The Greater Roanoke Valley Character Coalition launched Stuart Harris champions Character Counts for community Group plans to foster character new generations can count on September 5, 2002 The Greater Roanoke Valley Character Coalition was launched Wednesday and proclaimed next week as American Character Week By Kathy Lu THE ROANOKE TIMES About 10 years ago, Stuart Harris had an epiphany. He knew he wanted to help people, but he also knew that his aid could only go so far. If he volunteered to tutor underprivileged children during the day, they still may go home to abusive parents at night. "That's when I realized we need to train the next generation of parents," Harris said, "because we can't change the parents now." The idea roiled in his head for the next several years and resurfaced about two years ago, when he heard that Sen. John Edwards, D-Roanoke, sponsored legislation to require character education in schools. The program, called "Character Counts," focuses on six core traits: trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring and citizenship. But schools weren't enough for Harris. He wanted to take character education to the community..."One of my visions is to have a Character Counts leader in each organization," Harris said.. "They'd be responsible for coming up with ideas on how we can show we've got character." So he created the Greater Roanoke Valley Character Coalition, whose ultimate job will be to bring character education to every part of the community. Harris said the coalition's steering committee will have representatives from 12 groups, including parents, law enforcement agencies, businesses and parks and recreation departments. Harris introduced the coalition Wednesday, at a ceremony proclaiming next week as American Character Week. The event was held at the 419 West restaurant and the proclamation was signed by Joe Church, chairman of the Roanoke County Board of Supervisors, Roanoke Mayor Ralph Smith, Salem Mayor Sonny Tarpley, and Vinton Mayor Don Davis. "Without virtue, a democracy will not work," Edwards said Wednesday. "And in a democracy, we all must be concerned about the community as a whole." Harris, a Roanoke business consultant, said he would like to find funding so he can hire consultants to train the community leaders. "Everybody's got to get behind it," said Harris. "Character isn't taught, it's caught. You follow what you've seen and not what you're told." For information about the Greater Roanoke Valley Character Coalition, call 774-8133. Kathy Lu can be reached at 981.3430 or kathy.lu@roanoke.com.