Received this notice today about one of our beloved:
It is with great sadness that we let you know the passing of one of our Douglass alumni.
Patricia Ann Leeper Calloway went to be with the Lord on Thursday, March 24, 2021.
We are told that the final arrangements will be a private memorial with just the family.
KINGSPORT — What do a former Kingsport football player and coach, former quarterback, former city manager, astronomy professor, track runner and retired Eastman Chemical Company employee have in common? All six have been inducted into the Dobyns-Bennett High School Alumni Association’s 2020 Hall of Fame.
The inductees are:
Former quarterback Wally Bridwell, Class of 1960.....
Former track runner Darwin Bond, Class of 1970....
Former Johnson City and Kingsport City Manager John Campbell, Class of 1967....
Former football player and D-B coach Graham Clark, Class of 1973....
Former Eastman official D. Lynn Johnson, Class of 1958....
And the late Boston University astronomy and physics professor Dr. Theodore A. Fritz Ph.D., Class of 1957.... His wife Sally accepted the honor for him.
The 2020 Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony was held Saturday, March 20, 2021 at the MeadowView Marriott Conference Resort and Convention Center. The regularly scheduled induction ceremony was postponed from October because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“So many Dobyns-Bennett High School graduates have made and are making tremendous contributions to society; the Dobyns-Bennett Alumni Association proudly acknowledges and honors the accomplishments of outstanding Dobyns-Bennett graduates with their induction into the D-B Alumni Hall of Fame,” D-B Alumni Association President Chris Jenkins said.
“I encourage everyone to learn more about this year’s (2020) six new Hall of Fame inductees and join us in honoring these impressive D-B alumni.”
The D-B Alumni Association Hall of Fame was established in 2009.
Press "play" in the video below to hear Tony Bond introduce his brother Darwin to the Hall of Fame gathering.
Press "play" in the video below to hear Darwin Bond accept his induction into the 2020 Dobyns-Bennett High School Alumni Hall of Fame.
Darwin Bond is now one of three African-Americans inducted into the Dobyns-Bennett High School Alumni Hall of Fame, all of them Douglass School graduates and products of the Riverview neighborhood.
Former DB, Wake Forest and NBA player Skip Brown was inducted into the DB Alumni Hall of Fame in 2011.
Retired television news broadcaster Calvin Sneed was inducted into the DB Alumni Hall of Fame in 2019.
KINGSPORT — More than 80 volunteers converged on the Riverview neighborhood Saturday for the annual Riverview Trash Cleanup, the 24th year of trash collection in the neighborhood.
The volunteers included a group from the Brownies, New Vision Youth, Kingsport Public Works, area churches and members of the D-B Environmental Club.
The event is the first of several planned throughout the city as a part of Keep Kingsport Beautiful’s participation in the statewide “Trashercise” campaign.
The day began with some stretching exercises offered by Healthy Kingsport, including muscle stretching and toning, Even though each volunteer was given a handy pick-up device that acts like a grabber, gloves, and trash bags, lifting all the garbage is a good workout. They also wore reflective vests to protect while crossing the streets against motorists, and to identify themselves as they retrieved garbage from neighbor yards and lawns.
Once the calisthenics were completed, "good and warmed up" volunteers fanned out in all directions picking up discarded paper and plastic items, even broken glass.
More than 1.3 tons of trash was collected and delivered to Kingsport Public Works trucks, compared to more than 2 tons from previous years. Among the garbage were brush and metal items, including an old discarded fire extinguisher.
Participants were treated to lunch after the trash collection.
Among the many discarded items retrieved by volunteers, included some dangerous items like broken glass and an old abandoned fire extinguisher.
The Sons and Daughters of Douglass Alumni Association has a new office and a new address.
The move to the new office did not change the buildings, but the view (below) has improved quite a bit.
The new office is now on the 3rd floor of the V.O. Dobbins, Sr. Complex tower. Instead of the wonderfully expansive, big beautiful Eastman Corporate Headquarters parking lot, our new office now faces out over the Riverview neighborhood.
Pictured here above is the area where your Sons and Daughters of Douglass office administration is handled, including public relations, marketing, city department liasons, and website management.
The reason for the move is that our neighbors on the first floor, Mountain States Speech and Hearing, needed to expand their offices and we were in office space that they needed.
The new office space also includes a conference room, that is located right across the hall from our office.
Please note the new address. "The Sons and Daughters of Douglass Alumni, Inc." is now located at 301 Louis Street, Ste. 304, Kingsport, TN 37660.
Don't forget to get your Douglass High School face mask!
Sales are brisk and your alumni association appreciates you protecting yourself and helping us at the same time.
Each mask is $10.00, plus $1.00 for mailing. Please make your check or money order for $11.00 payable to the Sons and Daughters of Douglass Alumni. You can also pay cash to our secretary Charlotte Maxwell, but please don't send cash in the mail. Also, no credit or debit cards (we cannot process those).
Mail your check, money order and your return address to:
Charlotte Maxwell
P.O. Box 2460
Kingsport, TN 37660-0240
Again, the total cost of each mask is $11.00.
If you have questions, call Charlotte at (423) 967-0536.
Supplies are going quickly, so get your order in today!
The Board and alumni of the Sons and Daughters of Douglass Alumni Association will hold their regular meeting this coming Saturday, March 13th.
The meeting will be held at 1 PM at the Association's office, 301 Louis Street, Ste. 304.
Central Baptist partnered with the Sullivan County Regional Health Department to hold a vaccination event at the church Friday afternoon. The church has now hosted two vaccination events for its elderly members as well as for some members of other nearby churches.
“We’re the oldest African American church in the community, and a lot of our parishioners are elderly,” said Vicki Smith, parish nurse. “Quite a few of them don’t drive, so this way we’d be able to reach them, and they can get their vaccines and be comfortable.”
Nurses on Friday gave 15 people the first dose and 20 the second dose.
Smith said Central Baptist is one of the few churches, if not the only one, in Kingsport that has been able to offer a vaccination event for elderly members of its congregation.
“We needed our elderly to get their shots as soon as possible,” said church member Jerry Harrison. “So we felt if we could help, we would do it.”
