Victor L. Walker honored with Spirit of Detroit award for mentorship and training

The Neighborhood Community Service Standing Committee presented a Spirit of Detroit award to Victor L. Walker on the committee dais, praising his decades of work as an instructor, mentor and small-business owner.

Walker, introduced by the chair as the first African American journeyman ironworker instructor at the Local 25 Training Center in Michigan, accepted the honor and thanked the city and his family. "This city has provided me with everything that I have," Walker said, adding that the award represents resilience and the opportunity to give back. He cited his own path through Goodwill’s Flip the Script program as central to his work mentoring youth and workers.

The chair noted Walker’s roles as a youth mentor, children’s book author and advocate for social justice, and attendees gave the recipient a round of applause and took photographs on the floor after the presentation. Council member Scott Benson offered brief congratulations, calling the award "well deserved."

The presentation was ceremonial; no formal committee action was required. Walker said he looks forward to continuing efforts to train residents for careers in the skilled trades and to help build "the greatest Detroit" he has seen.

The committee then moved on to routine business, including public comment and item introductions for the formal session.