A rose to Henry Matuszak and other members of a new nonprofit that will honor the sports legends of Lowndes County. Matuszak, a former long-term sports writer and editor for The Dispatch, began working on the idea of a Lowndes County Sports Hall of Fame two years ago, and the group is preparing to induct its inaugural class of 10 to 15 athletes next spring as it solicits nominations from the community. The organization has social media pages on both Facebook and Instagram, as well as a website that includes a nomination form where visitors can submit their picks for the inaugural Lowndes County Hall of Fame class. For well over 100 years, Lowndes County has produced its share of great athletes. What it hasn’t done is preserve their memories for future generations to appreciate and draw inspiration from. The Lowndes County Sports Hall of Fame is long overdue and much appreciated. We thank LCSHOF board members Glenn Lautzenhiser, president, Trip Hairston, vice president, Tom Buckley, treasurer, Matuszak, secretary, and board members Colin Krieger and county supervisor Jeff Smith for their efforts in establishing the Hall of Fame and urge the community to support their efforts.
A rose to the Frank M. Phillips YMCA, which celebrates its milestone 100th anniversary with a block party and an open house on Saturday. The Columbus Young Men’s Christian Association was organized April 22, 1924, during a dinner at First Methodist Church. A year later, the organization’s first board president and eventual namesake offered an endowment of $100,000 for the project. Phillips left another $100,000 to the Y upon his death in 1942. In 1926, Mr. and Mrs. Henry Pratt deeded the organization property in south Lowndes County that became Camp Pratt, where the Y held youth camps for decades, and the downtown Y formally opened April 24, 1931. The downtown building has undergone renovations and expansions through the years, even surviving a fire in 1998. For generations of Columbus residents, the YMCA was the backdrop of their youth and a source of recreation and creativity. Saturday gives many long-time residents a chance to reminisce, while serving as an introduction to newcomers. We congratulate the YMCA staff and membership on this historic occasion.
A rose to Sudduth Elementary School principal Morgan Abraham, who has been selected by the Mississippi Association of Elementary School Administrators as Mississippi’s winner of the National Distinguished Principal program for elementary school principals. She will represent the state of Mississippi in October at the National Distinguished Principal program. The NDP program was established in 1984 to recognize elementary and middle level principals who set high standards for instruction, student achievement, character and climate for the students, families and staff. Public school elementary and middle level principals are nominated by peers in their respective states, and selections are made by appointed committees in each state-level affiliate of the National Association of Elementary School Principals. Abraham joined SOCSD in 2019 as principal at Sudduth Elementary and has shepherded the school through the successful implementation of a pre-K program, MakerSpace, playground redesign and building renovations and has worked with families as the district transitioned to a modified calendar. We congratulate Abraham and Sudduth Elementary School on this noteworthy honor.
A rose to Mississippi University for Women, which once again has been recognized as the preeminent nursing/health science school in the state with top rankings for its Associate of Science in Nursing (ASN), Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) and Registered Nurse to Bachelor of Science in Nursing (RN to BSN) programs by NursingProcress.org. All of The W’s undergraduate nursing programs maintained the No. 1 spot in the state. Additionally, MUW’s ASN program jumped to No. 1 for the Best of the Southeast Region while its BSN program (No. 4) maintained its position and RN-BSN (No. 4) jumped a spot in their respective categories. NursingProcess.org highlighted the programs’ practical learning options, affordable tuition and recognitions like being ranked among the top public universities in the southeast region by U.S. News and World Report. The rankings are further proof of the excellence of MUW’s programs. There is simply no better school in our state to pursue a career in nursing.
The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.
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You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 36 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
