Boys & Girls Club Induct 20 Into Hall of Fame
BEN GARRETT -- Independent Herald Staff
"I think, with all the people out here, you've proven that we're going to make Scott County a lot better place than it has ever been," observed Scott County Hall of Fame inductee Norman Acres at Tuesday night's inaugural induction.
Acres might not be far wrong. Some 480 tickets were sold to the event, which saw 20 Scott Countians inducted into the Boys & Girls Club's Hall of Fame. If the crowded room at the Scott County National Guard Armory was any indication, all of the tickets sold were put to use, as Scott Countians turned out to honor the inductees and lend a helping hand to the Boys & Girls Club.
Acres challenged each Hall of Fame inductee to contribute $250 per year to the Boys & Girls Club for the next four years.
"I've got a motto: 'Many helping hands make the load a whole lot lighter,'" Acres said, referring to the effort to raise funds for the club, which, in its second year, is in the process of building a state-of-the-art facility in Oneida.
Among those inducted on Tuesday night were Harry Stonecipher, Howard H. Baker, Jr., B. Ray Thompson, Sr., Jim Barna, Sr., W.H. Swain, John J. Duncan, Sr., Les Winningham, Howard Tibbals, Vickee Kazee Hollifield, Jim May, Horace M. Jake Jeffers, Robert L. Carson, Eddie Culver, W.O. West, Sparky Woods, David Sexton, Brynae Laxton, Kerry Boyatt, Norman Acres and Verhonda Hembree-Wilson.
Eleven of the 16 living inductees were on hand Tuesday night. 2004 will see 10 additional Scott County natives inducted into the Hall.
Bob Kesling, the University of Tennessee's "Voice of the Vols," served as featured speaker for the evening and encouraged Scott County to support the Boys & Girls Club.
County to support the Boys & Girls Club.
"We're all on a team," Kesling said. "There's a lot of kids in our community who aren't on a very good team. Sometimes we don't look around and make sure our kids are on a good team. That's kinda what we're doing tonight.
"You never know how many boys and girls you can help," he said.
Kesling compared the Boys & Girls Club effort to a young man he once mentored at a YMCA summer camp.
Donnie McAllister, he said, was an orphaned child with a wooden leg. He came to camp with nothing but an extra change of clothes in a pillow case thrown over his back. Regardless of his physical limitations, he wanted to be as good as the rest of the campers. And, Kesling said, McAllister was the best of any of the kids at whatever he chose to do.
"There's a lot of Donnie McAllisters in this community," he said. "All you have to do is open your eyes and reach out and put them on a good team."
Kesling, who has worked with the Boys & Girls Club of the Tennessee Valley for many years, predicted much growth for the club.
"Let's hope they have to double the size of this facility by this time next year," he said.
Howard Bloom, an official with the Boys & Girls Club of the Tennessee Valley, of which the Scott County Boys & Girls Club is an affiliate, also praised the efforts of the community.
"We are so proud to have Scott County included in our agenda," he said. "What you've done here tonight is an unbelieveable testimony to what the people of this community can do."
Oneida Mayor Jack E. Lay, who emceed the event, said the Boys & Girls Club's facility, which will be located on Cook Avenue in Oneida, is "85 percent" through the process of planning and design. He said major construction should be ready to begin by spring.
According to Boys & Girls Club Director Robert Wright, more than 500 Scott County children are currently members of the club, with additional members being added on a weekly basis.
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