Boys and Girls Club honors youth, volunteers

Published 11:47 pm Tuesday, June 20, 2006

Hundreds of people gathered Tuesday night at the Frank Cochran Center for the Celebration of Excellence hosted by the Boys and Girls Clubs of East Mississippi to honor their youth and volunteers.

According to Ricky Hood, chief professional officer of the local Boys and Girls Club, the program also is a fund-raiser for the program.

“This is a board-driven event and it would not be possible without their (board members) support to get the speakers and everything set up for the evening,” Hood said.

The event included awarding the Youth of the year, Volunteer of the year, Kahlmus Scholarship Awards, the Manny Mitchell Leadership Award and special staff recognitions.

Entertainment was provided by the Boys and Girls Club Choir, directed by Wayne Polk of First Baptist Church.

Keynote speaker for the evening was Deuce McAllister, running back for the New Orleans Saints. His dedication to helping youth make the right decisions was the topic of his address.

“It is an honor to motivate children in the right direction,” McAllister said. “I wanted to stress to them the importance of education and making the right decisions in their life.”

Frances Long, president of the Boys and Girls Club, said McAllister donated his time to the club in Meridian, making all the money raised by the event contributed to the clubs’ budget.

Monique Terry was named the Youth of the Year on Tuesday. She is a graduate of Meridian High School.

She said she will always help with the club because it is her home away from home.

The Celebration of Excellence event has been held for 20 years. It began as a way for the children to come to a nice event, meet people and honor their volunteers, but over the years it has grown into much more.

Betty Lou Jones, vice-president of the Boys and Girls Clubs board, said the event raised more than $100,000, but $30,000 goes to the endowment interest to take care of the expenses.

Dinner for the evening was provided by Outback Steakhouse.

Donations for the Boys and Girls Club Mitchell Endowment Fund may be sent to P.O. Box 4202, Meridian, MS 39304

McAllister also announced the pilot of a new program called “Deuce Days” through “Catch 22” his non-profit organization for the Southeastern region. Every Tuesday he will take an underprivileged child to do a fun activity such as going to the zoo, a child’s movie or any other fun activity that the child would not normally be able to attend.