Eight years ago a group of civic-minded men and women joined together to form the Jerry Lyles Sr. Memorial Foundation.

Determined to make a difference in the community, the foundation has donated to the elderly and needy during the holiday season. The group also saw the need to start a college scholarship fund for local high school seniors. To date our foundation has been successful in distributing $10,000 in scholarships to deserving young men and women in the community. The Jerry Lyles Sr. Memorial Foundation was formed in honor of Jerry Lyles Sr. because his belief is that education is the key to the future for all of us.

Scholarship recipients are required to have maintained a 2.5 GPA, display good character and good citizenship. A committee of foundation members get together to review the information submitted by each applicant and award the scholarships to the one that is deemed to be most deserving.

In order to continue the commitment we’ve made, we need your support in our first annual Sibley Zydeco Festival and Trail Ride.

The festival will be on Saturday, at Ben Corner Plantation, U.S. 61 South, 14 miles south of Natchez in Sibley. The 11-mile trail ride will begin at noon with a rodeo starting at 4 p.m. Lil Nathan & The Zydeco Big Timers from Lafayette, La., will take the stage at 5 p.m. The festival will include lots of entertainment and food for all ages. There will be ATV rides, a bike show and lots of vendors. Plenty of parking and security will be available.

Advance tickets are $10 and $12 at the gate.

Summer is the time for fun, and we’ve planned this event with the entire family in mind. Won’t you join us for a day of wholesome, family fun and you’ll be helping to support our foundation as we strive to support the residents of our community.

It was American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow who said, “The life of a man consists not in seeing visions and in dreaming dreams, but in active charity and in willing service.”

Jerry Lyles Jr. is a Natchez resident.