Meet the 2025 recipients of the Dane County Martin Luther King Jr. Award | The Wisconsin Independent
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Charles Tubbs and Sheray Wallace received Dane County’s 2025 Martin Luther King Jr. award. (Photos courtesy of Dane County)

On Jan. 20, Madison, Wisconsin Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway and Dane County Executive Melissa Agard honored two community leaders in Dane County, Charles Tubbs and Sheray Wallace, with the 2025 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Humanitarian Award.

Presented annually since 2022, the humanitarian award is given to those volunteers who demonstrate leadership and have made significant contributions to their community by encouraging peace and promoting better communication and collaboration among Dane County residents, according to the Tamara D. Grigsby Office for Equity and Inclusion.

“Dr. King said life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?’ Charles and Sheray have earned this recognition because they answered that call to serve with persistency and urgency,” Rhodes-Conway said in a statement. “Our honorees are also a reminder that to truly serve our residents, we need leaders at every level working together to reach the same shared goal. Thank you, Charles and Sheray, for your unwavering efforts to better our community.”

Charles Tubbs

Charles Tubbs was one of two recipients of Dane County's 2025 Martin Luther King Jr. award.
Charles Tubbs was one of two recipients of Dane County’s 2025 Martin Luther King Jr. award. (Photo courtesy of Dane County)

Charles Tubbs has served the Dane County community in law enforcement, community safety, and emergency management programs for over 52 years.

Tubbs told the Wisconsin Independent, “I’m extremely humbled and honored to receive these awards, as Dr. King has been my lifelong mentor, and I’ve followed his practices since I was a child.”

“I’m very strong in faith, and also the teachings of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, and it started back well before I got into law enforcement, like when I was a child, growing up, I always had the interest of being either a pastor, a professional athlete, law enforcement officer, or a person who works strongly within the community,” Tubbs said.

Inspired by the death of his 32-year-old son in 2019 as a result of an accidental overdose of marijuana laced with fentanyl, Tubbs turned his advocacy to addiction awareness.

“My son will be front and center on this day, as well as my wife and family,” Tubbs said.

Now retired from law enforcement after 40 years, Tubbs has been recognized as one of the “Top 100 Law Enforcement Officials/Heroes in the USA” by Presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and George H. Bush, according to a Dane County press release.

Today, Tubbs serves as the director of Dane County Emergency Management and is an honorary commander of the 115th Fighter Wing Civil Engineer Squadron in the Wisconsin Air National Guard.

He also works as an adjunct instructor for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Tubbs said that he has no plans for retiring anytime soon, despite three unsuccessful attempts to do so: “I plan on continuing in the same focus of the value of human life. In saying that, I do believe and I affirm when we lift up those who are less fortunate than you and I, we elevate the entire community.”

Sheray Wallace

Sheray Wallace was one of two recipients of Dane County's 2025 Martin Luther King Jr. award.
Sheray Wallace was one of two recipients of Dane County’s 2025 Martin Luther King Jr. award. (Photo courtesy of Dane County)

Sheray Wallace moved to the Meadowood neighborhood in Madison 20 years ago and joined the Meadowood Neighborhood Association. She told the Wisconsin Independent that her community involvement was sparked by a shooting in front of her building. Former Madison Democratic Mayor Paul Soglin sent out two public health nurses to offer support in the neighborhood, and, Wallace said, she began working with them, inspiring her work as a community health worker.

Although she had worked as a certified nursing assistant, she did the training she needed for community health work and began working with the pastor at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, where she is a parishioner. In 2016, Wallace founded the Meadowood Health Partnership, an all-volunteer health care resource for Madison residents in need, offering everything from legal support to help with housing, prenatal care, medical supplies, and transportation.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Wallace connected landlords with federally funded Dane CORE program rental assistance for people who needed it during the pandemic, while also securing masks, diapers, and food for those in need. She also helped to set up a COVID-19 vaccine clinic.

“It feels good to me when I can teach somebody or bring resource information to my neighbors, and what really feels good about all this is they trust me,” Wallace said.

Wallace said she became more aware of the importance of health care after the loss of several close family members. Her mother died in her 50s, her grandmother died in her 60s, and her sister died of a massive heart attack at just 39 years old.

Wallace said: “My biggest concern is housing and homelessness. It’s not just affecting the young, it’s affecting the older generation. The rent has increased tremendously, and people on fixed incomes are struggling,” adding that with food prices increasing, food pantries are overwhelmed with so many people in need.

Wallace said she was working with local landlords to give people “second chances” if they fall behind on paying the rent, and she’s handing out gift cards to people when she can so they can buy a meal or food at the grocery store.

Asked how she takes care of herself, Wallace said she “stays prayered up,” gets her hair done, and spends time with friends.

Wallace said receiving the award is a “testament of the collaboration with community, the work I do, and just Madison being a part of the people that support me, being a part of this journey with me, because I couldn’t have done this alone.”

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