If Santa Claus is a magical figure who brings hope, joy and even giddiness to children, then the Rev. John H. Powell truly was Santa Claus. He even had the Santa suit.
OK, he didn’t always have the suit. A few weeks before Christmas 2024, Powell was supposed to play the North Pole’s favorite, bearded homeboy at a youth Christmas pageant in a crowded Cordova Mall. The kids wouldn’t know Santa was coming, but he’d be there.
Yet Powell realized in the mall parking lot amid his busy day, he had left his Santa suit and even his Santa beard at home a few miles away.
He was frantic.
“Oh man,” he said in the parking lot, minutes away from his supposed entrance into the mall.
He sped away toward home letting organizers know he’d be a few minutes late.
And he was a few minutes late, but when Powell entered the mall in his red and white suit, his beard and a red sack full of toys over his shoulder, the children squealed in delight as he danced through the nearly 200 children handing out candy canes and gifts.
That was Powell. And that commitment to children, and to organizations that help children, will be severely missed in Pensacola.
Powell died July 10 following a heart attack. He was 73 years old.
The community activist and child advocate is founder of Truth for Youth, a nonprofit organization formed in 1993 to present activities and opportunities for young people. Truth for Youth is known for its “lock-in” events when young people would gather at a supervised venue for an evening, receiving gifts and supplies, meals, treats and hours of activities. The first lock-in was held at the Pensacola Civic Center, now the Pensacola Bay Center, while later Powell would move the events to area community and recreation centers.
Donte Sheppard was one of those young people who attended those early lock-ins and has been forever inspired by Powell.
“I attended at the Fricker Center when I lived at Attucks Court,” said Sheppard, now 41. “The lock-ins were an opportunity for us to spend time with others in the community, and to receive the mentorship we needed. He provided us a chance to learn, compete in sports and provided resources and supplies for own homes, as well as gifts for Christmas and school supplies. But most of all it was the message of love and community and respect for each other. That relationship grew and he became a mentor of mine.”
Now Sheppard runs DoWork Sports, a sports training group designed to build and buildup youth athletes.
“He inspired me and the work I’m doing now,” Smith said. “So, his legacy will continue.”
Linda “Sonshine” Moorer, popular host of BLAB-TV’s “Sonshine’s Corner” program, hosted a live program dedicated to Powell on July 14 with a studio audience of dozens who came to celebrate Powell’s legacy.
She said children who were inspired and mentored by Powell, such as Sheppard, are testament to his success in guiding young people.
“That’s why he left such a strong legacy,” Moorer said. “He impacted those young people who are now keeping the torch going and impacting others. “
Powell, who served in the U.S. Marine Corps, moved his Truth to Youth headquarters to one of Pensacola’s most historic neighborhood, Belmont-Devilliers, purchasing a former 2.3-acre property in 2010 for $750,000.
The property is the location of the former Smith Bakery that began operating there in 1924, and one of the buildings dates to 1918. The site was listed as part of the Florida Trust for Historic Preservation’s 2022 Florida’s 11 to Save, a list of the most threatened historic places in the state.
Powell started Truth for Youth in 1993 after visiting a home for abused and battered boys and seeing first-hand the problems youth face. Instead of complaining, Powell decided to do something.
“He’s a rare person in that he always had an attitude of ‘How can I help?'” said longtime friend Vernon Watson, owner of WBQP-TV in Pensacola. “His goal was to make the community better and to empower children to do the best they can. Every occasion − Christmas, the Easter Egg hunts, the Back-to-School events, Valentine’s Day − he was doing things for the children and the community.” He even held report card events to reward students for good grades, or improved grades.
One year, he even organized a trip for local young people to visit Selma, Alabama, to commemorate what became known as the “Bloody Sunday” voting rights march across the Edmund Pettus Bridge, Watson said.
“He was dedicated,” Watson said. “I don’t know how he did it, but he did.”
Another longtime friend, Ellison Bennett, said that despite his love for children, he was no pushover. The two were students together at Booker T. Washington Jr. High and Booker T. Washington High School in Pensacola.
“He required parents to be involved,” said Bennett, a longtime community activist. “He was no-nonsense when it came to children, and he didn’t want parents to dump children off and then pick them up later and take them home and then not properly raise them. He didn’t want parents to just dump kids off and forget about them. He wanted them to be involved.”
Bennett continued, “He tolerated no disrespect toward adults or themselves. I tell everyone that he was a godsend for children of Escambia and Santa Rosa counties.”
Powell was known to help families out with groceries or utility money when they were desperate, and to make sure that children had school supplies and proper clothes when heading back to school each later summer.
Powell’s longtime friend Robin Reshard said “he was the image of what Bishop George Young calls ‘running the walk.'”
“Rev. Powell inspired so many men, women, youth and children because they saw him run his faith,” said Reshard, founder of the Kukua Institute in Pensacola, which offers programs teaching and promoting science, technology, preservation, history and culture. “Over the three decades that I have known him, he has shown others love through working with thousands of youth. He worked with many senior citizen groups, including being Santa Claus many years for Epps Christian Center Senior Christmas Program. He shared his resources widely, including his stages, chairs, tables, movie screens, music, audio equipment, and so many other resources with community groups and individuals for secular and sacred activities.”
Powell is survived by his wife, Dorothy, and three sons, John Jr., Clifton and Sheldon Powell, and many other family members and community members who loved him.
A Celebration of Life will take place from noon to 1:30 p.m. July 22 at Brownsville Community Center, 3200 W. DeSoto St. The Marine Corps veteran and retired Morale, Welfare & Recreation employee at Naval Air Station Pensacola, will be buried at Barrancas National Cemetery aboard NAS Pensacola.
Oh, and Powell had a reason to be a little scattered last Christmas season at the mall.
Not only was he playing Santa Claus, but afterward he had to rush back to Truth for Youth, still in his Santa outfit, to help cook hotdogs for 60 young children who were scheduled to stop by on a trip for lunch and to learn about the program. Plus, he had to fix up, as he put it, “my famous Kool-Aid.” What flavor?
“Red,” he said. “The best.”
This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Truth for Youth, Love for All. Rev. John Powell leaves legacy of service, devotion to kids
Reporting by Troy Moon, Pensacola News Journal / Pensacola News Journal
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
