Fort Harrison Citizen of the Year

​The Fort Harrison Chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution is honored to recommend James “Bucky” Berry for our 2025 Good Citizen of the Year Award. Few individuals better embody the American ideals of service, perseverance, and civic responsibility.

For more than three decades, Bucky has devoted himself to addressing food insecurity in Harrisonburg and Rockingham County. His work—most visibly through the Brent Berry Food Drive, founded by the Berry family in 2009—has grown into one of the region’s most impactful grassroots charitable initiatives. Over the years, the food drive has supplied vital meals, baby items, and hygiene products to tens of thousands of families in partnership with the Salvation Army. A 2018 resolution of the Virginia General Assembly, as entered by Senator Mark Obenshain and Delegate Tony Wilt, recognized that, by its tenth year, the drive had already assisted approximately 32,000 families and routinely collected more than $10,000 worth of food in just a few days during each of its twice-yearly efforts.

The significance of Bucky’s leadership has been repeatedly acknowledged by state and federal officials.
Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin formally recognized the Berry family’s extraordinary dedication, noting that their 2022 drive alone generated an estimated $65,000 in food and personal-care items and served as a stabilizing force for the Salvation Army during periods of organizational transition. Governor Youngkin’s recognition also highlighted Bucky’s personal history—growing up in a family that sometimes relied on charitable food assistance—and how those experiences shaped his lifelong commitment to ensuring that others would never face hunger alone.

Similarly, United States Congressman Ben Cline entered remarks into the Congressional Record in February 2024, recognizing the 17th Annual Brent Berry Food Drive. Congressman Cline noted that the 2024 effort was the largest in the event’s history, with community members donating $100,000 worth of food, enough to fill six school buses and two trailers—a testament to both the need in the community and the trust the community places in Bucky and his family’s stewardship.

Beyond the measurable impact, Bucky’s service is distinguished by his steadfast personal commitment. Governor Youngkin’s recognition emphasized that the Berry family personally staffs their main collection location twelve hours a day, seven days a week during the drive—often totaling more than 450 hours per family member—and that even during periods of personal health challenges, Bucky has continued organizing and planning future drives from rehabilitation facilities. His dedication has inspired civic participation from students, first responders, businesses, and countless neighbors, making the food drive a model of community-anchored service.

While the annual food drive is Bucky’s signature effort, his spirit of service extends far beyond it. Whether responding to emergency needs—such as organizing support for a neighbor who lost his home to a fire—or partnering with local organizations on special assistance projects, Bucky consistently demonstrates the generosity, humility, and perseverance that defines exemplary citizenship.
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For these reasons, and with gratitude for his decades of selfless service, the Fort Harrison Chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution proudly recommends James “Bucky” Berry for the 2025 Good Citizen of the Year Award. His lifelong commitment to feeding the hungry, uplifting neighbors in crisis, and modeling civic virtue stands as an inspiration to our community and to the Commonwealth of Virginia.