Darrel Laurant: Memorable 2011 Meetings

The best thing about my job is the people I meet. And while I enjoy and learn from almost all of them, there are some every year who probably will stick longest in my memory.

Here are some of the most memorable folks from 2011, in no particular order.

Chuck Bennett. Talk about living in the eye of the storm — the former Lynchburg police chief spent his second year as an advisor to the police in Pakistan. That put him not far from where Osama bin Laden was killed.

James “Bonecrusher” Smith. The one-time heavyweight boxing contender came to Virginia University of Lynchburg to crack jokes, inspire students and tell them what it was like to be in the same ring with Mike Tyson (scary).

The Rev. Alex Duncan. We tend to think of clergymen as having trod a straight and narrow path to the clerical collar. Duncan, the pastor at Jackson Street United Methodist Church, got there after two separate hitches in the Army, a divorce, and a dark period of being homeless.

Terry Crawford. Mistakenly kept at the Central Virginia Training Center throughout much of his life, he began to blossom under the tutelage of literacy coach Beth Workman. Interviewing Terry made me realize what a gift it is to be able to read.

Henry Bauer. A professor emeritus at Virginia Tech, he has become one of the world’s leading experts on the Loch Ness monster. And he’s reasonably sure “Nessy” exists.

Tara Conner. Miss USA for 2006, her crown was tarnished when it was revealed she was hiding a drug habit. She kicked it, and now travels the country telling people just being beautiful isn’t enough to guarantee happiness.

Philicia Moore. Having grown up short (4-foot-4) in Lynchburg, she learned to compensate in attitude for what she lacks in alti-tude. In 2011, Philicia broke into the reality show biz in Hollywood with a part in the Animal Planet series “Pit Boss.”

Sam Johnston. Retired from the circuit court bench in Campbell County, he is spending his retirement opening a window into what really goes on in courtrooms — especially the funny stuff. He has a book and an audio book titled “Why Judges Wear Robes.”

Joan Trumpauer Mulholland. The daughter of upscale Northern Virginia parents, she was an unlikely participant in the 1961 civil rights bus pilgrimage recently immortalized in the PBS movie, “Freedom Riders.” Her talk at Central Virginia Community College in connection with the film’s debut was riveting, especially the part about her time in a Mississippi prison.

Cham Light. A Lynchburg attorney, he saw to it ancestors found buried in an overgrown weed lot in Campbell County — includ-ing an early American congressman — were honored in a proper manner.

Katherine and David Tyree. Despite the pain of losing their daughter in a tubing accident, this Madison Heights couple went pub-lic to warn others of the dangers inherent in this supposedly idyllic pastime.

Morris Jefferson. In 2011, this Lynchburg resident threw all his energy into trying to get his twin brother Malcolm — imprisoned for 46 years and serving life without parole — a chance at freedom.

Mamie Johnson. One of only three women to play professional baseball in the 1940s-era Negro League, she learned to pitch by throwing rocks at birds on telephone wires. I met her while she was visiting relatives in Campbell County.

Sharon Speas. Still recovering from an automobile accident that left her partially brain-damaged, she earned an advanced degree through Liberty University. Her biggest concern on graduation day was being able to make it up on the stage (she did).

Jack McLaughlin and Mac McCarthy. Two senior members of the American Legion Riders, they still ride motorcycles well into their 80s — and show no inclination to stop.

Clyde Roberts. Sticking with the “Amazing Senior Citizen” category, I’ll end with this Bedford County resident, who bagged three deer this year at age 98. He climbed 25 feet up in a tree stand to do it.