Palm Beach County woman honored at White House ceremony commemorating 5,000th Point of Light

The Palm Beach Post

A Palm Beach County woman was honored Monday at the White House for her “Brilliant Bus,” which brings a mobile computer lab to children with little access to technology at home.

Estella Pyfrom, the daughter of migrant workers in Belle Glade, shared the spotlight with former President George H. W. Bush, who was on hand for the ceremony naming the 5,000 Daily Point of Light.

Bush established the program in 1989 and named a “point of light” nearly every day of his White House tenure. His organization has since continued to recognize Americans who make giving back a priority.

Obama credited the president with sparking a national movement and making the country a “better, and a stronger force for good in the world.”

He added: “You’ve described for us those thousand points of light — all the people and organizations spread out all across the country who are like stars brightening the lives of those around them. But given the humility that’s defined your life, I suspect it’s harder for you to see something that’s clear to everybody else around you, and that’s how bright a light you shine — how your vision and example have illuminated the path for so many others, how your love of service has kindled a similar love in the hearts of millions here at home and around the world.”
Monday’s event was particularly moving because the elder Bush has been ill. The crowd, seated in gilt chairs among crystal chandeliers and paintings of George Washington, cheered as the former president was wheeled onto stage. His red and white striped socks were showing, which his son Neil joked was evidence of the former president’s other passion: fashion.

The ceremony was also moving because of the stories of the honorees.
Floyd Hammer and Kathy Hamilton of Iowa had planned to retire after decades of farming. On their way to sail around the world, a friend told them about a village in Tanzania they should visit.

“That changed everything,” Hamilton said.

She described scenes of unforgettable poverty and recalled three little boys scavenging for food who ate something poisonous and died while the couple were there.

The organization Outreach was born in 2004 out of that experience and has packed 232 million meals and delivered them to people around the world.
The couple was named the 5,000th Point of Light.

Neil Bush, chairman of the Points of Light foundation, spoke about how his father and mother had often imagined if all of the Points of Light lived in one town, what a place it would be.

Estella Pyfrom, who taught for nearly 50 years in Palm Beach County before retiring and taking her bus around the county, was the first Point of Light Bush mentioned in his musings about this fictional town. She was named the 4,998th point of light.

The honor was something Pyfrom never imagined, certainly not when she was a 6-year-old girl, picking beans and moving from farm-to-farm with her parents.

Her upbringing, she said, helps her relate to the children she serves now.

“I pretty much know and understand how it feels to be without,” she said.

But Pyfrom said she never let what she didn’t have get in the way of her education or of her dreams.

“We had a certain amount that we expected of ourselves and our parents expected of us,” she said Monday, taking a break from the reception to stand on the White House lawn and talk about her organization.

Her high expectations for the children she brings aboard “Miss Estella’s Brilliant Bus” are what keep her going.

And she hopes this recognition will help her serve more children. Pyfrom spent her own savings on buying and renovating the air-conditioned bus, which fits 17 computer stations. She estimates it cost about $900,000.
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“All of this attention is kind of new and recent,” she said, “A lot of people don’t know about it, but it’s sure to help my organization.”

Laura Green

The Palm Beach post