Melvin Alsbrooks

It was a birthday gift that you could walk on. It was a gift that will remind residents and students of an exceptional educator.

Dinwiddie County and McKenney officials gathered last month to officially rename a street after the late Melvin Alsbrooks. Melvin Alsbrooks Avenue is the new name for Sunnyside Lane. The road is in front of Sunnyside Elementary School, where Alsbrooks served as principal from 1973 until his death from cancer in February 2008.

The road was named after Alsbrooks because the influential educator had a large impact on so many people's lives, officials said last month.

"Every now and then you meet somebody who has such enthusiasm for life that you know ... that person is going to make a difference in the world," McKenney Mayor Charles Mansfield said. "Every now and then you're lucky enough to meet somebody like Mr. Alsbrooks. Consider yourself lucky if you knew him."

Dr. Charles Maranzano, Dinwiddie County schools superintendent, described Alsbrooks as a remarkable man. "Mr. Alsbrooks was a near and dear friend," he said. "He had this remarkable ability to connect to everybody. . . . .His personal mission in life was to value every person.

Alsbrooks' wife, Mary, said the new street was fitting for her late husband. "I feel very proud and honored that they named this street after him, because this was his home," she said, after pulling a ribbon off the sign. "He spent most of his time up here."

Alsbrooks — as a principal for more than three decades — made a difference in thousands of lives. While Alsbrooks more than deserves the honor of having a street sign named after him, we suspect the former principal would realize the true accomplishment he achieved.

Touching thousands of lives was the real tribute and accomplishment in Melvin Alsbrooks' life.