THIS STORY COURTESY THE KINGSPORT TIMES-NEWS, 7/1/11
By KEVIN CASTLE
kcastle@timesnews.net
KINGSPORT — A club first chartered at Dobyns-Bennett High School 39 years ago will hold its second alumni gathering beginning today.
The Kingsport Ebony Club Alumni Association will begin its festivities at noon with a registration session at the V.O. Dobbins Sr. Community Center at 301 Louis St. followed by a tree planting ceremony at 4:30 p.m.
The facility will also host the group’s block party from 5 to 10 p.m., highlighted by a fashion show at the Riverview Splashpad at 1101 Martin Luther King Blvd. at 6 p.m.
Alumni committee member James “Trippy” Deal said the club was a creation of former D-B varsity track coach and educator Elizabeth “Lib” Dudney for minorities or any other student from the former V.O. Dobbins School.
“Anyone could join, but she wanted to make sure those students had their own organization and had their place at D-B,” said Deal. “You could write down a list a mile long of the success stories that came out of the Ebony Club. That opportunity provided exposure for some students to colleges in North Carolina and other institutions that otherwise wouldn’t get the chance. It helped me greatly. I was in it from 1979 to 1983, and it afforded me the chance to experience life.”
The club’s weekend events continue Saturday with a cookout at Borden Park at 901 Lamont St. from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
An “All White Party” featuring comedians Xavier Hall and Thaddeus Alexander and the band Free Flow begins at 8 p.m. Saturday at Rascals at 125 Cumberland St. Tickets are $25.
The group will also have a gathering at Golden Corral at 1910 N. Eastman Road on Sunday at 1 p.m.
The Ebony Club is seeking in-kind food and drink donations for the events, which are tax deductible.
Contact Jeffery Faulkerson at (919) 604-4585, Nicole Deal at (615) 944-8191 or Trippy Deal at (423) 502-3899 for more information.
TO SEE A SCHEDULE FOR EVENTS OF BOTH THE KINGSPORT EBONY CLUB AND THE SONS AND DAUGHTERS OF DOUGLASS (FORMERLY THE DOUGLASS ALUMNI ASSOCIATION), GO TO THE "DOUGLASS SCHOOL REUNION NEWS" LINK ON THE MAIN PAGE OF THIS WEBSITE.
