2011 COMMUNITY STARS

 

Man of the Year

He still refers to himself as a “country boy from Coldwater” but, in addition to earning a Bachelor’s degree from Harvard University, Dr. Michael Minor, has visited the White House at the request of the First Lady to assist with the national program ‘Let’s Move!’.   Dr. Minor has served as the pastor of Oak Hill Baptist Church in rural DeSoto County since 1996, and his leadership and passion for improving health among members of his own congregation has spread to his work throughout Mississippi and the nation.  Dr. Minor served as the Chair of the Community Foundation’s Healthy Congregations Coalition, which provided the model for establishing a health campaign through the national Baptist Convention, the nation’s second largest Protestant denomination.  Dr. Minor continues to preach a healthy diet in the deep-fried Delta and for this was featured on the front page of The New York Times.

 

Woman of the Year

Brenda Luther of Holly Springs believes that is it truly better to give than to receive and this has been played out each year through the Clydesdale Christmas Store, an organization founded on joyful giving.  Brenda, along with her husband Ronnie, established the Store so they could help families who could not afford Christmas presents for their small children.  From there it grew to an annual tradition bringing together numerous volunteers, lots of donations and an unlimited supply of gratitude.  Now when the group provides gifts, they help between 300 and 500 children, patients in two nursing homes, and host events for service men and women who have returned home from war.  After Hurricane Katrina the organization took four tractor-trailer loads of goods to Waveland.  In 2011, in lieu of having the toy drive for area children, the Clydesdale Christmas Store threw a party and dinner for the people of north Mississippi tornado-ravaged Smithville.  Santa gave a toy to each of the children and the entire town enjoyed a wonderful meal. 

 

Business of the Year

 John Ruskey, owner of Clarksdale’s Quapaw Canoe Company, is the only outfitter on the lower Mississippi River.  Referred to as a real Renaissance man, John established the Company in 1998 and offers custom-guided canoe and kayak expeditions, day floats and other paddling adventures along the Lower Mississippi River.  His Mighty Quapaw Apprenticeship Program is a highly successful one-on-one apprenticeship that focuses on children that come from highly distressed neighborhoods in Clarksdale and the surrounding area.    Apprentices climb step-by-step towards becoming canoe builders and river guides while learning life skills including team work, leadership, environmental stewardship and environmental ethics.  In 2011 The Company guided the Mighty Quapaws in a project to clean up the River after the Flood of 2011.  As John always say, “May the River be with you”.

 

Non-Profit of the Year

Teach For America is the national corps of top college graduates and professionals who commit to teach for two years in urban and rural public schools and become lifelong leaders in the effort to expand educational opportunity.  Teach For America has been a local partner in the education community of the Mississippi Delta for two decades, and, this year the Delta replaced New York City as the nation’s largest Corps.  This year, more than 500 teachers, or corps members, are teaching across the Delta and over 200 Teach For America alumni call the Delta home.  Two alumni have served as principal and assistant principal in Quitman County and because of their leadership the school has significantly increased its score on the state’s accountability system.  Teach For America has held one of its rigorous pre-service training institutes at Delta State University in Cleveland since 2010. Each summer about 1,000 Teach For America staff and corps members and spend five weeks in Cleveland studying the fundamental skills they'll need to be excellent beginning teachers while teaching summer school in local schools.