On the evening of Saturday, 11, the East Mississippi Fellowship of Christian Athletes will host the second annual Night of Champions” on the campus of East Central Community College. The ceremony will celebrate the character of high school student-athletes from Newton, Leake, Neshoba, Scott, and Smith counties and create awareness of the FCA ministry.
“We’re going to recognize two student-athletes from each of the high schools in our five-county area that exemplifies the core values of NCA,” said Area Director of the East Central MS FCA Scott Engle. “Those core values are Integrity, Serving, Teamwork, and Excellence. We call them our champions of character. They might not be the stud of their athletic team; they may not play athletics at all. But when it comes to the game of life, these young men and women are champions of their faith.”
Area school’s student athletes that will be recognized during the program will include Samaria Jones and Anniston Adkins from Newton High School, Josie Tullos and Aleah McMullan from Newton County High School, Addie Bergeron, Jackson Bunyard, and Ayden McDill from Newton County Academy, Drew Sharp and Cecilia Burroughs from Union High School, and J.D. Gibson and Alaina Alford from Lake High School. Sebastopol High Schools honorees were not available at print.
The keynote speaker for the event will be K.D. Hill, a former Ole Miss Rebel Chucky Mullins Courage Award recipient who survived a near fatal auto accident right before he was to try out for an NFL team. After losing a leg and recovering from his injuries, Hill has since used the platform of sport to share his faith and powerful testimony.
And while ‘Night of Champions is a celebration of area student-athletes, Engle added the event is also a major fundraiser for the organization which hosts such events as the Father-Daughter Dance, the Director’s Cup Golf Tournament, Fields of Faith, and many other forms of campus ministries.
“All of the resources from sponsors and tickets get us through the end of the year financially and helps with sending kids to camp, purchasing FCA Bibles, helps us train our lead team, it helps us add staff,” added Engle. “It’s an end of year recognition, but it is really our biggest fundraiser to help us hit the ground running on August 1.”
Night of Champions program takes place on Saturday, May 11, at Huff Auditorium beginning at 6:30 P.M. Doors will open at 5:30 P.M. It’s open to the public with a recommended donation of $25 per person.
