Sean Penn was spotted in unlikely places in Savannah this weekend. Here's what he was doing

When 16-year-old Rio Washington showed up to his Chatham County Youth Commission meeting on Saturday morning, he felt excited. He was about to meet someone famous. He just didn’t know who that person was.

Van Johnson, the director of the Commission and a Savannah alderman, had told the teenagers to be prepared to meet a celebrity.

Washington was surprised. The celebrity, as it turned out, was Oscar-winning actor Sean Penn.

Penn didn’t particularly look like a celebrity, with his casual khaki pants and white t-shirt. His hair was disheveled. And he seemed quiet at first, Washington said.

Washington, a junior at New Hampstead High School, remembered watching Penn in movies with his dad.

“It was surreal,” Washington said. “It did not feel like it was actually happening.”

Penn was visiting on behalf of the J/P Haitian Relief Organization (J/P HRO), a non-profit organization that he established in 2010, said Johnson.

The J/P HRO is in the process of visiting coastal communities that are both prone to hurricanes and have vulnerable populations, Johnson said. Penn hoped to roll out a new emergency response initiative by engaging young people, and he was meeting with young people in different cities, including Savannah and Mobile, Alabama, Johnson added.

The J/P HRO did not immediately respond to request for comment.

Penn said he hoped to get youth involved with emergency response preparedness through technology and mobile alerts, Washington said. Penn pitched his vision to the Youth Commission teens, Washington said, and then he asked for feedback from the teens.

“I thought it was a smart idea,” Washington said.

Penn, known for both his philanthropic efforts and controversies, left a positive impression on the Youth Commission.

“He was real cool, real laid back,” Johnson said. “He seemed like a thoughtful, introspective guy.”

Penn also met with members of Savannah Youth City, Inc., according to the organization’s Facebook page.

Penn had been spotted in Savannah in the days beforehand. People posted photos of him to social media leaving City Hall and lounging on a park bench – one onlooker’s Facebook post said he appeared to be a “homeless looking guy.”

WTOC News reported on Thursday that Penn had been meeting with city leaders and staff at Chatham County Emergency Management.

This story was originally published July 23, 2018 at 10:48 AM.