An Olympic gold and silver medal winner, a former world record holder and a Hoban graduate, Harry "Butch" Reynolds was awarded the fourth annual One Hope-One Dream Award at a school assembly Feb. 22.

But it was not Reynolds's athletic accomplishments that earned him the award. Rather it is his work in Akron with the Butch Reynolds Care for Kids Foundation. He started the foundation to provide a base of health and education for inner-city children.

Reynolds described the reasons for beginning his organization.

"It was like a spiritual growth, like a calling," he said. "I knew kids needed a program like that, with all the problems they face. I decided I was going to fight childhood obesity and help keep kids from making choices that could land them in jail."

The award is given to an alumnus who has lived out the teachings and values of Jesus and Dr. Martin Luther King by his actions and involvement in the community.

Brother Ken Haders, school president, explained the importance of King's teachings. Haders shared his experience of being in high school in the 1960s, when King was leading the Civil Rights Movement.

"We had the chance of watching someone bring Jesus' teachings to life in the face of violence," he said. "Butch brings that kind of hope to our part of the world."

Reynolds was a standout athlete at Hoban who excelled in basketball and track. While he envisioned his future in basketball, it was track that would eventually bring him Olympic gold in the '88 games in Seoul, South Korea, for the 4x400-meter relay.

Alumni director Jeff Stetz, who introduced Reynolds to the audience, explained Reynolds's unusual start in track.

"Butch saw himself as a basketball player and was reluctant," he said.

Reynolds set a world record for the individual 400-meter race, shattering the old one by over half a second. Reynolds's successes were overshadowed by accusations of steroid use, which he fought all the way to the Supreme Court. In a 1992 ruling, his name was cleared of any wrongdoing.

Also present at the ceremony were two high school friends of Reynolds, Marlon Primes, a U.S. attorney, and Dr. Amy Sutterluety, a professor at Baldwin-Wallace College. Each spoke highly of Reynolds's athletic and community achievements. Primes highlighted Reynolds's outstanding efforts in track, and Sutterluety related an anecdote about Reynolds's dedication to the kids of his foundation.

Reynolds attributed much of his Olympic success and motivation to work with area kids to the values instilled in him at Hoban.

"I knew after I graduated that my opportunities were endless," he said. "Hoban is where I learned that education was number one. You can run and jump and throw anywhere, but it's hard to find a place like this."