The brainchild of the Rev. Dr. R.B. Holmes, pastor of Bethel
Missionary Baptist Church and a former FAMU trustee, the banquet was a
fundraising initiative to assist FAMU Athletics. He defined the event in his opening
statement, saying “Thank you for your love and thank you for your support of
our great institution.”
When all the fanfare subsided, the net result was $225,000
for the department. Clearly it was one
of the most successful campaigns in the history of the university. The banquet honored 15 special Rattlers and
was financially supported by several dedicated
businesses and individuals.
Based at Bethel Missionary Baptist Church, where Holmes is the pastor, the Legacy Committee, who guided the affair, put on the event in a uniquely decorated Al Lawson Multipurpose Center and Teaching Gymnasium. The capacity crowd was entertained by music, a great meal and a focused ceremony.
One of the largest supporters of the event was the Bethel
AME Church. The Rev. Dr. Julius
McAllister Jr., pastor of the church, delivered the opening prayer and
remarks. The show of unity of
Tallahassee’s two largest black churches was not lost on the event
A pleasant surprise at the event was the presence of former
FAMU basketball great Alfred “Al” Lawson Jr., who is a newly elected member of
the U.S. Congress. Lawson was in Washington, D.C. earlier in the day and
appeared to be caught in the city. But he
was able to make a last minute flight and attend the banquet. As a former athlete, Lawson was all too
familiar with the importance of making history.
“Who would have ever thought, Mr. AD, 40 years ago that I
would be up here in the Lawson Center?
Who would have ever thought that?
When you reach out and help someone pull themselves up, you never know
what position they are going to be in one day to help others. I’m so proud of the people being honored here
tonight because they possess those same qualities,” Lawson said.
The greeting was
followed by music and dinner. The elite
performers who entertained the crowd during dinner were Aaron Hayden and his
band, David Self on harmonica, Anthony Williams on keyboard, Dr. Cassandra
Poole and the Marching “100” started things off by escorting all of the event
sponsors into the arena.
Additional greetings were offered by Dr. Malinda Jackson
James, FAMU Student Government Association (SGA) President Justin Bruno and Dr.
Bettye Grable, president of the FAMU Faculty Senate.
Following dinner, all of the honorees were presented on
stage. The honorees were Former FAMU
Faculty Senate Presidents Mary Diallo, Ph.D and Narayan Persaud, Ph.D; former
FAMU SGA Presidents Tonette Graham, Monique Gillum, James Mathews and Larry O.
Rivers, Ph.D; former FAMU National Alumni Association Presidents Carolyn
Collins, Ph.D and Tommy Mitchell; FAMU Supporters Elaine Bryant, Ph.D,
Stephanie Clarke and Eddie Jackson; Former Miss FAMUs Denise Barrett, Ph.D and
Trenice Seniors; Former FAMU Board of Trustees Members Spurgeon McWilliams,
M.D. and Rufus Montgomery.
After the celebration of the honorees, Larry Robinson Ph.D.,
interim President of Florida A&M University offered special remarks. Gayle Andrews and Lenita Joe recognized local
officials and gave special remarks. The
Rev. Dr. Isaac Manning offered the closing prayer before Tommy Mitchell ended
the event leading the alma mater.
Milton Overton Jr., FAMU Director of Athletics, felt honored
that the FAMU community had embraced the event.
“First, it is amazing to have someone like Rev. (R.B.)
Holmes to visualize a support effort in this manner,” Overton said. “Second, it took a lot of work to pull this
off and we thank each and every person who contributed to this project. With the challenges in our athletics
department’s finances, it is crucial that supporters are developed and this
event did exactly that. I would like to
congratulate every great Rattler that was honored and personally thank every
individual who contributed every single dollar to this campaign. Without your support, FAMU Athletics can’t
perform our strategy of building champions in the classroom, on the field and
in life.”