Black Achievers help youth prepare for future

If you ask any of the nearly 75 individuals gathered recently to celebrate the 14th annual Salute to Lima Family YMCA Black Achievers what was most important about the evening, they would probably reply that it really was all about area youth.

One memorable speech was only a few sentences long. It came from 2008 Lima Senior High graduate Brian Bohn, an honor roll student who was awarded a $500 scholarship for his participation in Black Achievers. As he thanked the group for the scholarship, his face shone with the kind of hope that belongs only to the young who are ready to tackle a new life adventure. Bohn's adventure will be to attend OSU-Lima in the fall and then to complete his education in Columbus. Eventually he hopes to someday give back to this community.

Terence Minor, Black Achievers' volunteer of the year, and Lima's Sharon Guice presented Bohn's award in addition to about 20 other presentations they made to achievers at the annual event. Since its inception in 1992, Guice and Minor have served with the group, originally named the Young Achievers. Currently, Black Achievers has approximately 40 active students.

The mission statement of the organization is "to enhance young minds, culturally, mentally and spiritually, using education as the primary resource in making positive decisions about career path options through interaction with positive adult role models."

Guice urged the youth gathered to "go get whatever you need (regarding education), but bring it back to Lima," she said with a smile.

ABC News 18 anchor Ashley Traynum acted as a emcee. The community leaders, sponsors and student achievers who gathered at the Lima YMCA that night will not soon forget the oratorical skills of 8-year-old Amir Idris, of Cleveland, either.

Idris was a statewide winner this past April in the MLK oratorical contest. His Lima audience sat with rapt attention as the third-grader shared his message explaining why he is the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Idris was introduced by Dorothy Lovell Jones as having read 4,000 books since the age of 2.

The evening wasn't completely about youth, though, as the traveling trophy, "the corporate award given for those who participate with time, talent and money," according to Guice, was presented to OSU-Lima and was accepted by assistant dean Roger Nimps.

OSU-Lima Admissions Counselor and Coordinator for Minority Recruiting Temple Patton was recognized as the Adult Achiever of the Year. For 16 years, Patton has also been the owner of Vogarts Salon in Lima. Patton was nominated for the award by OSU colleague John Upshaw, who is among the core group of Black Achiever volunteers that comprise the steering committee.

Members of the committee also include Guice, Minor, Jones, Ann Miles, Victor Washington and Derek Richardson.     

Lima Senior High school graduate Lewis Shine II has been the director of the Black Achievers for the Lima Family YMCA for the past six months. Shine was a star high school basketball player who eventually played basketball for Miami University and semi-pro basketball with the Louisiana Cajun Pelicans.

Rodney Heath, who played with the Cincinnati Bengals, was the guest speaker for the banquet. Heath, who started 23 out of 35 games in his years with the Bengals, had a lot to say to the young achievers.

"Really, I'm just trying to plant a seed," he said, as he shared that his faith was of primary importance to him. "If you are not dedicated in anything you do, you are not going to go far."

The 33-year-old former NFL player told the crowd there were five other things that were important: "family, peers, goals, education and discipline."

The speaker said his dream was to be in the NFL from the time he was only 7 or 8 years old. He told the young people gathered that "you can achieve anything" just as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. had once promised. However, the two-time NFL defensive player of the game said he "didn't make it to my goal without hard work."

There are Black Achiever adult volunteers working hard like Heath suggested and donating countless hours with a goal of assisting area youth to prepare for a brighter future. Since the program's inception, 550 youth have been served and $21,550 in scholarships have been awarded.

Christina Ryan Claypool is a freelance journalist and inspirational speaker. Contact her at Christina@christinaryanclaypool.com