During the past 26 years, the household of Labron and Martha Hawk has been home to many different personalities — as many as 10 at a time.
Through sickness and health, the Hawks have devoted themselves to caring for at-risk children as houseparents for the Alabama Baptist Children’s Homes & Family Ministries (ABCH).
Their work was recognized during the Jan. 9 annual meeting of the Alabama Association of Child Care Agencies (AACCA). The couple was awarded the 2005 Flora Boyd Award for their work at ABCH homes in Troy, Tuscaloosa and, currently, Dothan.
The Hawks personify the award, which is presented annually in memory of a child-care worker known for her caring, loving and always gentle approach to child care, according to Mac Otts, AACCA executive director. Twenty-seven child-care agencies in Alabama are represented in the association.
The Hawks have “that extra-special something that makes them the best in caring for at-risk children,” Otts said. “It’s not the Hawks’ technical abilities as much as it is their heart for caring for children that puts them at the top.”
Labron Hawk said he didn’t realize the magnitude of the honor of receiving the award until he and his wife arrived at the awards presentation. “It means a lot to us that fellow child-care workers throughout the state would think so highly of us,” he said.
The Hawks have “always acted on their belief in the importance of keeping firm boundaries while compassionately meeting children’s individualized needs,” wrote Kim McGainey, ABCH group-home supervisor in Dothan, when she nominated them for the award.
The Hawks have been the houseparents at the ABCH Dothan group home since the facility opened in southeastern Alabama in 1998.
“They have balanced the business aspect of running the home with all that goes into caring for the children,” McGainey wrote.
“Martha and Labron are tremendously organized, which helps the household run smoothly, and the children rave about their cooking,” she added. “Before coming to the Children’s Homes in February 1979, ‘Coach’ Hawk cooked in the U.S. Army and was well prepared for the appetites of the children, especially the teenagers, at the Children’s Homes.”
The Hawks have an unusually impressive way of staying calm during the “storms” that inevitably come when many personalities live under the same roof, she said.
McGainey noted that the couple does not allow conflict to go unresolved and they do not take sides when helping children through disagreements.
She cited a recent incident that displayed the Hawks’ care for the children. They spent much of a Saturday helping two girls at the group home to prepare for their parent’s visit. Martha Hawk even helped the two sisters bake a cake. The girls’ eager anticipation was shattered the next day, however, when their parent did not show up.
“The Hawks could have badmouthed the parent, but instead they spent the entire Sunday afternoon calmly consoling the girls,” McGainey reported.
Louise Green, who served as the Hawks’ trainer and director for several years after they came to the Children’s Homes, wrote that they often have been “very insightful in training sessions and quite helpful to newly employed child-care workers.”
“As their director, I watched them successfully parent numerous children who, at times, presented difficult behaviors,” Green said.
“Mrs. Hawk presented a genuine love and concern while ‘Coach’ often used his dry wit and humor to help the girls through difficult times,” she continued. “They were especially good with four sisters who lived with them for several years.
“They assisted these girls to make a successful transition to another group home. In 2004, the Hawks attended the high school graduation of one of these sisters.”
The couple’s work also features a faithful marriage of 46 years. They have endured challenges, even extreme sickness, while serving as a family for hundreds of children detached from their birth homes.
“Though we have been married for a long time and have gone through the valley with Labron’s cancer, a day doesn’t go by that we don’t recommit ourselves to our marriage,” Martha Hawk said. “We have learned much patience because with cancer, you can’t rush. … We learned to be totally dependent on [God].” (ABCH)
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