The Rev. Clarence Davis got to know Janice and Rodney Scott pretty well a couple years ago. At the time, Rodney Scott was on the search committee for the Martin Luther King Jr. Christian Church, which eventually named Davis its new pastor. Now, Davis spends plenty of time at the Scott's Reston home.
"My wife and I go there almost every Sunday evening. It's a chance to laugh and talk about things other than church. Where I kind of get to unwind," Davis said. "We talk about usual stuff, politics, the weather, culture."
Having gotten to know the family over the last couple of years, Davis said he had mixed reactions to hearing the Scotts were named one of the Best of Reston.
"I was surprised and I wasn't surprised," he said. "Of anybody I could think of over the last three years that have won the award, they are of the same yolk. But, at the same time the type of work they do sometimes doesn't get rewarded."
MOST OF THE WORK, both professionally and voluntarily, the Scotts do revolves around family and children. Rodney Scott is an employment and transitional representative at Cedar Lane School, a Fairfax County public school for students with emotional disabilities. Janice Scott is a former home economics teacher at South Lakes High School who now works as an outreach counselor with the Fairfax Resource Mothers Program, helping pregnant teen-agers and young mothers continue their education while also caring for their babies. The couple has two grown daughters of their own and are expecting their first grandchild.
In addition, the Scotts are active within their church, of which they are one of the founding families, including overseeing the church's scholarship and education award programs, and being involved with the youth ministry. The Scotts also helped launch the Martin Luther King Jr. celebration in Reston that has evolved into a weekend-long community event.
"When we moved to Reston [in 1975] there wasn't a black church and we were concerned for our children, that they would grow up without the same heritage experiences we enjoyed. We met some people with like minds," said Rodney Scott of their participation in creating the church on North Shore Drive.
"We also wanted to provide an atmosphere for the children to express themselves and where they got to participate in services," Janice Scott said.
EDUCATING CHILDREN seemed to be the Scotts' destiny. Janice Scott's mother, aunt and a number of cousins were all teachers. Rodney Scott is one of nine children, eight of whom are educators. Even their daughters are following in the family business. Their oldest daughter is a teacher, while the youngest is the dance team instructor at Hughes Middle School while she attends college.
The desire to be active in the community was also handed down through the generations.
"I remember growing up, my mother did the same thing," said Janice Scott. "If there was something that needed to be done, she did everything."
The Scotts' community work is an extension of their professional lives. Often, the pair visit garage sales looking for bargain baby furniture or clothing for Janice Scott's clients or even help move the young women to college. They host a Bible discussion at their home at least once a month for their church's youth and always have a helping hand for whoever needs one. All the while, the pair is surprised at the impact they have on the young people's lives.
"I had a student at Herndon High School, it was about 1978, and I met him again a few years ago," Rodney Scott said. "He stood up in church and said what an impact I was on his life. He was a young man when I met him in 1978 and I didn't see him again until the 1990s."
"God has blessed us with certain talents," Janice Scott said of their activism.
Davis said the Scotts naturally relate to the community's youth and remain dedicated civic activists.
"They are uniquely, highly committed and very active," Davis said. "Cordial comes to mind, but it doesn't quite cut it."