Prentice Perry's principles impetus for change in Pinetown

Prentice Perry says he feels an obligation to his ancestors to return to his roots and get involved to help redefine the neighborhood where he spent his childhood.

He also has a recipe for success that has guided him throughout his life. "Your good name is all you have. You have to keep that in mind with every decision you make. Once it's gone, you can't get it back," he says.

While he admits there is still work to do, the small Pinetown community is starting to make a comeback. "God put in on my heart to help the community," he said. "People are buying into the vision of a new Pinetown. Talking about it is one thing – people are seeing things are getting done and it makes the vision real."

He said residents are buying into the vision of a drug-free community that is an educational hub of learning to enrich the lives of all community members.

Perry is president of the Pinetown Civic Association and is responsible for writing a letter that put a chain reaction of positive change in motion for Pinetown, a community of 27 homes and 100 residents off Sweetbriar Road near Lewes.

Perry, 59, said he attended a summit at the CHEER Center in Georgetown where he learned the Sussex Housing Group was looking for a pilot community. "It was as if they were talking directly to me, and I knew we were going to get this. It would make a big difference immediately," he said.

"It's not about me; it's about the community coming together," he said, as he sat down in the Pinetown Community Center. "I like to be under the radar as much as possible. I'm basically the spokesperson."

A coalition of organizations joined forces for a year to provide services and programs to help the community, including assistance to create a street-lighting district and repair 11 homes.

Perry said now it's up to the community to keep the momentum going. "That's when the pride factor comes in, and it's starting to take effect," he said.

After Pinetown's annual community day Sept. 10, several residents joined forces to clean up some properties. "Something like that would not have happened a year ago," Perry said.

Although he left more than 35 years ago, Perry has always retained strong ties to Pinetown. "I'm related to everyone here," he said with a smile. "Most of my family still lives here."

His mother, grandmother and great-grandmother all lived in Pinetown. "Family ties go back more than 100 years," he said.

"It's my time to get involved. The community has been stigmatized, so I've come back to hopefully make a difference."

Perry and his wife of 38 years, Georgia, live on a farm near Milton. In 2009, after serving as a corrections officer at Sussex Correctional Institution for more than 30 years, he retired. The last eight of those years he was in charge of inmate crews who did special building projects in the prison and at state facilities.

The couple has a son, Prentice Perry Jr., who works at the Georgetown post office.

Even in retirement, Perry stays active as a medical transport driver for Generations Home Care.

Perry said the majority of Pinetown residents are senior citizens, and it will be up to the younger residents to maintain pride in their community.

He said Pinetown was a great place to grow up in the 1960s and 1970s. "It was a much more disciplined way of life. As a close community, everybody kept an eye on everybody else," he said.
Although he realizes, today's world is much different, he said Pinetown residents would like to see a return to some of those same values.

His part, he said, is to be a positive role model for youth in Pinetown. "They can see I went from raising backyard chickens to owning my own farm," he said. He raised chickens for nearly 25 years.

Perry said he doesn't have time for naysayers. "I'm not allowing any negative thoughts to enter my head. We've come too far now to turn back now," he said.