Submitted Leigh Thomas, left, the executive director of the Community Foundation of East Mississippi, accepts a check for $10,000 from the Downtown Optimst Club for Jeannie's Place at Planet Playground, presented by Lee Thaggard, the president of the civic organization. 

The Downtown Optimist Club followed up on a September pledge to match donations for Jeannie’s Place at Planet Playground, located at Northeast Park, giving the Community Foundation of East Mississippi $10,000 for the accessible park.

As of Tuesday, the playground, accessible for children of all abilities, has raised $409,000 with a community build planned between Feb. 18-24. 

Following the fundraising efforts of Lamar students William Lamar and Jake Davidson, who raised $10,000 by early November, the Downtown Optimist Club presented the $10,000 check to Leigh Thomas, the executive director of the Community Foundation of East Mississippi.

The club also presented its Friend of Youth Award posthumously to Don E. McNair, who worked to support area youth over several decades, and will rename the award in his honor. McNair’s children, Tavia Cavett and Eric McNair, received the award at a Tuesday meeting in his name.

McNair was a charter member of the North Hills Optimist Club and was the co-founder and president of the North Hills Optimist Club’s Rookie Baseball League, expanding the youth baseball league at Hardin Field. He earned both the 1985 Sertoma Club Man of the Year Award and the 2011 Optimist International Lifetime Achievement Award for his lifelong volunteer efforts.

The Boys and Girls Club of East Mississippi, the family’s selected charity, will also receive an additional $250 from the civic organization in McNair’s name.