Roanoke City Sheriff Elect
Antonito Hash is the son of Gloria Baker and Jack Hylton. He is a proud graduate of William Fleming High School, class of 1998. At an early age, he started his leadership skills with directing various choirs and youth groups in the community. Antonio has been employed as a Deputy Sheriff in the Roanoke City Sheriff’s Office since 2008. His desire is to have a positive influence on the community where he lives and to help those who face hardships with the criminal justice system.
In 2011, Antonio Hash founded You Be You Gospel Entertainment. He dreamed of establishing a business that would utilize all of the talents God has given him. It was his desire to create an organization that is best known for doing things “out of the box.” This business is guided by a spiritual belief that everyone has a purpose on earth, and we are all called to serve in some capacity. In September 2015, he launched the T-shirt brand, UBU and I’ll Be Me. Which states, “you have the right to be who God has created you to be.” You Be You is intent on meeting their obligations to be engaged within the community, local businesses, and churches to create a positive corporate force in the Roanoke Valley and surrounding communities.
While working in the law enforcement role, UBU has been given the opportunity to partner with the Lea Youth Basketball League. For the last three years, UBU has been able to make sure the youth in our community are fed while attending this summer league. UBU’s goal and mission is to make sure a hundred or more families are fed during the Thanksgiving holiday. Also, every Christmas, UBU and the community at large, provide toys, clothing, shoes, and food for 150 families that may need the support during these troubling times. In 2019, Antonio was awarded a Ceremonial Key to the City to honor his contributions to his local community and surrounding areas. In the City of Roanoke, the act of receiving the Key to the City is the highest form of municipal honor. It is symbolic and was presented by Mayor Sherman Lea on behalf of the City Council. Antonio is a philanthropist, motivational speaker, and entrepreneur, whose trove of accomplishments is as big as his heart.
Hash said, “Giving back to the community was how I grew up, and it defines me. My goal in life is to inspire others to give back any way they can, not because they have to, but because they want to.”
UBU and I’ll Be Me!
Lead Pastor, ReFreshing Church Roanoke, Virginia
Innovative, passionate and devoted to empowering people of all walks of life, Bishop Jackson has become a dynamic change agent in this generation, touching the lives of people across generational and denominational lines. As a husband, proud father, pastor, community advocate, bishop and an inspiration to those he encounters, Bishop Jackson is affecting change nationally and internationally. With his warm infectious personality and mastery of the word of God, he has the ability to reach the masses with his unique creativity.
To evangelize and connect people to resources that will help them discover their potential and use it to create a positive change in their families, churches, and communities has become his mission. With tenacious determination, strength and passion, Bishop Jackson hopes and desires that through his ministry others are able to sense his love for Christ and compelled to strengthen their relationships with God. With a heavy civic and community involvement, Bishop is utilizing developmental tools to build the lives of people not just in ReFreshing Church, but in the community.
Prior to leading ReFreshing Church in Roanoke, Bishop Jackson served with his father, Bishop Delmar Jackson, as the Executive Pastor and Youth Pastor at Abundant Grace Assembly in Roanoke, and he also served as the Lead Pastor of OutPour Church in Martinsville, VA. A former member of the Advisory Board for the Joint College of African-American Pentecostal Bishops, serving as the Dean of the Adjutants Academy. He is currently the Assistant Presiding Bishop of Lively Stone Fellowship of Churches, also serving as the Prelate of the Eastern Province of the United States. While dedicated to the purpose and plan God has for his life, Bishop’s first ministry is to his wife Porshia and their 3 daughters. Together, this devoted husband and wife team empower people by illustrating family relationships in the way God intended things to be.
Who am I? I am a native of Neptune New Jersey I moved to Roanoke VA., in 2011. A blessed mother of (4) Children (2) Boys and (2) Girls.
My Passion? I always had a passion for dancing. I participated in school on a Drill Team. Where I come from there was always something for the youth to do that was free and affordable. Now days not so much.
My Dream/Vision? Watching my oldest daughter’s passion for dance blossom, I decided to start a traveling dance team. Gurlz with Attitudez Dance Team. While learning how to build my brand I may have thought it was going to be easy. But it hasn’t been an easy task by far. With no funding to support the Team and not wanting to charge community dancers to be on a team that didn’t even have a building to practice has been rough. In 2021 I finally had somewhere for the kids to practice a Community Building I rent out right smack in the middle of Melrose where is not always known to be the safest area for kids to be after a certain time of the day. But the Community embraced the kids and has promised to protect the kids from any harm.
Dance Team Mission’s Vision? Our Team’s mission is to instill a great love of dance while inspiring self-confidence, discipline, and respect of a sisterhood/brotherhood unity. To provide a foundation and develop dancing skills. I want to provide young girls and boys an encouraging environment where they are given the opportunity to grow as productive young women and men in society. I look to inspire self-confidence and respect for each other while teaching different technical dances like Lyrical, hip hop, technical, jazz, belly dance, tumbling, and more. This Team competes in Hip-hop majorette competitions with the main focus being on the Stand Battle (a routine where two teams face each other and alternate “STANDS” (routines), which are called by the captain.
Shakima Carpenter: I love what I do and pray that this dream and vision of mine will grow for the benefit of the kids in the Roanoke Area.
“By partnering and supporting groups and individuals that encourage people to organize, get involved, and make a difference.”