EDITOR’S NOTE: The following letter, which originally ran in Thursday’s edition, is being republished due to editing errors in the original publication.
To The Editor:
To God be the Glory. On July 29, 2017, I was inducted into the Union County Sports Hall of Fame. I was honored to be included in this group of sport giants. I had the pleasure and honor of meeting them and their families, what a night that was. I’m still so excited about what happened in my life that brought me to this point. The night began with a limousine ride, arranged by Ms. Veronica Bailey and her son Mr. James Curley. That was truly a WOW moment in my life, I felt presidential, I felt like I was president Obama. Everyone was surprised when I stepped out of the limousine at the El Dorado Conference Center. This life highlight was due to some very special people. I would like to thank Mr. Randy Ross for nominating me as an inductee, and the members of the nominating committee.
There was a time in El Dorado when many people were not welcome to play golf at the El Dorado Golf and Country Club. I was asked by a group attending the Washington High School El Dorado Days celebration, if I could arrange for them to play golf there. This was a privilege not afforded them as former caddies. I contacted Judge Alderson; he gave me his membership number (125). We walked into the Pro-Shop with that number 125 and on that particular day the clerk only said, “no problem, how many holes do you want to play and do you want to walk or ride?” Thank you Judge Alderson and my prayers are with you.
I learned to be a teacher by teaching young kids to play golf, but also learned responsibility, dedication and commitment by being a caddy. As a caddy I had the ability to be independent and somewhat self-reliant, I was able to buy my own clothes, shoes and even food. Work ethics is what I tried to instill in the kids that I encountered. I feel that working develops character and could decrease the population of the prisons and jails today.
I would like to thank my family, Rev. D.L. Hegler and my Douglas Chapel Church family, Ms. Veronica Bailey and James Curley, everyone that attended and Governor Asa Hutchinson for his congratulatory letter.
Truly I am so grateful for all the responses I’ve gotten and I will never ever forget this special occasion.
Mr. Jimmy Howard
El Dorado