberts was there to share advice on how local businesses can improve and grow, it was his remarks on assisting young people and helping to lead them in the right direction that drew the most attention.

“My day starts at 2:22 every morning; that’s when I wake up and come to the realization that something pretty awesome just happened – I woke up,” he said. “When I get to work and begin reading the news at 4:30 (a.m.), within about five minutes I’m going to tell you about somebody who didn’t wake up. I’m thankful that these types of news stories are still shocking for me. That lets me know that my feelings haven’t been dulled to the point where it’s not just another news story.

“We’re talking about people who have left us due to some extraordinary means, and I’m hoping that one or two of these stories motivates you or prompts you to do something so that we can celebrate this moment every day and help someone else to do the same,” Roberts added. “Life is not a guarantee; it’s a gift; it’s something to celebrate.”

Roberts stressed it’s all about lending a helping hand to young people who never “had a dream of success.”

“It’s those kids I’m trying to reach,” he stressed. “Maybe some kind of way you, as business people here in Murfreesboro, can reach out to similar young people in your community. Let’s work together in allowing them to see their dreams come true; dare them to dream and let them shock the world.”

Another piece of advice Roberts offered young people in the workplace was “to be so good at whatever you do, that when you’re gone we miss you.”

“Another way to put that is, be excellent and get paid,” he stated. “If you’ve average you get laid off. When a boss looks around and needs to meet a budget, they will look around and see who they need and who can go. When an employee is just getting by and lacks the required skills to advance, they’re let go.”

Roberts stressed that some young people of today grow up with a sense of dullness, insensitivity, and a numbness to reality.

“That’s frightening,” he said. “When you peel back the layers of those lives you realize it all starts with something amiss going on inside the home. And what’s going on there is confusion and no dad or no number one man in their lives. That usually leads to all kinds of problems; they’re exposed to various sad and sick possibilities. They’re typically the ones who are victims of crime, or committing crimes, or dropping out of school, or having children very early. They wind up suffering a hardship for the rest of their lives and it’s a cycle that’s hard to break.”

Roberts reaches out to young people reared in that type of environment.

“I quickly learned that when I was talking about dads it was tough to reach about half the kids I was talking to because they would have a rage of emotions from numbness to anger,” he said.

Roberts introduced a letter we wrote years ago to his now late father, thanking him for steering his son in the right direction. That led him to author a book – “Hey Daddy, Read This” – that includes his letter plus those from other children he encouraged to share their emotions by writing a letter to their dads.

“It sparked a wide range of emotions; they were allowed to write what they wanted, no matter if they actually knew their father or not,” he said. “I was shocked at some of those letters, but they proved very educational in a sense that the relationship between a father, or a first man, and their children is critical.

“The reason I’m sharing this with you is because you, as a business person or a leader in your community, could really make a difference in supporting a program through Social Services or in the schools or even in your churches that can mentor to children and make a difference in their lives,” Roberts stressed.

He went on to share the letter he wrote to his dad on Father’s Day in 1993.

Roberts also spoke about another effort he used to reach young people – “Rap to Live By” – a collection of positive poetry and inspirational songs set to rap music.

“All you have to do is plant the seed and talk to them; whatever you can do now will make an impressionable mark in their future,” he said. The poetry/rap book reaches out to them on their level of understanding, a language they understand. They may laugh at first when a 59-year-old man tries his hand at rapping, but they listen and in that moment it shares a message.”

He invited members of the audience to join him in a rap song, showing them the power of that style of music and how it makes a connection with young people.

Roberts was invited to speak at the banquet by his friend, E. Frank Stephenson Jr. of Murfreesboro. Stephenson, a noted local history buff who has authored several books on Roanoke-Chowan area living, has served Chowan University for nearly 40 years in its summertime Upward Bound program, one that assists low income students in Hertford, Bertie and Northampton counties in an effort to encourage and prepare them to attend an institution of higher learning.

“He has compassion for young people and has served as a mentor for the young people of our area,” Stephenson remarked. “Many of the students he has mentored here have gone on to graduate from college and are now making an impact on the communities where they live as doctors, attorneys, judges, pharmacists, and on and on. Beneath his TV personality is a genuine human being who understands and appreciates how hard it is for kids to get a footing in life.”

Murfreesboro Chamber President Brunet Parker, now in her second term, said she, as a Murfreesboro native, was proud to serve the organization.

“It’s a great honor not only to serve my hometown, but also to promote the outstanding businesses here in our town and county for the well being of economic development,” Parker noted.

She said the Chamber is a strong partner within the community it serves – sponsoring the annual banquet along with the Watermelon Festival parade, Christmas tree lighting event, Christmas parade, Business After Hours functions, the annual Beef-It-Up fundraiser, an annual shrimp dinner, and hosting ribbon cuttings for new businesses.

“Everything we do here at the Murfreesboro Chamber is centered around one thing, and that’s to help promote and grow our local businesses. You don’t have to live, work or have a business in Murfreesboro; you just have to care about the area in which you live,” Parker concluded.

As part of the annual banquet, three awards were presented: Wayne Brown earned the WDLZ FM Sammy Doughtie Community Service Award; Earl Telliga received the Roanoke-Chowan News-Herald Front Page Award; and Matthew Howell was the recipient of the Chamber of Commerce Award.