Family, friends and community members gathered in the pews of New Birth Baptist Church on Sunday to honor two men who have shaped the lives of countless youth over their many years in the Paris community. Jim Chadwick and Ambers âBuckyâ Patterson were honored for their decades of service at the Boys & Girls Club of the Red River Valley with songs, praise, speeches and plaques of recognition.
Chadwick and Patterson, who both started working for the Boys & Girls Club in the 1980s, were showered with praise by board president Montgomery Moore, board member Josh Bray, unit director Katrina Mitchell, minister Tony Gunn, and a host of family and friends speaking on their behalf.
The theme of a Friday night celebration was âRise Up, Stand Up & Be Heard,â and members of the Boys & Girls Club of the Red River Valley did just that.
The program, which included singing, dancing, poetry recitations and a roundtable discussion, was put together by Boys & Girls Club staff in recognition of Black History Month and saw children of all ages come together to celebrate.
The audience and performers, packed into the gym, were brought to their feet for a rendition of the Black National Anthem before Paster Kendall McAfee-Henry Sr. delivered a rousing invocation, accompanied by his young son, Kendall Jr., on piano.