Thursday’s Columbus Exchange Club meeting included an appearance by national Exchange Club President Tom Karnes of Lincoln Park, Michigan, who read a resolution from the national club commending the Columbus chapter for its exemplary performance as it celebrates its 90th year.
But with all due respect, Karnes was not the star of Thursday’s meeting. Instead, that distinction went to the 14 students from Lowndes County’s eight high school, who were honored with Youth of the Year and A.C.E. Awards during a special luncheon at the Lion Hills Center.
Six students were award A.C.E. Awards while a student from each of the eight high schools was recognized with Youth of the Year Awards. The overall A.C.E. Award recipient was Bailey Beard of Columbus Christian Academy, while Matthew Sarpong of Mississippi School for Math and Science was chosen as the overall Youth of the Year Award. Beard and Sarpong will now represent Columbus in the district competitions later this year.
The A.C.E. Award is an acronym for Accepting the Challenge for Excellence, which recognizes students who have overcome major obstacle to succeed in academics, leadership, extra-curricular activities.
The Youth of the Year Award recognizes students who have excelled in academics, community service, extra-curricular activities and leadership.
Beard, like several of the award winners, overcame severe health challenges to excel in school. Born with a severe hearing loss, she has been deaf in her left ear since age 2 and has limiting hearing in the right ear. In her essay, she noted, “My life is defined by what I hear, what I don’t hear and how I cope with the difference.”
Other A.C.E. Award winners were LaQuesha Clemmons of West Lowndes, Allison Lemonds of Victory Christian Academy, Jacob Crossno of MSMS, Taylor Moore of Heritage Academy and Christopher Wrench of Columbus High School.
Sarpong’s selection as Youth of the Year also featured a compelling back story. As a student in the Jackson Public School system, Sarpong was disturbed by the path that seemed to lie ahead of him. After watching older students drift away from school and into a world of drugs and violence, Sarpong applied to MSMS in hopes of escaping the cycle of despair all around him.
Although his ACT score was not impressive, he was admitted to MSMS and quickly established himself as an outstanding scholar. He hopes to someday start a non-profit that focuses on rescuing inner city kids through the pursuit of an education.
Other Youth of the Year Award winners included Kasey Shumpert of West Lowndes High School, Michaela Williams of Victory Christian Academy, Abigail Wilson of New Hope High School, Carrie Westmoreland of Heritage Academy, Destinee Bigham of Columbus High School, Rachel Brown of Columbus Christian Academy and Ian Hartmann of Caledonia High School
Winners received $100 grants from the Columbus Exchange Club while the overall winners were awarded $450 in grants.
Slim Smith is a columnist and feature writer for The Dispatch. His email address is [email protected].
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