Nineteen years ago, officials from the Petal Education Foundation instituted the Champion of the Year Award, designed to annually honor a special individual, club or business that has contributed significantly to the Petal School District.
That tradition is continuing this year, as nominations are now being accepted for the 2022 recipient, which can be any Petal alumni or non-alumni, organizations, clubs or nonprofit businesses. The deadline for nominations is August 16.
“I believe that seeking a champion each year spotlights Petal residents – some of them are alumni – many of whom give up their time and their expertise and actually work in the trenches,” said Leahne Lightsey, executive director of the Petal Education Foundation. ”These are folks who love the school district and love Petal, and want to see it thrive.
“They know that the more they do, the better chances our students have to succeed. Those folks need to be spotlighted honored, and this is one of the ways that we’re able to do that. The foundation is really happy to be able to do that.”
Although the Champion of the Year Award can be presented to an individual, organization, club, or non-profit business, it cannot be given to an active employee of the Petal School District. Nominees must have contributed to the school district, which does not have to include financial contributions – for example, time and service will be accepted.
Nominees also must live in the Petal School District and be involved in the community or have given back to the community.
Nominations can be made in the form of a letter – with the nominee’s supporting information and listings of involvement or activities – addressed to the Petal Education Foundation Board of Directors, P.O. Box 948, Petal, MS 39475. Nominations also can be made via email at leahne.lightsey@petalschools.com or by calling (601) 545-3002.
“It’s so very helpful if they have supporting information – just cite instances where that person has volunteered, or some of the organizations that they might be members of,” Lightsey said. “We need some type of record of their work and their dedication to their school district and to the city; it’s helpful to the committee to see all that.
“The more you show and brag about, the greater the possibility to have that person be champion of the year.”
Although in previous years, the award was given only to Petal School District graduates, in 2013 the foundation and its board of directors broadened the scope of the honor to include Petal alumni and non-alumni, as well as organizations, clubs or non-profit businesses.
“We just had so many people that had moved in here who have made Petal their hometown,” Lightsey said. “So we needed to take notice of that and include them in the possibilities for nominees.”
The Champion of the Year Award is given annually at the Petal Panthers homecoming football game. Festivities will be on Oct. 13 and 14, with the annual parade and the presentation ceremony at the Friday night game.
Previous award winners include but are not limited to Jimmy Havard, Marcus Ware, Anthony McCullum, Nadine Coleman, Demaris Lee and the Cosmopolitan Club of Petal.
