“What a feeling of elation it was to ‘Say Amen Again’ and welcome Rev. Davis back as keynote speaker,” said Mathews-Dickey VP, PR & Special Events Barbara A. Washington. “His story is truly inspirational and his accomplishments make him a great role model for our youth.”
The 20th anniversary also marked the dedication of an inaugural award, named in memory of Benjamin F. Edwards III, who along with H. Edwin Trusheim and the late Bill Maritz, comprised the event’s first three-man co-chair team. The honor was bestowed upon Mike Loynd, a great champion of community-wide education programs as administrator of the INTERCO Charitable Trust, by Edwards’ daughter Susan Medart and her husband Mike Medart.
“As one of the first Mathews-Dickey ‘Say Amen’ Banquet chairmen, this great educational advocate and esteemed leader took our program to great heights,” said the Club’s President, CEO & Co-Founder Martin L. Mathews. “We are honored to recognize Benjamin F. Edwards III’s ground-breaking leadership.”
The 2009 co-chairs, Brown Shoe Chairman & CEO Ron Fromm and Centene Corporation Chairman & CEO Michael Neidorff, mobilized community support for the fund-raiser, raising more than $100,000 for the Club’s education program. Sam Fox, former US ambassador to Belgium and founder of Harbour Group and the Fox Family Foundation, provide remarks on the co-chairs’ behalf. KMOX Radio “Overnight in America” Host Jon Grayson and KSDK NewsChannel 5 “Today in St. Louis” anchor Art Holliday graced the podium, along with the St. Louis Post-Dispatch Editioral Page Editor Gilbert Bailon.
The fun-filled evening also featured music by Collage, including a special Michael Jackson tribute by Club alumnus and professional recording artist Jamie “King James” Dennis. Highlights included young Club members participation in a rendition of “ABC” and King James’ duet with Davis to “Never Can Say Goodbye.”
Award presenters included Rev. William G. Gillespie, pastor, Cote Brilliante Presbyterian Church; Bruce Shead, director, community affairs and consumer outreach, Anheuser-Busch, Inc; Richard Mark, senior vice president/Missouri energy delivery, AmerenUE; Ken Nelson, owner/operator, Nelson Enterprises McDonald’s; Rev. Earl Nance, Jr., pastor, Greater Mt. Carmel Missionary Baptist Church; Gilbert Bailon, editorial page editor, St. Louis Post-Dispatch; and Keith Williamson, senior vice president, corporate secretary and general counsel, Centene Corporation. New Horizon Christian Church’s Elder Christopher Brown provided the program blessing on behalf of Rev. B.T. Rice and the benediction was offered by E.G. Shields, Sr., pastor, Mt. Beulah Missionary Baptist Church and Club board member.
The Bill Maritz Memorial Award was bestowed upon Dr. Art McCoy II, assistant superintendent of secondary education, Ferguson-Florissant School District. Others who received honors were Academic Scholars — Mikael Austin, 18, incoming freshmen to Morehouse College, and Aigna Barber, 18, incoming freshman to the University of Missouri — Columbia; Outstanding CLIP Volunteers — Beverly Brown, training coordinator, Edward Jones, and Randy Weller, Citi’s vice president, community Affairs and volunteerism; Outstanding Tutor Volunteers — Jordan Covington, electrical technician, John Henry Foster Company, and Marla Sinclair, business analyst, Nestle’ Purina PetCare Co.; Outstanding Youth Volunteers — Joshua Cosby, 16, Hazelwood Central High, and Tiffany Jerrod, 18, future freshman at Mizzou; Scholar Athletes — Emmai Brown, 13, Imagine Academy of Environmental Science & Math, and Blair Thomas, 16, Hazelwood Central High.
The “Say Amen” Banquet has generated more than $2 million since its inception, to continue the Club’s Volunteer Tutorial services, expand after-school activities through Computer Literacy Instruction, and introduce career training, mentors and college scholarships via “The Sky is the Limit” and “Maleness to Manhood Workshop Series” — benefiting thousands of Club members and students from local school districts. Through its outreach efforts, Mathews-Dickey has nourished the development and growth of City Academy, Jackie Joyner-Kersee Boys & Girls Club, the St. Louis Internship Program and many other endeavors aimed at reaching out to St. Louis youth.
Major sponsors of the fund-raiser were Brown Shoe Company and Centene Corporation, along with Anheuser-Busch, Inc., AmerenUE, Peabody Energy, KMOX Radio, KSDK News Channel 5 and St. Louis Post-Dispatch. American Airlines was the official airline sponsor. For more information, please call Barbara A. Washington or Bill Fronczak (314) 382-5952, ext. 234.
