Victor Durrah Jr. has dedicated himself to living a life of a servant leader. During the Spartanburg County Foundation's Annual Meeting, Victor was recognized with the Mary L. Thomas Award for Civic Leadership & Community Change. Victor currently serves at the Senior District Executive of the Daniel Morgan District. He is also the executive director of Brothers Restoring Urban Hope (BRUH). Victor was chosen by a selection committee from numerous nominees for his service to disadvantaged youth in the Spartanburg Community.
The Mary L. Thomas Award is named after Mary Thomas, the chief operating officer of The Spartanburg County Foundation. This award is a legacy from Thomas’s 2006 recognition as the recipient of the Council on Foundation’s Robert W. Scrivner Award for Creative Grantmaking. Upon receiving the Scrivner award and $10,000 cash prize, Thomas used these funds as seed money to open The Mary L. Thomas Award for Civic Leadership and Community Change Fund and started a similar recognition program in Spartanburg. Through the support of numerous individuals and the Spartanburg community, Thomas’s initial gift of $10,000 grew to exceed $100,000, which has permanently endowed the award. The award annually honors individuals who, like Mary, are community leaders, innovators, and contributors to positive community change.