Crowd turns out for annual banquet

The terrible weather Saturday gave way to a very pleasant evening, just in time for the 19th annual Shreveport-Bossier African American Awards Banquet.
The banquet was held in the family life center at Morning Star Baptist Church on Jewella Avenue. Bill Sharp with radio station Magic 102.9 FM was the emcee.
The food was good, the music by the band Intuition was great and the speaker was outstanding.
Shreveport Mayor Cedric Glover, who had to leave early for another engagement, introduced keynote speaker Melvin “Kip” Holden in advance. Holden, mayor-president of East Baton Rouge Parish, wowed the crowd with words of wisdom and encouragement.
Gwen Campbell presented the awards to a long list of recipients, including Holden, Caddo schools Superintendent Ollie Tyler, KSLA-TV news anchor Shannon Royster, attorney Alma Jones, Wiley College professor Tracey Andrus and the Shreveport Job Corps Center.
Ken Latin, with the awards committee, said more than 200 people attended and about 300 tickets were sold.“This was the better year for people we recognize,” Latin said. “There were a lot of firsts.
Proceeds will go toward college scholarships.

And the winner is ...

The rain didn't stop spellers from coming out in force Saturday to participate in The Times' 2007 Regional Spelling Bee. After several rounds, Regan Carver, 13, a student at Herndon Magnet School, spelled his way to victory by correctly spelling the word wrestle. Andrew Samper, 13, a student at St. Mark's Cathedral School, won second place and Kristen Burgess, 12, a student at Greenacres Middle School, won third place. Carver's win means he will compete in the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C., later this year. Congratulations to all of the spellers!