Although Adrian Wood had already sent her three oldest children off to White Oak Elementary School in Edenton, North Carolina, she was anxious when it was her youngest son Amos's turn to start classes. Adrian said, "Sending Amos to school was such a different path. He was 3 when he started school. He had autism（自闭症）and he didn't speak."
Amos struggled to make friends and fit in, but there was always one person there who was very happy to see him. Raymond Brown has worked at the school as a guard for the past 15 years. All of the students know and love him, and he's truly a friend to all. He started calling Adrian's son "Famous Amos" on day one. To the mom's surprise, Amos quickly began responding with a cheerful "Hey, Brown" whenever he saw him. "He wasn't even saying 'daddy' at home, so it was really something, "Adrian said.
"Amos is a hard friend to have," Adrian explained, "He takes a lot more than he gives and that's tough for children. But those kids saw that he was popular and loved, and they started fighting over who would get to hold Amos' hand on the way to the classroom. It meant so much to me that he was favored by the other children at school, and Mr. Brown had a big hand in that."
About a year ago, school officials nominated Mr. Brown for North Carolina's School Hero, a $20,000 prize. When the results came out and he didn't win, Adrian was heartbroken. She couldn't let the disappointing results stand, so she took to Facebook and created an annual "Famous Amos" prize for Mr. Brown in their community. Her neighbors answered the call, donating $35,000 in just one week! Townspeople and school officials gathered in March to celebrate Mr. Brown and give him the money they'd raised. Principal Michelle handed him a giant check and thanked him for everything he does to help kids like Amos find their way.
