Kevin Bryant, co-chair of the Manhattan Martin Luther King, Jr., Committee, awards Richard Pitts, left, one of two Spirit of Martin Luther King Jr. Community Service Awards. Barbara Hartnett was the other recipient. (Staff photo by Sam Hennigh)
Richard Pitts and Barbara Hartnett were recognized Saturday as the recipients of the 2017 Spirit of Martin Luther King Jr. Community Service Award. They were recognized at the Martin Luther King Jr. Community Celebration held at the Manhattan Fire Station Headquarters, according to a press release from event organizers.
Hartnett was nominated for her tireless work on behalf of homeless families and students who utilize the Families in Transition (FIT) Closet. The FIT Closet is a program of the USD 383 school district that serves children and families from Head Start and Pre-K through high school with the basics necessary for children to attend school and participate equally with others in class. Hartnett is credited with coordinating the FIT Closet and taking it from its original location in a mobile unit at Lee Elementary School to the little white house located behind College Avenue United Methodist Church.
Hartmett
According to those who nominated her, “Barbara devotes her full attention to everyone who come into the FIT Closet. She always makes time to talk to anyone who comes through the door. It does not matter if the person is a customer, volunteer or donor. Everyone is treated with kindness and dignity.”
In addition to coordinating the FIT Closet, she recruits and trains its volunteers, secures donations, and speaks to local groups about what the FIT Closet is and what it does for the people who need it.
Her nominators credit her success with her “faith in people, faith in miracles, and faith in doing the right thing.”
Hartnett and her husband, David, came to Manhattan in 1996 when he joined the Biology Department at Kansas State University. He is a Plant Ecologist. Barbara and David celebrated their 40th anniversary this past May. They have four children.
Pitts, the founder and executive director of the Wonder Workshop, has served children and families in the Manhattan community for nearly three decades. He has enriched countless lives with a variety of opportunities related to hands-on learning experiences and building a positive understanding of cultural diversity for children and adults.
Wonder Workshop, according to Pitts’ own words, is a “museum dedicated to hands on activities that instill a desire for life-long learning, recognizing cultural diversity, and fostering creative potential.
“People don’t think of the Wonder Workshop without thinking of Mr. Pitts. He IS the Wonder Workshop,” wrote the person who submitted the nomination.
Pitts was also credited for researching, studying, and writing about the Underground Railroad experience in Kansas — particularly in Riley and nearby counties. He authored two books on the subject and was the featured historian and narrator in a documentary of the stories of the Underground Railroad in Wabaunsee County produced by K-State’s College of Education and released to PBS Television in 2016.
A natural and ebullient storyteller, Pitts gives talks and performances throughout the state; he also gives a performance as the social reformer, abolitionist, writer, and statesman Frederick Douglass. Pitts grew up in New Jersey, in a home with four siblings. He has resided in Manhattan for the past 32 years. He met his wife Cindy in Manhattan. They have five children.
The Spirit of Martin Luther King Jr. Community Service Award was established in 2005 and is awarded annually. In total, 21 individuals, including Hartnett and Pitts, have received the award. Recipients are recognized for demonstrating service and long-term commitment in uniting the diversity of our community for the greater good and expressing a history and track record of bringing people together in a non-polarizing manner.
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