LARGO — Enoch Brown played in the jazz band and competed on the wrestling team at Gibbs High School, and he has been legally blind since birth.
On Aug. 20, the 19-year-old was one of 10 people honored at the Central Pinellas Chamber of Commerce’s 17th annual Inspire Awards at the Largo Central Park Performing Arts Center — and one of two legally blind recipients, a first in the awards’ history, according to the chamber.
Nearly two decades in, the ceremony continues to live up to its name. Winners typically use their acceptance speeches to thank the people who inspired them to give back, and this year’s class cut across the greater Largo community: educators, philanthropists, public servants and a recent high school graduate.
Emcee Jeff Butera, a Spectrum Bay News 9 anchor, opened with four Dedication to Community Service recipients, among them Jessica Tomlinson, an instructor at the Lighthouse of Pinellas who has been legally blind since birth and whom Butera called an “educator, musician, composer, artist, mentor and advocate.”
After Margaret Faulkner of Serenity Funeral Home and Memorial Gardens received the Exceptional Business Leadership award, Butera announced two Dedication to Public Service winners — Pinellas Suncoast Fire & Rescue Chief Ken Grimes and Neil Brickfield, executive director of the Pinellas County Housing Authority.
Grimes, who in April 2025 took over the special fire district that serves several beach communities and the city of Seminole, kept it brief.
“I’m incredibly inspired and grateful for my staff’s dedication and hard work,” he said.
Brickfield, whom Butera said had promised “the best speech of the night,” opened with a shrug.
“I have no idea why I am up here. But I am honored,” said the former Pinellas County commissioner, who has led the housing authority since 2023. “I am serving God by improving people’s lives.”
Brickfield, who previously served as executive director of the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Police Athletic League, said he hasn’t worked in 25 years “because what I do is not work for me.” Like Grimes, he credited his staff.
“My staff inspires me every day,” he said. “I accept this award on behalf of my 80-plus staffers. But I do not deserve it.”
Two Dedication to Youth awards followed. One went to Jody Moore, the longtime, record-setting head softball coach at The Canterbury School of Florida. The other went to April Minor, box office manager at the Largo Central Park Performing Arts Center.
“She’s terrific at her job,” Butera said. “But it’s her passion for connecting young people with the performing arts that truly sets her apart.”
Minor spends hours reaching out to Title I schools and encouraging them to bring students to performances as a field trip, Butera said, and when schools can’t afford tickets, she works with the Central Park Performing Arts Center Foundation to find the money. After learning that some schools couldn’t cover transportation, she wrote a proposal that helped the foundation land a $5,000 grant earmarked for buses, opening the center’s doors to 400 more students.
“There is a wonderful line in April’s nomination that captures her perfectly,” Butera said. “Some people inspire children one at a time. April inspires 400 at one time.”
Minor said she estimates she has reached more than 380,000 children over her 20-year career, a figure that drew a standing ovation from the sellout crowd.
“I’ve decided I’m done at 500,000,” she joked.
The ceremony closed with Brown, who accepted the An Inspiring Youth award. He “has never let blindness, or his circumstances, define what he can achieve,” Butera said. Brown is headed to St. Petersburg College, where he plans to study cybersecurity.
He has also become a mentor to younger children at the Lighthouse of Pinellas and will serve as teen ambassador for the organization’s 2026 White Cane Walk, set for 9 a.m. to noon Oct. 17 at Largo Central Park.
“Enoch’s message is wonderfully simple,” Butera said. “It doesn’t matter what you’ve been through or what disability you have, you can still pursue independence and your dreams.”
As the honorees posed for photos and collected hugs and handshakes, Largo City Commissioner Michael Smith said the awards do what the name promises.
“They really do inspire others. That’s the biggest thing I take away from this,” Smith said. “These people are touching people’s lives and making a difference, and they deserve to be recognized for it.”
2026 Inspire Award honorees
An Inspiring Youth: Enoch Brown, Lighthouse of Pinellas
Dedication to Youth: Jody Moore, The Canterbury School of Florida
Dedication to Youth: April Minor, Central Park Performing Arts Center
Dedication to Community Service: Patty Brundette, Central Park Performing Arts Center
Dedication to Community Service: Jessica Tomlinson, Girls Rock St. Pete
Dedication to Community Service: the Rev. Luis Diaz, St. Dunstan’s Anglican Church
Dedication to Community Service: Carolina Connor, Suncoast Tampa Association of Realtors
Exceptional Business Leadership: Margaret Faulkner, Serenity Funeral Home and Memorial Gardens
Dedication to Public Service: Chief Ken Grimes, Pinellas Suncoast Fire & Rescue
Dedication to Public Service: Neil Brickfield, Pinellas County Housing Authority