Lamont Bagby never forgets his roots in the lower-income neighborhood of Essex Village where he grew up. His career path has taken him to college, community service and now back home, where he serves as Fairfield District representative on the Henrico County School Board.
At 32, he's the youngest elected official in the Richmond area. The 1999 Norfolk State graduate with a degree in business education says he sees “a lot of work that needs to be done, and this community's been good to me.”
His day job is serving as Richmond site coordinator for Vabode.org, an organization that helps provide in-home counseling for parents and anger management.
Otherwise, it's volunteer work. When some youth couldn't afford school supplies, Bagby organized a backyard cookout to give them away. When the Central Virginia Foodbank was short of edibles, he set up a “holiday toast” social event that included Mayor Dwight Jones to raise money. And he's established links with the Police Athletic League and the YMCA to help kids with after-school projects and mentoring. He's due to get his master's degree in instructional leadership from Virginia Commonwealth University in December.
“Lamont is always there and he is a man of his word,” one nominator writes. “I see him all over the city, at all times of the day and night.”
Sports is his passion. He's coached junior varsity basketball for three years and he loves football. “On Friday night, it's high-school games,” he says. “Saturday morning, Little League and then college ball. After church on Sunday, it's the Redskins.”