The Roanoker - July/August 2018 - 29

Dara says she has often been accused of "being
too hard on them," but she has emphasized discipline
and get-ahead skills like "knowing how to present
themselves, shaking hands, looking people in the eyes.
... It doesn't always come naturally to say 'yes, ma'am'
and 'no, ma'am.'" Good manners are never out of style.
Community service has been an emphasis for the
entire family as well, even though the family is far from
wealthy. It is a matter of being resourceful and adding
in touches like shopping at Goodwill. "They see what
other kids have and I want to give them more," but
resourcefulness is also a valuable skill, one that must
be learned.
Dara has few regrets, except that "I'd like to spend
more one-on-one time with each of the kids."

Taisha & Dwight
Steele Family

The Steeles are not only raising a generation of
entrepreneurs, but also concentrating their blended
family efforts on community activism.
Taisha's sons are Curtis Staples, 20, a student in
symbolic systems at Stanford University and Chance
Staples, 16, a Salem High School student in the
International Baccalaureate program. Both are/were
star basketball players in high school and both either
TheRoanoker.com

own or have owned businesses. Six-year-old Jaida,
Dwight's daughter, has her own business ( Jaida Cakes)
as well, baking cupcakes and selling them.
Taisha, 40, and Dwight, 42, set the examples. She
is director of school counseling for Roanoke City
Public Schools and he is the funeral director with his
family's business, Serenity Funeral Home. They have
been married for four years. Each has been heavily
involved in the community for years, she with Women
United Community Action, the Roanoke Chapter of
The Links, Inc. for professional women and he as a
Roanoke neighborhood advocate, among other things.
When in Roanoke, Curtis is a volunteer at the
Harrison Museum of African-American History. He
helped found a volunteer help group for tech start-up
businesses, created a social Craig's List and started a
business club at Stanford. Chance is with the Youth
NAACP and the Key Club at school. Chance plans to
start a non-profit to help show middle school students
that math and science "can work for them." They're all
involved in their church. Curtis founded a for-profit
T-shirt company while he was in high school and has
turned it over to Chance.
Parental influence, says Curtis, "started young for us.
Mom and our grandfather placed heavy emphasis on
education, on learning inside and outside school. From
there, they instilled the desire to want to continue"
education.

Dara Hawkins uses
the loving hand of
discipline.

JULY/AUGUST 2018

29



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The Roanoker - July/August 2018

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of The Roanoker - July/August 2018

The Roanoker - July/August 2018 - Intro
The Roanoker - July/August 2018 - Cover1
The Roanoker - July/August 2018 - Cover2
The Roanoker - July/August 2018 - 3
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The Roanoker - July/August 2018 - Cover3
The Roanoker - July/August 2018 - Cover4
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