Gents to Gentlemen pageant planned

KINGSPORT — New Vision Youth, in partnership with Kingsport Parks and Recreation Community Services and Taylor-Hamilton Insurance Agency will hold the Gents to Gentlemen Male Pageant on Oct. 17 at the Civic Auditorium.

The pageant will begin at 7 p.m. Applications can be picked up at the Civic Auditorium. 

There will be a number of age divisions from birth up to senior citizens. Additionally there will be Best Dressed, Mr. Smiles, Best Total Package and People's Choice categories.

The entry free is $25 and the deadline for registration is Oc. 14.

The proceeds will go to benefit Special Olympics. For information contact Johnnie Mae Swagerty at (423) 429-7553 or Mary Hamilton at (423) 246-3817.

Kingsport's Jevonte Lyons Heading to California For Auditions

THIS STORY COURTESY THE KINGSPORT TIMES-NEWS

By Marci Gore
mgore@timesnews.net

Kingsport's Jevonte Lyons will travel to California next week, to audition for a singing competition television show.  Lyons was the 2014 Kingsport Idol winner.

Jevonte Lyons began singing his freshman year in high school.  And last year at the age of 17, he was named the overall winner of Kingsport Idol.  

Next week, the 18 year old will travel to California to meet with and audition for the producers of a long-running singing competition show.  Because of the show's confidentiality guidelines and rules, Jevonte says he cannot publicly reveal the name of the show.

Jevonte sings with Kingsport's New Vision Youth, a group of Tri-Cities youth, ages 8 to 17.

"I'm a supervisor at Merry Maids and one day last month, I was cleaning an apartment and just decided to stop and make a video while I was cleaning," he said.  He sent in the video, singing Ed Sheeran's "Thinking Out Loud," and was called back to meet with the producers on September 16th.

"Music has always been a big part of my life, but I guess I seriously started singing in my freshman year of high school.  Something was just in the back of my mind to give this a try.  I didn't know what to expect when I sent in the video.  I'd love to see this lead to more exposure of my music, where people could hear my music on the radio.," said Jevonte, adding that his two musical inspirations are James Blount and John Legend.

When he arrives in California this week, Jevonte says he'll be prepared to sing several songs, including "I Don't Wanna Be" by Gavin DeGraw, "Chains" by Nick Jonas, and "Brand New Key" by Melanie.

As exciting as all this is to Jevonte, a trip to California does not come cheap.  Johnnie Mae Swaggerty, who works with the kids in the New Vision Youth group, has known Jevonte for several years.  Swaggerty contacted the Times-News seeking help in getting the necessary funds to send Jevonte to California.

Swaggerty asks that anyone who wishes to help Jevonte send donations to Kingsport Idol, c/o Mark Kilgore, 853 Bays Mountain Park Road, Kingsport, TN 37660.

Mark Kilgore serves as Kingsport Idol's coordinator and host and says, although Kingsport Idol is not sponsoring Jevonte's trip to California, he is super excited for the young man he worked with during last year's competition.

"Jevonte is an amazing vocalist with so much ability and talent," Kilgore says.  "I hope to hear him on the radio some day.  As coordinator of Kingsport Idol, I am proud to have him represent the competition."

Thank You from the President

 To the Sons and Daughters of Douglass, Inc. of Kingsport, Tennessee: 

Thank you, thank you, and thank you. You all have given your time and effort in helping to make the Golden Reunion a successful, blessed, and memorable occasion.

     A special thanks to Andra Watterson, Bonney Abbott, Douglas and Vivian Releford, Sandra Wilmer, Pam Sensabaugh and Lillian Leeper. The Organization Committee of the Great Golden Gathering 2015. Thank all of you.

     Invitation to attend the S.D.D.I. meetings was extended to several in/out towner alumnus whenever they can. If you know of anyone in the community that might be interested, invite them to attend. We welcome new ideas and suggestions.

     The more community participation we have, the more likely we will be able to boost our membership.

     Please mark your calendars for Sept. 12 (second  Saturday in September.). The Sons and Daughters meeting will start at 2:00 PM in the Eastman Board room at the V. O. Dobbins. Sr. complex. Bring someone with you!!!

Alan M. Watterson

Sons and Daughters of Douglass Alumni President

(EDITOR'S NOTE:  The alumni of Douglass High School-Kingsport were recognized for having the SECOND highest attendance at the Great Golden Gathering 2015... behind Langston High School-Johnson City)

Alumni from region’s all-black schools gather

THIS STORY COURTESY THE KINGSPORT TIMES-NEWS

By JESSICA FULLER

   NET News Service

   It’s been 50 years since African-American schools across the country closed in a wave of integration.

   And for some of those schools’ students, it’s been 50 years since they’d seen friends and classmates.

    But this weekend's Great Golden Gathering, gathered nearly 200 alumni from 15 African-American schools across Northeast Tennessee and Southwest Virginia in a mass of hugs and laughter.

   Calvin Sneed, the event’s chairman, guided the idea for a mega-reunion in less than a year. While some of the schools have their own reunions, this is the first reunion encompassing all of the region’s African-American schools.

   He said he couldn’t have been happier with the turnout.

   “It takes your breath away,” Sneed said. “I’ve seen reunions that haven’t taken place in 50 years between schools. People who they thought they’d never see again and everyone goes their separate ways after the schools close, and I’ve seen those reunions. It’s just been so heartwarming — this is what we wanted to do.”

   One of the planned guest speakers included civil rights activist Rev. Jesse Jackson, who canceled his appearance earlier this week due to his mother being in the hospital. That didn’t stop him from sending his best to the reunion, though. Jackson sent a several-minute video clip to Sneed, who kept it a surprise until showing the clip after the banquet Saturday evening.

   “I just can’t believe that with his mother on life support, that he would do this for us,” Sneed said.

   The reunion was open to anyone who attended an all-black school before the end of segregation closed those schools.

   Attendees ranged in age from those in their early 50s to some who were in their 90s, but all remembered the civil rights era and the struggle for civil rights.

   While some of the alumni only had to drive down the interstate for the reunion, others, like Margaret Alexander, trekked from other states in order to spend the weekend with former classmates and old friends.

   Alexander attended Douglass School in Bristol, Va., for 11 years, and graduated from Virginia High School after desegregation. She went on to be one of the first black women to work for the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

   Alexander now lives in Maryland with her husband, but took the weekend to come back to Bristol for the reunion.

   “It’s been lovely seeing friends,” she said. “It’s a joy and a thrill to see the other schools and their memories and their thoughts and to laugh and to joke with them. It’s always good to come home to see what’s left of our heritage.”

   Sneed said that this reunion would make to be a historic event, and that amid the fun and clamor of the reunion, ideas for a repeat reunion began to flourish among attendants.

   And with a board meeting creeping up after the Great Golden Gathering’s close, that idea isn’t far-fetched. Sneed said the board would discuss making the reunion a biennial event for classmates of former African-American schools.

   “Our numbers are deteriorating and we don’t want to not be able to see each other,” Sneed said. “There’s going to come a time when we want to see one another and we can’t. That’s why we’ve got to do it as much as possible and we’ve got to enjoy each other, because tomorrow’s not promised.”

     Between 1963 and 1966, the region’s African-American schools closed for integration, including Langston High School in Johnson City, Douglass High School in Kingsport, Douglass High School in Bristol, Virginia, Slater High School in Bristol, Tennessee, George Clem High School, Douglas High School, Tanner High School, Swift College High School, Arty Lee High School, Morristown West High School, Nelson-Merry High School, Austin High School, and Bland High School, which combined Central High School and Appalachia Training School.

PLEASE SEE THE VIDEOS AND PICTURES FROM THE EVENT IN THE NEXT STORY

The Great Golden Gathering 2015

These are pictures and videos from the Great Golden Gathering 2015, held at the Bristol Holiday Inn - Bristol Conference Center, Bristol VA, on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, August 28, 29 and 30, 2015.  

(When the videos starts, make sure your speakers are on, to hear the music and the audio)


SLIDE SHOW OF THE EVENT - TURN ON THE SPEAKER ON THIS ONE:




MESSAGE FROM THE REVEREND JESSE JACKSON TO THE ALUMNI ATTENDING THE EVENT--TURN UP THE AUDIO ON THIS ONE:



SLATER CHEER FROM LARRY BELL:



SCHOOL SONGS:  Douglass-Kingsport, Slater-Bristol, Swift-Rogersville, Morristown West-Morristown, Nelson-Merry Jefferson City, & Austin-Knoxville


SCHOOL SONG:  Langston-Johnson City


SCHOOL SONG: Douglass-Bristol VA


GREAT GOLDEN GATHERING 2015 SOCK-HOP ("WORKOUT")


GREAT GOLDEN GATHERING 2015 SOCK-HOP ("MISSISSIPPI CHA CHA SLIDE")


GREAT GOLDEN GATHERING 2015 MEMORIAL CHURCH SERVICE CHOIR SONG:


GREAT GOLDEN GATHERING 2015 MEMORIAL CHURCH SERVICE SONG BY BOBI KINCAID:


GREAT GOLDEN GATHERING 2015 MEMORIAL CHURCH SERVICE SERMON FROM BISHOP J. LAVON KINCAID:


GREAT GOLDEN GATHERING 2015 MEMORIAL CHURCH SERVICE CLOSING CIRCLE OF PRAYER:


A VIDEO OF THE SATURDAY NIGHT BANQUET WILL BE AVAILABLE FOR A MODEST PRICE VERY SHORTLY.  WATCH HERE FOR DETAILS!