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Chamber honors Natchez’s best
Published Tuesday, October 23, 2007
NATCHEZ — Natchez is on its way, and the Chamber of Commerce wants to make sure everyone knows it.
The chamber’s annual dinner Monday night focused on growth, development and the future of the area and the people who are taking it there.
Among those people are the Woman of the Year, the Natchezian of the Year and the employees at the Business of the Year — awards given out annually by the chamber.
Lynn James, owner of Kelly’s Kids, was chosen as Woman of the Year by a chamber committee. The award is given to a woman who takes an active role in leading other women in the community.
“She continually strives for the highest level of professional accomplishment,” Rene Adams said.
Adams was the Woman of the Year last year and presented the award to James, who could not be present because she was in El Salvador on business.
James employs over 35 women, Adams said, and has seven department heads, five of which are women.
Kelly’s Kids has donated thousands of pieces of clothing to children in third world countries and is active in the local community, Adams said.
Employee Meg O’Beirne accepted the award for James, and read a speech James had written. James asked that the award be changed from “Woman of the Year” to “Women of the Year” this year, because she wanted to share it with all the women of Kelly’s Kids.
“This is not about being politically correct or feminist, it’s about being grateful,” O’Beirne read. “I happily share this award with all of the women of Kelly’s Kids.”
Walter Brown, the 2006 Natchezian of the Year presented this year’s award to Kay Ketchings, director of marketing and public relations at Natchez Regional Medical Center.
“She is always willing to help and be an indian rather than a chief,” Brown said. “Her employer stressed that she always goes beyond the call of duty.”
Through her work in the medical community Ketchings has promoted healthy living, but is also active in several civic groups in town. Through Junior Auxiliary, she started the 5K Run for Kids to raise money for needy children in the area.
She has been a member of the Chamber of Commerce since 1987 and has been active in Leadership Natchez, the Natchez Trace Kiwanis Club and First Baptist Church, among other things.
Ketchings said she was honored to follow in the footsteps of someone like Brown.
“I love Natchez, it’s that simple,” she said. “I graduated from college, worked away for a year and was so homesick I came home.
“I’m blown away.”
And outgoing chamber board Chairman Pat Biglane presented the Business of the Year award to Callon Petroleum. The company has been a part of Natchez for 50 years, since two Callon brothers decided to make a living at home, Biglane said.
Now it has 86 employees and is one of only seven companies in Mississippi on the New York Stock Exchange.
The company has contributed time and money to countless community projects.
“Most of our work carries us traveling,” Fred Callon said as he accepted the award. “We always love coming home.”
Biglane also passed the gavel to the chamber’s new board chairman, Cliff Merritt.
Comments
Posted by timnoklahoma (anonymous) on October 23, 2007 at 1:26 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Third world countries??? Are there no children in Mississippi or Louisiana that need some clothes to wear? If they are all fixed up down there, I am sure we could find some needy kids here in Oklahoma. Not against giving and charity, BUT WE NEED TO FIX AMERICA AND OUR PROBLEMS FIRST!!!
Posted by kpage (anonymous) on October 23, 2007 at 8:24 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I've always wondered about that tim. I always say, if I win the lottery (good luck) or get a huge sum of money, I wouldn't give it to a huge agency. I would choose needy families in our area. Go to their house and see what they need. I don't want to line the pockets of an administrator. Why send the goods out of country? Doesn't make sense to me. By the way, give me two pieces of material and I can make you 100 of those kiddie outfits in no time. Easy peasy. I'm not taking away from Ms. James and her accomplishments, for she has done very well. But those outfits are geared toward people with lots of money to spend. Again, I'm not downing people with money...who knows, she may donate what she doesn't sell to the Children's HOme. Then again, why does the Children's Home have huge garage sales? Do they have an over-abundance of stuff for the kids? I knew of a HUGE group of bikers that participated in the toy run for those kids. They spent a lot of time and effort for that run to be successful. When the whole group arrived at the Ntz Welcome Ctr to deliver the toys to Ms. Hungerford, she was not there. The door was locked. She called someone to open the doors to store the toys till someone could pick them up. NOt even thank you. Guess what, they haven't done the toy run since. I guess this is just one reason I don't trust people in high places. They seem to forget where they came from.
Posted by progressntz81 (anonymous) on October 23, 2007 at 8:56 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Congratulations to Ms James, Ms Kethcings, and Callon Petrol., two women and a company that have truly improved our community! Go Natchez!
Posted by kpage (anonymous) on October 23, 2007 at 9:42 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I need to correct an above said statement by me. It was not the children's home lady who was called. She was no where to be found, even though she told them she would be there to welcome their gifts. The bikers sat for several hours until someone from the city opened the doors to store the toys. Shame.
Posted by ntz143 (anonymous) on October 23, 2007 at 12:47 p.m. (Suggest removal)
kpage...I recently heard about a program called the Sunshine Children's Center and have been asking about it around town. From what I have been told they take donations of kids' items for their kids but they have also helped a lot of other agencies and individuals with needed supplies for other kids in need. They don't have a Thrift Store-they give the stuff away. Maybe the motorcycle group should contact them....I was told they are always looking for items.
Posted by momof1 (anonymous) on October 23, 2007 at 1:23 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Yes...The Sunshine Shelter is a great program to give to. This is a shelter for children that has really struggled to get funding the past few years. Places like this are overlooked because of the Ntz Children's home.
Posted by Bebop (anonymous) on October 23, 2007 at 1:37 p.m.
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Posted by destiny (anonymous) on October 23, 2007 at 3:19 p.m.
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Posted by riverat (anonymous) on October 23, 2007 at 3:27 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Last year the Sunshine Center served over 100 kids who were put there because they were abused....sexually, physically, emotionally, etc. The youngest was less than a year old. I know several of the people who work there as well as the director and I can say without a doubt that they are there because they care about those kids...NOT because they are making big salaries. They could all work someplace else and make more money. Not everyone is in it for the $$..some people are in social services because it was what God calls them to do. I can't speculate on what motivates people from other agencies but I do know what motivates those people...and its the real desire to make a difference to those kids.
Posted by djarum_black (anonymous) on October 23, 2007 at 5:45 p.m. (Suggest removal)
That would not be the first time that the Children's Home and those in charge of it were unkind to people who wanted to help them. I get the feeling that they don't care about the help so much as they do who can be in the picture with them when they get it. I guess those bikers weren't the "right kind of people" in their opinion.
Attitudes like that aren't preserving the town - they're effectively embalming it.
Posted by genlee (anonymous) on October 23, 2007 at 9:12 p.m. (Suggest removal)
It should also be know that the Children's Home has always been the largest beneficiary of funds generated by the Ballon Races. Even last year when it rained and the Ballon Festival lost money, they still gave a big check to the Children's home. Then, this year the Children's Home hosted their own festival in Vidalia to compete with the ballon races. How trashy is that????
Posted by CitizenSane (anonymous) on October 23, 2007 at 10:43 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I am appalled by the comments published above attempting to turn this article about the Chamber of Commerce celebration into an opportunity to criticize the Natchez Children's Home Services. This is grossly unfair and harmful to the NCH and the other agencies in our community who do similar work.
Regarding the Balloon Race, NCH built the Children’s Village over 20 years and was told by the Balloon Race Committee in 2007 that the Festival no longer wanted the carnival. NCH agreed to do the festival in Vidalia and offered the Balloon Race Committee a percentage. These events are well documented in the correspondence between the two organizations and also the minutes.
No honest person on the Balloon Race Committee will tell you any differently.
NCH has served 1000s and 1000s of children in our community. They have literally "saved" children, thus their motto: "Saving lives, one child at a time."
They not only house and care for a rotating group of 10-20 children "in house," each assigned to a set of live-in house parents, they also provide services to children and their families throughout the community. Annually, they serve over 100 children and their families.
They provide home schooling at their facility for pre-school kids who are unable to function in a normal school setting, as well as psychological counseling to children in the community and their families. In extreme cases, they represent the child in legal proceedings to terminate parental rights. They facilitate foster care and adoption.
Please take time to find out about the problem of abused and abandoned children in our community and what NCH and others are doing to combat it. The Sunshine Shelter, the Guardian Angel, the Salvation Army and other groups also do fine work. However, all these groups and NCH together are only part of the solution.
It's much easier to complain about salaries and garage sales and thank you notes or to pretend that the answers lie in giving away food and clothes than it is to take a hard look at the social diseases in our own backyards.
I sincerely hope you who have commented above will become more involved in the work that NCH and other groups are doing and that you will soon become an ambassador of good will, not ill will, for the individuals and organizations who have taken on the daunting task of serving abused, abandoned and hopeless children in our own community.
I hope the rest of the entries on this blog will be about last night's honorees, Ms. James, Ms. Ketchings and the Callon Company. Among other things, they are all supporters of the Natchez Children's Home.
Posted by ntz143 (anonymous) on October 24, 2007 at 9:26 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I'm confused...the carnival in Vidalia was run by NCH? They must have made a killing....there were people everywhere when I was there on Saturday. Who benefitted from the rides at the Balloon Races? not NCH?
My wife says that the all these residential programs can only be licensed to hold 12 kids at a time. Don't the kids live there (at NCH) permanently? How did they serve 100 in a year? Not trying to nitpick, just curious.
I agree that we should be focused on the winners. I am very happy for Kay Ketchings...she deserved it but Lynn James has outsourced much of her business to a foriegn country, resulting in loss of jobs for this area....how is that award worthy?
Posted by observer (anonymous) on October 24, 2007 at 10:31 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Thank you, CitizenSane. We readers can always count on you to bring the bloggers back to the point of the story. You are absolutely correct when you advise them to become informed and involved before commenting.
My wife and I went to these agencies bloggers were bashing and found out that they all do different things.
Sunshine Shelter, for example is an Emergency Shelter, and can only keep kids for a certain number of days (like, if there is a drug raid and kids are there - where do you put the kids? In jail? No - in an Emergency Shelter) They are funded with federal grants and private donations and United Way.
Natchez Children's Home Services cares for children who are declared abused, neglected or abandoned. They take legal temporary custody of them through the Youth Court. They also take private placements. They are funded through fund raising activities (like the carnival and the Chili Cookoff, the Thrift Shop, golf tourneys) and donations (from individual supporters and those honored by the Chamber). They don't take federal grant monies and are not funded by United Way.
These agencies cooperate with each other. NCHS sometimes takes children who were originally placed at Sunshine Shelter. NCHS and Catholic Charities work together on the Day Treatment program for preschoolers which is housed at the Home. All of these are part of the solution to those "Social Problems" CitizenSane spoke about.
And that's why responsible, caring citizens like Ms James, Ms Ketchings and Mr. Callon who love our town do everything they can to support them.
And that's also one of the reasons why these people are given awards by the Chamber of Commerce!
Posted by ntz143 (anonymous) on October 24, 2007 at 10:46 a.m. (Suggest removal)
why does the Children's Home not receive grant funding? It seems like they would qualify, given the type of kids they work with. The United Way funds would interfere with their fund-raising...you can't raise money during the United Way annual drive if you receive funds from them...that takes place from August to Dec., I think.
My wife (who used to run a non-profit) said that the Sunshine Shelter gets the kids who are taken into custody by DHS and they keep them up to 45 days, providing counseling, shelter and other services while the social worker finds a home for them. Its the only shelter in 12 counties. She says that the Guardian Shelter takes families and Sunshine takes kids only. There is also another home called Pendleton Group Home for Boys in Natchez that is run by the Methodist church...its like the Children's Home but only has 6 kids.
Posted by genlee (anonymous) on October 24, 2007 at 9:02 p.m. (Suggest removal)
CitizenSane: Regardless of what you have to say, it is appalling to see another organization feed off of, or compete with the ballon race festival. It is not good for Natchez and is absolutely greedy and selfish. What makes it worse is that the home has been the largest benefactor of the Balloon Races over the years. If the Children's Home wants to have a festival that is fine. Pick another weekend.
Posted by kpage (anonymous) on October 27, 2007 at 8:49 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I'm sure not taking away from those who do unto others or accomplish much for the sake of others. But why is it when I want to make a personal donation of a gift to a needy child at the Home, want my children to learn the virtue of giving, to put the gift into the child's hand, it can't be done? The Children's Home people won't let you do that. They point to a table overloaded with gifts and say, "Put it there...no, your kids can't meet one of our kids. No, you can't take a child home to spend Christmas with your kids. They have a home." Those are direct quotes, give or take a word or two.
djarum... I guess I am not one of the elite in our area, nor were the hundred or so bikers who arrived at a dark, locked building that evening. No one can argue the point about what I'm writing because I am a first-hand witness. The NCH takes in more money then they need, obviously, because my $20 toy was thrown on a table. I could have used a "Thank You", too. I only hope one of the children received my gift at all. It hurts to give to those who would rather usher me in and out quickly hoping no one sees them talking to me. I thought Christmas was all about giving. I wanted my kids to feel this spirit but alas, they were silent in the ride home that evening. We just find a needy child in our area ourselves to give to. Works out better and my children understand better.
I am not the only one who feels this way. I believe it's just pure snobbery. If anyone can provide an excuse for the above written truth, please comment. I realize the greatness of the Home and what it does for the kids, but can someone please explain to me and over 100 others why we are treated this way?
Posted by kpage (anonymous) on October 27, 2007 at 8:53 a.m. (Suggest removal)
In reply to above-written words about being "informed and involved", what do you think I was trying to do? The spirit of giving would have been dampened for my children that year if we hadn't found a needy family in our area to give to. We TRIED to be involved. I've done my part and it left a nasty taste in my mouth. Please give reason for the Home's snobbery. Please help me understand.
Posted by djarum_black (anonymous) on October 29, 2007 at 1:25 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Well, the person in charge of NCH is also active in the ever-so-elite Natchez garden club.. and all of us little insignificant, jobless, blue-collar people know exactly how much good that group has done for the town, its people, and the economy/job market. I don't know about some of you, but I think I DISlike the idea of having to work OUT of town to live IN town, a lot more than I LIKE the idea of turning the entirety of the city into a museum.
The Natchez "caste-system" (look it up if ya got to) is never going to change if people keep accepting treatment like that which was demonstrated to those bikers who gave so fully of themselves for children they only wanted to help. There's a tiny little downtown that's completely and willfully oblivious of the struggles faced by the rest of the town - the rest of the town that works all the less-than-pretty jobs that keep the town going.
I'm glad those bikers went elsewhere. They won't be the first, nor the last, to be blown off for not being fashionable (wealthy, old-money, uptight) enough to make pretty pictures to hang on the wall or put in a brochure, according to the narrow opinions of some. I'm all for the intended mission of NCH, but perhaps people would feel better about supporting an organization that treated them like.. well.. PEOPLE.
Posted by NoWireHangers (anonymous) on February 3, 2008 at 9:25 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Congratulations to Lynn James, Kay Ketchings and Callon Petroleum.
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