Patrinda Toney Hughes was recognized as a Headliner for her achievements in basketball by the Henry County Board of Supervisors at its Oct. 25 meeting.
Hughes, a native of Henry County, was described by Henry County Administrator Dale Wagoner as “one of the best basketball players that ever went through Bassett High School.”
She then attended Radford University, where she was recently inducted into the Athletics Hall of Fame. While there, from 1987-1992, she won three All Big South Selections and scored 2,020 points, 379 assists, and 228 steals during her career.
“Being an elected official comes with a lot of different responsibilities…but oftentimes ceremonial duties are overlooked. While this responsibility might not receive as much attention, most elected representatives will tell you it is their favorite part,” Jim Adams, chairman of the Henry County Board of Supervisors, said.
“When we think of all those accomplishments, there’s one word that comes to mind: Headliner. Headliners steal the show. They are people that we look up to and admire. Quite simply, a headliner is someone that deserves attention,” he said.
The board had cards with a photo of Hughes playing and a list of her accomplishments printed. Each member received a card signed by Hughes.
“Patrinda, it is our honor and pleasure to have you here today. You make us all proud by representing our community and making us proud. I know that you make your family proud. And we would like you to have this certificate and an encased playing card,” Adams said.
“I’m not a public speaker, but I would like to just thank you guys for the recognition,” Hughes said. “Thank you to my family and friends for coming. When we had the induction at Radford, a lot of my friends, because of the hurricane, they couldn’t make it. So, I really do appreciate you guys showing up today.”
In other matters, the board:
* Presented the Virginia Association of Counties’ Achievement award to the Blue Ridge Fire and Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Academy.
“This is the 20th year of our achievement awards, which we established in 2003. I’m proud today to present Henry County with the award,” said Joe Lerch, director of Local Government Policy, when presenting the award.
This marked the second time the county received the award. The first was in 2015.
“You saw a problem, in terms of improving and retaining qualified personnel, and it was a great discussion reading through the application among the different counties, and not only that, there’s the ability to add other counties in the future,” Lerch said.
Henry County Director of Public Safety Matt Tatum explained the academy came into existence during the COVID pandemic due to staff shortages.
At the time, the academy included Henry, Franklin, and Patrick counties, he said, adding that Pittsylvania County, Danville, and Martinsville also are welcome to join.
