NORTON, Va. – A one-of-a-kind kid has received a one-of-a-kind award.
“We have had a number of great athletes for such a small school,” J.I. Burton athletic director Brandon Stidham said. “It is an honor and a big deal for this school and this community.”
Who better to deliver J.I. Burton its first winner of the prestigious Gene “Pappy” Thompson Award for Excellence than standout student-athlete Jaymen Buchanan?
“It is great. This award is Jaymen’s award, but I think it speaks volumes for our little school here,” J.I. Burton principal Brad Hart said. “A lot of little kids look up to Jaymen and I think this will motivate them to be like Jaymen.”
Buchanan was all smiles upon hearing the news while surrounded in the school auditorium by family, coaches and friends.
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“It means a lot for the community and all the young kids,” Buchanan said. “They look up to me so I think it is a big thing for them to see that we can do stuff like this in such a small community.”
Hart was thrilled that Buchanan made J.I. Burton a first-time winner of the award that has been presented annually since 1982.
“Jaymen is just a one-of-a-kind kid that comes through this school. We have got great kids at this school, but Jaymen just exemplifies everything that a student-athlete is about,” Hart said. “You couldn’t ask for a better kid that deserves this award. They don’t come along often like Jaymen.
“I have been able to coach Jaymen and I have been in the principal’s role now at Burton, just watching his growth through the years. I am just super proud of the kid.”
Buchanan’s resume’ is full, but he is more proud of what isn’t listed there.
“My accomplishments in academics and athletics of course, but more than that, just how I affected the community and I was a good person,” he said.
Buchanan was a three-year letterman in football, baseball and basketball, while also compiling a 4.27 grade point average. He is the valedictorian for his class of 75, and has also completed his associate’s degree from Mountain Empire Community College.
“I think it is motivation in just how he carries himself. He is a leader, he is somewhat quiet, but he leads through his actions,” Stidham said. “He is just a humble kid, shows up every day, works hard, a great role model for these kids and it is just a testament to his parents, how they have raised him and just the work ethic that he has and his commitment to succeed.”
No one was more excited than Buchanan’s parents, Paul and Marla, who have worked to create a work ethic and determination in all four of their children.
“I am very proud beyond words, he has really worked his tail off to get that,” said Paul Rowe, who owns DoughMakers Pizza in downtown Norton, which is where Buchanan has worked since age 14. “That is something nobody can give you, you have got to earn every bit of it and he has done it so I am super proud of him.”
Buchanan was the star of last Tuesday’s awards day at J.I. Burton, receiving more than $70,000 worth of scholarships.
“Jaymen was a rambunctious little boy, but as he got into school, I have never had to worry about Jaymen. He has always been just a good kid all around,” Marla said. “He has been into sports since he was 4 and then when he started school … He was carrying on conversations with me when he was 2.”
Buchanan certainly appreciates their contributions to his success.
“They gave me the building blocks and they gave me the opportunities to be what I am today and I am thankful for them,” he said.
He also speaks highly of the close-knit community of Norton, the smallest city in Virginia.
“It has been special. The connection we have with everybody, everybody knows everybody and it has just been great growing up in such a small place,” Buchanan said. “You know everybody, you never meet a stranger, everybody is always friendly. That has probably been my favorite part about growing up here.”
The community also loves their sports, as evidenced by the huge crowds that attend football and basketball games. Buchanan gave them plenty to cheer for, starting three years at quarterback, leading the Raiders to pair of Region 1D championship game appearances.
He has also been a key cog in a pair of Region 1D basketball titles and Raiders won the Cumberland District regular season baseball title for the first time this spring.
“Jaymen is a difference-maker in everything he does. He is a one-of-a-kind kid and he is one of the hardest working kids I have ever been around. One of my all-time favorite kids I have ever coached,” said J.I. Burton football and baseball coach Jacob Caudill. “Work ethic, never complains, does everything we ever ask him to do. I will probably never coach that type of kid again.”
His future is set. He plans to attend the Tickle College of Engineering at the University of Tennessee to pursue his dream being an industrial engineer.
“When I was little dad was always a Tennessee fan so we went there and watched football games and I just love Knoxville,” he said. “I think it will be a big transition, but I think I am ready for it and I am excited for the next chapter of my life. It is a different place, but it is the same education, same process, you have just got to study and work hard and you will succeed.”
There is little doubt he will do all those.
“It takes a special kid to be able to balance school work, outside work, especially a dual enrollment kid that is graduating with the highest honors and also his associate’s degree. He is just a special kid,” Hart said. “There is no question about how Jaymen is going to do in college. He has got his head on right, he has got his future, he knows what he is wanting to do and he is a go-getter, he will be fine.
“You don’t have to motivate Jaymen in the classroom or the athletic fields, he is a self-motivated kid, you never have to question him on anything. He does what is right.”
Buchanan has focused on making a positive impact on his community, and seems to have succeeded.
“I like to participate in the youth sports,” he said. “That is how I like to give back to the community, any way I can, whenever I have free time.”
His mother beams when she learns from others that Buchanan has taken the time to reassure a kid after a game or even taken a bunch of kids out for dinner.
“He has had such support from the people at the school and the community,” Marla said. “He has just been a role model and that means more to me than the academics and the sports and all that, that he is just a good kid. It is character, he has got good character.”
The future appears bright for Buchanan. He will definitely be missed, especially when the footballs are pulled out in August.
“We are going to build up the team around other people, but there is no replacing Jaymen Buchanan,” Caudill said. “Jaymen will do well at anything he tries.”
Caudill added that his influence at J.I. Burton won’t be forgotten anytime soon.
“Kids like Jaymen are kids we love to have and we love to be role models to the other kids,” Caudill said. “That is like Coach [Abe] Wells, one of his basketball coaches, we were talking about him, that we might have learned more from Jaymen than he learned from us.
“He is one-of-a-kind and there is not going to be another one like him.”