The 15th annual Jimmy Reed Jr. Memorial Scholarship Banquet will be a family affair with a White House staff member and relative of the banquet’s namesake serving as keynote speaker.
Presented by the Pride & Progress Club, the banquet is set for 6:30 p.m. Saturday at the Gusher ELKS Lodge, 1525 E. 19th (at the intersection of Martin Luther King).
The theme for the 2018 banquet is “The Power of the Past … The Force of the Future.”
Delivering that message will be Tristan Allen, keynote speaker of the banquet and grandson of the late Jimmy Reed.
Allen is duty officer in the White House Situation Room, a position he has held since August 2017.
Honorees for this year’s banquet are Robert and Natasha Henderson — owners of Sims Mortuary and Henderson Management, LLC., and co-owners of Williams Funeral Home Van Buren in Camden.
“We salute them for their innovation and creativity as young people who chose to stay in El Dorado and make it a better place to live,” Pride & Progress Club members said.
“The Pride & Progress club strives to acknowledge and honor the integrity of individuals who have made or are making great contributions to the community,” club members said.
The Hendersons purchased Sims Mortuary in 2016, following the passing of Pete Sims Jr. — owner and founder of Sims Enterprises, which included the eponymous mortuary.
Sims, 91, was a prominent member of the community who co-founded the mortuary with his late brother Floyd “Sammy” Sims in 1952.
Jerome Robinson, president of Pride & Progress, said Allen was the perfect choice to deliver the keynote address for the milestone anniversary of the Jimmy Reed Jr. Memorial Scholarship Banquet, noting that Allen embodies his grandfather’s “commitment to excellence.”
Reed, who died in 2009 at the age of 68, was a community leader and member of Pride & Progress. He had a passion for education and he worked to ensure that area students had the tools they needed to succeed.
In 1971, Reed became the first African American to be elected to the El Dorado School Board, just as schools were being integrated in El Dorado. He held the school board seat for 32 years, serving as board president from 1980 until 1982.
Reed worked for Lion Oil for 33 years and was in the midst of his first term as Ward 3, Position 2 alderman on the El Dorado City Council when his health failed.
As duty officer in the White House Situation Room, Allen is responsible for briefing the top White House officials — including President Donald Trump, Vice President Mike Pence and White House National Security Advisor John Bolton, who succeeded H.R. McMaster on April 9 — on global breaking news.
Prior to going to work for the White House, Allen took on several roles in the U.S. Department of State, including Watch Officer in the Operations Center, Vice Consul and Economic Officer and in the Public Affairs Section as U.S. Consulate in Hong Kong.
The Morehouse College graduate was an Oprah Winfrey Scholar who received his B.A. in economics in 2009.
In 2011, Allen earned his Master’s in Public Policy in Business and Government from Harvard University Kennedy School of Government.
He is a member of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity. He is married to Akilah Allen and has a son, Miles.
Allen is the son of John and Susan Reed-Allen and the grandson of Ruby Reed — who was married to Jimmy Reed for 46 years —, Bobby Allen and Rosemary Allen.
Over the past 15 years, Pride & Progress has awarded 34 scholarships to graduating seniors in Union County.
Naya Burns and Quinn Moore are the recipients of the 2018 Jimmy Reed Memorial Scholarship. Each will be awarded a one-time, $1,000 scholarship.
Tickets for the banquet have been pre-sold and will not be sold at the door.For more information, call Robinson at 870-918-1512.
Tia Lyons may be contacted at 870-862-6611 or by email at tlyons@ eldoradonews.com.