MCETEAP to hold 2nd annual Corridor of Distinction honors program

The “Afternoon of Bliss – A Black and Gold Affair” will be held at 4 p.m. Saturday, April 5, at the Edisto Fork United Methodist Event Center located at 356 Lariot Road in Orangeburg. Doors will open at 3:30 p.m. for a meet and greet.

“This awards program is our annual flagship fundraiser for our scholarship drive. It also serves … to retool some of our resources for the other activities that we do throughout the year,” MCETEAP President and Chief Executive Officer Ronald Hook said.

The event is an awards program designed to recognize individuals who have made significant contributions to their community.

“We are trying to identify some individuals in the community or in the surrounding area who have been significant supporters of different organizations and events and who … the community, youth and young adults can look up to and aspire to be like,” Hook said.

This year’s honorees, some of whom will be awarded posthumously, are the following: Alonzo Middleton; Athaniel Badger Jr.; Bennie M. Brown; Bettsie Elliot; Beverly Jamison; Clyde Hill Sr.; Dr. John Hudgens; Dr. Maurice Lee; Elliott Chavis; Julius and Linda Page; Paul Miller; Peggy James Tyler: Rep. Jim Clyburn; Willie Frazier; Willie Jeffries and Zambolist Frederick.

“I’m also going to have two special inductions. They are not necessarily expecting it, but these individuals have been kind of silent supporters of the organizations throughout the years,” Hook said.

The guest speaker for the event will be Orangeburg native Nelfred Tilly Blanding, who now resides in Virginia.

“She was an outstanding athlete at Wilkinson High School, one of their premier basketball players in the ‘60s. She was honored in our first class of honorees last year and is returning this year as our keynote speaker,” Hook said.

The event will also include dinner.

The MCETEAP provides youth scholarships and athletic sponsorships among its outreach work, which has also included collaborating with Calhoun County School District Superintendent Dr. Ferlondo Tullock last year to give special recognition and honor to the students of the district’s high school and both K-8 schools. Honorees were those who made the Principal’s list at their respective schools for the first nine weeks of the school year.

Tickets for the April 5 event are $60 and must be purchased in advance by Monday, March 31. No tickets will be sold at the door. Individuals can get tickets by sending a check or money order by mail to: MCETEAP, 950 Boulevard St., Orangeburg (please include a return address); via Cash App at $MCETEAP97; or by contacting MCETEAP Chief Operating Officer Parrie Hook at 803-682-2821.