Continuing its mission to elevate and recognize outstanding individuals whose service to Loudoun County deserves emulation and special recognition, The Loudoun Laurels honored Bob Sevila and Jim Roberts at their annual award gala recently at Morven Park Estate. Among their many contributions, both men have been lifetime supporters of the Boy Scouts, and have been honored for their commitment to the organization.

Sevila, mayor of Leesburg from 1982 to 1992, is a principal with Sevila, Saunders, Huddleston & White, in Leesburg. He is a land use, transportation and development rights expert. He is also a citizen who always has time to help others and has done so for decades. He is widely respected for his personal and professional commitment to ensure that every citizen of Loudoun County is well served.

He has been in private practice since 1974 when he left the Justice Department, and has served on the Rust Library Board, Shenandoah University Advisory Committee, and as chairman of the 2001-2003 United Way Loudoun Campaign. Sevila is a co-founder and charter member of the Board of Directors of the F&M Bank of Northern Virginia and, presently, he is the chairman of the Loudoun County Chamber of Commerce. His wife, Nancy, is a teacher at Simpson Middle School. They have three grown children, Tracey, Sally and Chip.

Roberts, whose family has lived in Loudoun since before the Civil War, is one of the county's leading authorities on the history of its black citizens and communities. He founded the first integrated scout troop in Loudoun County, is an active churchman and long-time supporter of Habit for Humanity. He is a noted historian and preservationist and an active supporter of the Thomas Balch Library and the Loudoun Museum.

His great grandfather on his mother's side, born a slave, learned to read in a time in which it was forbidden, became a miller, a preacher and a builder of churches.

His father, Edward T. Roberts, was a carpenter who worked for Norris Brothers.

Roberts joined the Navy in 1956 after his Douglas High School graduation and served on a destroyer that cruised the Mediterranean three times. He and his wife, Peggy, whom he met in high school, recently celebrated their 51st anniversary. He is a fine photographer and has photos in the Holocaust Museum Collections.

His three children include Murial, a Broad Run High School teacher and administrator; Ursula, an American Express executive in Arizona; and Jonathan, a former police officer.

Founded by Inova Loudoun Hospital under the direction of CEO Randy Kelley, The Loudoun Laurels is now a 501c3 nonprofit organization that operates independently as a Loudoun County legacy organization. In addition to the original Founders Committee, the program is now run by Kitty Saylor, CEO of Rehau International; Joe Boling, Chairman of Middleburg Bank and Randy Kelley, CEO of Inova Loudoun. Daniel Morrow serves as the Program's Executive Director.

Major underwriters include Rehau International, Inova Loudoun Hospital, Middleburg Bank, the Claude Moore Charitable Foundation and Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Guidant Corporation, Sevila, Saunders, Huddleston & White, P.C. and Jamestown Exploration.

For more information about The Loudoun Laurels, please visit www.loudounlaurels.org.