Meet Me at the Court has announced the recipients of its 2022 Father of the Year Awards.
Prizes will be presented Friday to Larry Hicks and Jarrod Taylor, the oldest and youngest fathers, respectively, for the fourth annual awards, which were placed on hold in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Veronica Bailey, president and CEO of Meet Me at the Court, said organizers will present the awards to both recipients Friday afternoon at Hicks's family-owned ranch/farm, Circle K Ranch, just outside city limits on Union Lane.
Bailey said the FOYA winners will each receive a plaque and a cash prize.
As with the Mother of the Year Awards that were presented last year, Bailey said FOY winners were selected by youth members of Meet Me at Court.
"The male members of my (Fishers of Men) group, they're ages 14 - 17, in Meet Me at the Court picked the fathers of the year," Bailey said.
Hicks, 74, graduated from Washington High School, now Washington Middle School, in 1964 and went on to earn a bachelor's degree in Social Science in 1968 from Arkansas Agricultural, Mechanical & Normal College, now the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff.
Between 1968 and 1977, Hicks taught social studies at Strong High School and Barton Junior High School before taking a job as a boiler maker at Lion Oil, where he spent the next 30 years before retirement.
Hicks and his late wife Rosie were married 51 years before she passed away in April 2021.
The couple had four children -- Lawrence, Eric, Clifton and Latrese --, 11 grandchildren and one great grandchild.
Hicks is a member of Zion Watch Baptist Church, where he teaches Sunday School.
He said he enjoys working in the yard and performing mission work and community service.
Hicks said he thanks God for his children and when asked what makes a good father and grandfather, the answer for him was simple, succinct and matter-of-fact
"Good kids and grandkids," Hicks said.
Jarrod Taylor
Taylor is the winner of the 2022 FOYA for the youngest father.
The son of Earlene Taylor, Jarrod Taylor is a member of the El Dorado High School Class of 2006.
He is a delivery driver for Bimbo Bakeries USA and in his spare time, his hobbies include basketball, music, writing and gaming.
He is a member of Douglas Chapel Missionary Baptist Church and an active volunteer and participant in the Black Lives Matter movement.
Jarrod Taylor is the father of Hayden and Eli and he called fatherhood "the best job he has ever had."
Using four words to describe himself as a father, he cited, "Caring, honest, devoted and driven."
Bailey said Mayor Veronica Smith-Creer and El Dorado City Council Member Willie McGhee will present the FOYA prizes on Friday.
For more information, call Bailey at 870-310-0391 or her son James Curley at 870-310-0745.