Fruit Pi Weaving

Phyllis D’Agostino

Melinda McCullen

Charity McKinney

Remona Ramsey-Brooks

Phyllis D’Agostino

Melinda McCullen

Donna Lambeth

2011 Children’s Champion Award 

In 1980, Donna Lambeth gathered a group of her closest friends, advocates, and business associates to present an idea that would change the way families found child care in Winston Salem. She helped lead a study that examined trends amongst local working families and child care. This project led to the development of Work Family Resource Center (WFRC). Donna laid the foundation for WFRC and served as the Executive Director of the organization agency for ten years. In that role, she also served as President of the N.C. Child Care Resource & Referral Network and helped develop innovative services for children, families and child care programs together with leaders throughout the United States. For her vision and relentless work in the field of early education, the Work Family Resource Center Board of Directors created the Donna Lambeth Children’s Champion Award to represent unique characteristics of doers and thinkers committed to serving children and families.

Karl Yena

2012 Children’s Champion Award

Karl Yena served over 20 years as a senior level manager providing consulting services to RJR corporate and operating company management of Del Monte, Nabisco, Sea Land Shipping, Kentucky Fried Chicken, etc. and later retired from RJR Nabisco, Inc. as Director of Worldwide Organization Development & Training. An avid volunteer, Karl works annually with over 100 non-profits throughout the country. He provides on-going mentoring and coaching to organizational leaders, municipalities, churches, civic groups, and non-profit organizations. As a former board member of Work Family Resource Center, Karl has offered consistent insight and guidance to the WFRC Board and staff.

For his diligent commitment to leading and supporting organizations, dedicated to speaking to needs of early education, Karl Yena exemplifies unique characteristics that have earned him the honor of joining WFRC’s Circle of Champs for Children.

Hal Kaplan

2013 Children’s Champion Award

As the field of early care and education has grown, Hal Kaplan and the company he manages have provided premier resources and professional services for educators and caregivers of young children ages 0-11. In his 40+ year tenure, Mr. Kaplan has developed Kaplan Early Learning Company into a leading publisher, manufacturer and distributor of products and services that create developmentally appropriate products for young learners. Mr. Kaplan serves on the Board of the Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and on the Advisory Board to the Pew Charitable Trust’s Partnership for America’s Economic Success (Ready Nations). He is a past member of the Tocqueville Leadership Society of the United Way of Forsyth County and the Winston-Salem Chamber. For his lifelong commitment to the art of play, Hal Kaplan exemplifies unique characteristics that have earned him the honor of joining WFRC’s Circle of Champs for Children.

Nigel D. Alston

2015 Children’s Champion Award 

Nigel D. Alston joined the elite circle of “champs” as the 2015 Donna Lambeth Children’s Champion Award recipient. Nigel is no stranger to our community. He is a native of Winston-Salem, a graduate of Livingstone College, a member of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc., and an active community leader. Nigel serves as a motivational speaker, trainer, and columnist for the Winston Salem Journal. He also serves on numerous boards and councils throughout the Piedmont Triad area. In fact, Mr. Alston played an instrumental role as one of the founding board member of Work Family Resource Center nearly 25 years ago. Before the audience of educators, organizational leaders, clergy members, family, and friends Nigel humbly accepted the WFRC Donna Lambeth Children’s Champion Award and shared his perspective on resources, friends, and hope. 

Florence Corpening

2017 Children’s Champion Award 

John Gillon

2017 Children’s Champion Award 

Daisy Rodriquez-Besse

2018 Children’s Champion Award 

Daisy Rodriguez-Besse was born and raised in New York City, and holds a degree in Early Childhood Education. Her career has taken her from working for the New York City School System as Special Education Bilingual Coordinator to Winston-Salem where she worked for Sara Lee Corporation (now Hanesbrands, Inc.).  She has also had the opportunity to work for the President and CEO of Wachovia Corporation, coordinated “El Puente” Parent Resource Center for the Winston-Salem Chamber of Commerce in partnership with the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools, and served as Director of Hispanic Mentoring Services for the YMCA of Northwest North Carolina. 

Chris Gentry

2019 Children’s Champion Award 

Chris has served as the Director of the Family Support Network of Greater Forsyth since January 2004. This program offers a multitude of support services to families who have children with special needs, including onsite hospital/NICU support, parent-to-parent matching, sibling programs, educational opportunities for caregivers, and information and referral services. Chris has over 30 years of experience serving families of young children with a focus on quality childhood experiences and environments. She has worked in public and private school settings, as well as with NC’s Smart Start Initiative. Her educational background includes Social Work, Pastoral Care and Non-Profit Management. Chris’ passion is to see families thrive.

Judge William B. Reingold

2019 Children’s Champion Award 

Judge William B. Reingold served as the chief district court judge for the 21^st Judicial District of North Carolina.  A former prosecutor, he  held this highest position on the district court bench from March 1998 to October 2013, and also served as district court judge in Forsyth County since 1986.

 During his tenure, he recognized the immense value of education and peer influence, and how individuals – especially young people – can lose direction and eventually end up in court on the wrong side of the law.  In response, Judge Reingold particularly focused his efforts in the judiciary upon improving the lives of youth and families, from addressing drug abuse and domestic violence to correcting truancy and delinquency issues.

1991 – Work Family Resource Center (WFRC) opens with Donna Lambeth as Executive Director.

1992 – With two paid staff, WFRC begins offering services for the community and to enhanced services corporations in Forsyth County.

1993 – WFRC received a state grant for the Division of Child Development to expand service delivery

1994 – Received Smart Start funding to provide services in Forsyth and Davidson Counties.

1995 –receives approval to sponsor family child care programs on the federally funded Child Care and Adult Food Program.

1996 – The Continuum of Professional Development is created.  The Continuum has helped providers improve the quality of their programs and to continue their education.  Forsyth County has the highest average star rating of any county in the state.

1997 – Agency created two new initiatives -CHUCKLES a touch screen child care referral program that could be set up off site and School Choice Counseling to help parent work figure out how the new WS/FC schools systems zone plan worked.

1996 – WFRC collaborates with Forsyth Early Childhood Partnership (Smart Start of Forsyth County) and the Winston-Salem Chamber of Commerce to create the Forsyth Family Focus initiative focusing on family friendly practices in the workplace.

1999 – Donna Lambeth retires and WFRC hires Katura Jackson as Executive Director to lead the agency.

2000 – WFRC receives a grant from the Division of Maternal and Child to hire a Child Care Health Consultant to focus on improving the health and safety procedures of child care programs in Forsyth County

2001 –  WFRC collaborates with Smart Start of Forsyth County to create a joint community newsletter.

2003 – The agency is chosen to manage CCR&R services across a 7 county region that includes Alleghany, Davie, Davidson, Forsyth Surry, Stokes and Yadkin counties.

2004 – WFRC is ask to facilitate a community group that is trying to establish a child care consortium in the downtown area.

2005 – WFRC continues to expand services and increase staff in an effort to improve the quality of child care in Forsyth County and across the region.

2006 – WFRC updates the organizations website and a new logo for the organization.

2007 – WFRC provides services in 2 additional counties 2 – Ashe and Wilkes.

2008 – CCRC hosted a trivia night fundraiser – Are You Smarter than a 5^th grader

 2009 – During the 2008-09 fiscal year, WFRC worked with 2,298 parents to provide them with information to help them understand the benefits of quality child care while educating them on how to choose the best quality child care program for their family and enabled them to work or attend school.

2010 – Conducted health and safety related training sessions for 354 child care professionals that encouraged the development of procedures and policies to help reduce the spread of disease.

2011 – WFRC received funding from the Black Philanthropy Initiative to offer marketing and business classes to family child care programs in Forsyth County.

2010  – Conducted health and safety related training sessions for 354 child care professionals that encouraged the development of procedures and policies to help reduce the spread of disease.

2011 – WFRC received funding from the Black Philanthropy Initiative to offer marketing and business classes to family child care programs in Forsyth County.

2012 – WFRC hosts the first Annual Children’s Champion Luncheon honoring the founding Executive Director, Donna Lambeth and creates the Donna Lambeth Children’s Champion Award to honor individuals who have supported the organization or community with their service.

2013 – WFRC helped 1,527 families find child care or access financial assistance to pay for the cost child care, provided information to over 100 individuals interested in starting a family child care business, and helped 275 child care programs improve the quality of the education they provide to young children.

2014 – WFRC receives a technology grant from the KBR Charitable Trust to update the technology for the organization.

2015 – WFRC receives funding from the City of Winston Salem and from Forsyth County to support consumer education and child care referrals for residents in our community.