The news reverberated across social media and by word of mouth. The children of Greenville, specifically those who were "underserved" and at-risk had lost their champion. The news of Dwight Woods' sudden and unexpected death left those who knew him shakened and sorrowful. There is now a gaping hole where the heart used to be, and it can't be filled.
For over twenty years, the Birmingham, Alabama native who called Greenville home has inspired, encouraged, provoked, and propelled young people to unimaginable heights. He taught them to find the dream within and then take it to the world. The soft spoken, no nonsense Mr. Woods was an extraordinary talent in his own right. A writer, composer, and singer, he used his passion for music and his love for children to build a bridge that carried many from the self-imposed poverty of low self esteem and neglect to the bright lights of personal achievement and for some world-wide fame.
His after school and summer music programs at the Phillis Wheatley Community Center provided countless young people with a safe nurturing environment and a father. The program took in young people with immense talents who had no one to guide or believe in them. Ultimately, this program melded into the Phillis Wheatley Repertory Theatre, and it put Greenville on the map.
What a difference he made in so many lives. Dwight Woods, gone too soon.
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