At this year’s Celebrate United event, we honored two remarkable couples whose lifelong service has helped shape our region.

Peter and Carla Lewis were recognized with the 2025 Legacy of Leadership Award, which celebrates visionaries whose bold thinking, strategic action, and community-rooted service have sparked lasting change across the Roanoke Valley.

Carla Lewis served more than 30 years at the historic Gainsboro Branch Library—preserving Black history, cultivating literacy, and transforming the library into a vital hub for connection and learning.

Alongside her, Peter Lewis built Apple Ridge Farm into a place of discovery, healing, and empowerment for thousands of young people.

Together, they’ve led not from a podium, but from within the community—creating spaces where children can dream, neighbors can connect, and stories can take root.

Watch their story in this special short film.