Lawrence Webb, chair of the Falls Church City School Board, and who once served on the State Department of Correctional Education Board, urged participants to be engaged in local and state politics during the annual Freedom Fund banquet held by the Lunenburg chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) Saturday. The event, held at the Peoples Community Center on Tidewater Avenue, brought representatives from the Nottoway, Mecklenburg, Cumberland and Prince Edward NAACP chapters. Webb a native of the Town of Kenbridge, described the differences between life in Lunenburg as opposed to Northern Virginia, including the four and a half hour commute due to spring break traffic. He said mentors in Lunenburg profoundly influenced his decision to work in state and local politics. He noted the importance of community involvement, describing how the community’s work will bring a new high school for Falls Church City. The new school will cost $120 million, and he said the current high school is more than 50 years old. Webb also spoke about the importance for community members to keep local and state officials accountable, particularly on the state level as the needs of those in rural areas are often brushed aside. “We all have opportunities to be educated, to learn, to know what’s going on in the government,” Webb said. “Because if we don’t know, they will run anything past you … You are going to the be the first who are affected by it. You have to be active and involved. Voting is great, but getting involved, learning issues, holding candidates and then those elected folks accountable, because they need you more than you need them in some cases.” The event offered certificates to area lifetime members of the NAACP, music by Gracie and Reginald Davis, cuisine, dessert and door prizes. Wanda Morrison, president of the Lunenburg NAACP chapter, described the NAACP as the “oldest, largest, baddest and boldest” civil rights organization globally.