At Fairlawn Elementary, some parents had complained that kids were wearing gory costumes for Halloween party day, and others parents kept their children home because of the tie to witches and goblins. So the school turned to the universal values of CC! as a compromise, celebrating character on that day. In a parade in late October 2002, kids dressed up as Charlie Brown, a school principal, Christopher Robin, and Abraham Lincoln, among others. According to substitute principal Richard Roberts, parents in general have seemed happy with the new CC! theme.

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Ten citizens won recognition in the Second Annual Good Neighbor Awards Concert in August, 2002. The ten, one from each ward, exemplified the Six Pillar virtues of trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring and citizenship. A committee which included the city council representatives of all ten wards chose the recipients, and Ray Horner of WAKR radio was the master of ceremonies. CC! Akron cosponsored the event. The winners (with ward in parentheses) were: Janet Krueger (I), Harold Foster (II), Walter Johnson (III), Barbara Wilson (IV), Virginia Coleman (V), Paul Wagner (VI), David Hampton (VII), Sandra Mink (VIII), Sharon Robinson (IX), and Joyce Burgy (X).

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Citizens celebrated the fourth annual CHARACTER COUNTS! Akron Day on June 2, 2002, at Canal Park, the home of the Akron Aeros minor league baseball team. A choir from Fairlawn Elementary School sang “America’s Child,” and each member wore a t-shirt with those words emblazoned on it. The event netted $6,100 for CC! Akron. Dr. Sylvester Small, superintendent of Akron public schools, and Judge Carla Moore, of the city municipal court, accepted the check. Both are vice presidents of CC! Akron.

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Second-grade teachers Pam Blough and Mary DeBerry won an award at the 2002 IMPACT II Showcase in Akron on March 7, for their yearlong instruction project at Fairlawn Elementary. The two launched the program in the fall of 2001 as a study of citizenship, fusing social studies with the Six Pillars of Character. After 9/11, it deepened. Students compiled a class scrapbook entitled “Let Freedom Ring.” One portion of it focused on “What the Pledge Means to Me.” Other sections included short fiction, historical background, poems and lyrics to patriotic songs. The 31 second-graders shared their insights in a culminating event at a nursing home, where they sang patriotic songs, danced, and recited poetry before parents and senior citizens.