DATE: Friday, October 17, 1997              TAG: 9710150115

SECTION: CHESAPEAKE CLIPPER      PAGE: 03   EDITION: FINAL 

TYPE: THUMBS UP! 

SOURCE: BY SUSAN W. SMITH, STAFF WRITER 

                                            LENGTH:   76 lines

DEBUTY CITY MANAGER CITED BY CHESAPEAKE MEN FOR PROGRESS

CALM AND EASY going, Clarence V. Cuffee, Chesapeake's deputy city manager, still tries to practice his mother's advice.

Betty M. Cuffee told her children not to talk about themselves because if we were doing a good job people would already know,'' Cuffee, 52, said. ``So, I generally just try to quietly go about my business and do the best job possible.''

If Cuffee won't talk, the Chesapeake Men for Progress will tout his achievements. The civic organization, which provides leadership and guidance for young African-Americans, recently chose Cuffee as their second annual recipient of the Herb Mackey Lightgouse Award.

``It was a unanimous vote,'' said Clifton Hayes, the chairman of the nominating committee for the man-of-the-year recognition. ``Cuffee's accomplishments, social concerns and leadership are a prime example of what we stand for.''

Cuffee explains his actions and lifestyle are a result of early training. He said his mother, a widow with seven children, supplied plenty of encouragement and doses of tough love.

``I went to school every day and did the best that I could,'' said Cuffee who attended Crestwood schools. ``My mother did not demand good work. She expected it, and we did it. She also did not accept excuses. I still believe if you are going to do a job or get involved, do it right.''

Cuffee received an athletic scholarship to Maryland State College on the Eastern Shore where he majored in art education. He returned to Chesapeake to teach fine arts and to coach for several years.

``And my players had to maintain a C average,'' Cuffee said. ``I wanted them to be able to do something when ballgames no longer mattered.''

In 1973, Cuffee completed graduate work at Fordham University in New York, and for the next several years, he worked with juveniles and family services in New York, Richmond and Hampton.

``I hear from some of my kids, now grown, who had problems with drugs, gangs or violence and many of them now have success stories,'' Cuffee said. ``They are some of my most special rewards.

``Kids are still my most favorite population. Sometimes, it just takes one person to make a mark with a young person to make a positive difference.''

After a six-year stint in the Army where he specialized in working with military families, Cuffee be

came Norfolk's director of human resources.

And in 1987, he and his wife, LaBarbara returned to his hometown when Cuffee became Chesapeake's assistant city manager. His responsibilities included Parks and Recreation, Human Resources, the Community Services Board, the Social Service Bureau and the Health Department.

Several times during his tenure, Cuffee has also stepped in to be a stabilizing force as the city's interim or acting city manager. He is serving one such stint now with city manager John Pazour out after back surgery.

``But I always want to return to human services,'' Cuffee said. ``We are only as good a city as the needs and benefits we can provide for people because they are our strongest resource.''

Some of his career highlights include working to establish the South Norfolk Health Center, participating in a study on poverty in Chesapeake and working on such projects as new schools, public libraries and the jail.

Although he likes taking care of city business, Cuffee is already working on another career. He is an adjunct professor at Norfolk State University where he teaches public policy and urban affairs. He's also working on a doctoral degree with plans to teach when he retires from local government.

When he's not a busy city leader, college professor and student, Cuffee escapes to his first love - oil painting and pen-and-ink sketches - to relax.

``I'm sailing along smooth and calm on top of water,'' Cuffee explained like the ducks and decoys that decorate his office. ``But underneath my feet are just kicking.'' ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by CHARLIE MEADS

The Chesapeake Men for Progress, a civic organization that provides

leadership and guidance for young African-Americans, chose Clarence

Cuffee as its man of the year because his ``accomplishments, social

concerns and leadership are a prime example of what we stand for.''

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