Veteran Hilson recognizes Distinguished Gentlemen
The young boys in the Distinguished Gentlemen Club at Anna K. Davie Elementary are honored for their service in visiting seniors at Etowah Landing on Valentine’s Day.
The young boys of Distinguished Gentlemen Club at Anna K. Davie Elementary School were recognized Wednesday for their service in visiting Etowah Landing nursing home on Valentine’s Day.
Each of the members were presented with a certificate from retired
Army Sgt. First Class Carolyn Hilson, and the group as a whole was presented with a plaque. Additionally, Coach Charles Smith was presented with an individual award for mentoring club members. Etowah Landing recreation director Kiawanna Johnson also presented a certificate.
The presentation was broadcast throughout the school from the media center, where the young boys and their mentors dressed in dress attire, including red bow ties, khakis and suit jackets.
“Just stay on the right track because if you fall off it’s hard to get back on it again,” Hilson said.
Hilson said she has a niece who is a parapro at the school and had found out about the group through her. She reached out to Smith to have them come to Etowah Landing, where her stepfather had stayed before his death in 2016, and spend time with the seniors there on Valentine’s Day. She took the kids out for a lunch at Chick-fil-A following their visit.
The club is sponsored by the local non-profit Building Positive Families, which sends mentors into local schools to guide and interact with boys, teaching them social skills as well as emphasizing the importance of education, hard work and good values. Hilson said she was touched by the work of Smith and Coach Ishmael Woods in making a difference in the lives of these young boys.