It’s autumn once again, and the Next Great Americans Tour is back at it! We have kicked off this leg of our tour at some great schools in Northern Alabama. Each one has been so much fun to visit!
I could tell that all of the faculty and students have been eager to get started on the Super Citizen Program, including the newest most exciting element of the program, the Torch Teams! On these “Torch Teams” students will nominate and honor local heroes, or “Super Citizens” that they know personally!
I have been a little late getting my blog started this time, so I will recap the first six shows of the tour today. There’s so much to tell!
Our first stop in August was at Douglas Elementary in Marshall County. These students were fortunate that the Marshall County Commissioners sponsored the program at Douglas. Mr. Robert Kilgore of District 5 was even in attendance at the event! Also, Chris Clay from Clay Irrigation was able to attend. He sponsored our Lady Liberty Live kickoff show! Douglas Elementary and principal Willard Moses were so welcoming to our crew and we enjoyed our time there!
On September 11 we had a special show at Arab Elementary in Arab, Alabama. Principal Mike Shipp greeted us as we arrived and the staff at the school were so helpful! We were happy to have in attendance not only Arab Elementary’s sponsor of our program at the school that day, Mr. Jeff Taffer from Wells Fargo of Arab, but also the sponsors of our kickoff show, Clay Scofield, Annette Duncan from Bancorp South of Arab, and Corey Williams from Peoples Bank of Arab. It was also wonderful to have John Ingram, Arab Jr. High principal and Dr. Michael Douglas, Arab High School principal.
We visited Brindlee Mountain Elementary in Marshall County on September 17. Principal Beverly Kirkland’s enthusiasm was contagious! The Marshall County Commissioners also sponsored the program at this school. Bill Stricklend from District 1 was present at the performance as well as many of the students’ parents! It was great to see the parents’ involvement!
The very next day, September 18, we stopped at Crossville Elementary in Crossville, AL! Their principal is Ed Burke. We arrived very early on that rainy morning and appreciate the help of the staff that was there to greet us! We had several guests at this show including a representative from the show’s sponsor, Dale Carroll of Lee Energy Solutions. Also present were Assistant Principal Tony Bright, SRO Terry Baird, Sheriff Jimmy Harris, Deputy Michal Edmonson, 4th Grade teacher & City Councilwoman Beverly Robinson, school board member Harold Bobo, and Methodist Church Pastor Daniel Pope. It was wonderful to see the passion of the Crossville Elementary staff and the participation of so many in the community!
September 19 brought The Next Great Americans Tour to Mill Creek Elementary in Madison, AL. The students at Mill Creek were fortunate to have Northrop Gruman sponsor the Super Citizen Program at their school. Two representatives from Northrop Gruman were even in attendance at the show! Lincoln Hudson and Lisa Bath enjoyed the show with the students! We appreciate the help of Principal Melanie Barkley and all the faculty and staff at Mill Creek!
Our last stop of the week was all the way out at a school on the river in Sheffield, Alabama: L.E. Wilson Elementary. Sandra Cepeda of Cepeda Systems & Software Analysis, Inc. not only has sponsored the Lady Liberty Live kickoff show, but she also sponsored the entire Super Citizen Program for the school, including 2 year refills of the kits! We were glad to have Sheffiled Mayor Ian Sanford join us for the show, and we enjoyed visiting with Principal Carlos Nelson and the other faculty at Wilson.
I want to say a personal “thank you” to all of the sponsors of our Next Great Americans Tour and the Super Citizen Program at each of the schools. We honored you as local heroes at our shows and we truly mean that. And to all of the faculty and staff at the schools that we visit: you are in the trenches day in and day out. We appreciate all you do for our students in this country. I know that you will find the Super Citizen Program to be a very useful and indispensable tool for teaching, inspiring and empowering the Next Great Americans!
Next up, Hollywood….Alabama!