3 Inspired People: Fall 2021
In every community, there are those among us who lead by quiet example. They seldom hold positions of power, nor do they have a title or any official designation that distinguishes them from their neighbors. Yet they are often the ones who, having found their own inspiration, serve to make us better people and a better community. The spark of imagination they ignite through the pursuit of their own dreams, passions and curiosity can spread down the street, through a neighborhood, across a community. Their stories are an inspiration and in the telling of their stories, others may be similarly inspired. In each edition, Progress tells the story of three of the “Inspired People” of our community.
Pam Dawkins
Officer Walker left Scooba for Massachusetts about a week ago, his work in Scooba complete. A new, better life waited for him.
Officer Walker is only 14 weeks old.
Pam Dawkins, who lives in Brooksville and teaches at Lower Elementary School in Scooba, has been an integral part of more than a thousand stories like Officer Walker’s. The homeless kitten was discovered by students on the school playground.
“Officer Walker (the name given to the cat by a vote of her class in honor of a much-loved resource officer at the school) was a great learning opportunity for the children,” Dawkins said. “It was a chance to teach them about animal rescue and the importance of spaying and neutering your pets.
“I’ve always been an animal lover,” she said. “Now, it’s my passion.”
Seven years ago, Dawkins approached Jeannete Unruh to ask how she could help. In Noxubee County, a county with no humane society or animal shelter, Unruh had become a one-woman humane society.
Unruh told Dawkins there was a mother dog with a litter of six puppies that were scheduled to be euthanized in Meridian unless a foster home could be found for them.
Dawkins volunteered.
Since then, the have fostered and placed more than 3,000 cats and dogs in “fur-ever homes,” most of them in Massachusetts through an nonprofit pet adoption group called Sweet Paws. Through a partnership with Mississippi State’s Veterinary Science Department, they also arrange free spay/neuter services throughout the county.
Dawkins said the frustration caused by the reluctance of so many people to have their pets spayed and neutered, along with the demands on her time, is balanced by the good outcomes she sees.
“It’s so good to see these (adopted) pets living good lives,” she said. “When I see those photos, this work for me is like being in the mafia: You can’t get out. I hate to imagine what it would be like if we weren’t doing this.”
Officer Walker would agree.
Kentrell Anders
Conversations with Kentrell Anders rarely include the word “I.”
This is particularly true when the conversation involves Goal Chasers, an amateur track team which competes on a national level, founded three years ago in Starkville.
“I grew up in New Orleans where there was a strong AAU organization,” said Anders, 29, a wire technician for AT&T. “It’s not just about sports. Our kids are going to be the doctors and engineers and lawyers and business owners of the future. It’s a track team but it’s more than sports.”
To be a member of Goal Chasers — an affiliate of a national organization founded in 1888 which includes 700,000 athletes — kids must maintain a 3.2 grade point average, as well as participate in the club’s community service projects.
With only a few volunteers, no funds and no real history of AAU track in the area, starting a team — the first in Mississippi — was daunting.
“We started in 2019 with eight kids and all eight of them left after one year,” Anders said. “We had to start all over. Even with COVID, we were able to get 22 kids that second year and they’ve stuck it out. We call them the Fantastic 22.”
This year, the team has grown to 32.
Seven-year-old Kaleb Lewis is a two-time All-American in the triathlon. Anders’ 5-year-old son is a national champion in both the 200-meters and 400-meters.
But the greatest successes, Anders said, are the unlikely champions, such as Bella Mickens, the 5-year-old All-American long jumper.
“She hated track at first,” Anders said. “She didn’t want to get hot. But she stuck with it. She’s the kind of story that makes it all worthwhile.”
The biggest challenge continues to be funding. Anders, along with volunteer coaches — Brittney Covington, DeCorey Goss, Jaleesa Jones and Letitia Asford — spend thousands of dollars of their own money to take their athletes to meets.
For more information about Goal Chasers, including donations, call Anders at 504-495-8895.
Nancy Scott
Act your age?
Never, says Nancy Scott.
“I’m 80 years old now,” says the Columbus artist, poet and soon-to-be novelist. “I’m still alive and active and doing things. Is there life after youth? I’m a testament to that. The answer is yes.”
Scott, a California native, is a relatively recent arrival to Columbus. She moved here from Tucson, Arizona, about six years ago to be near family (her brother, John Almond, had moved to Columbus a few years earlier) as her husband, Larry, was going through the final stages of Alzheimer’s disease.
Even so, Scott has quickly become a fixture in the Columbus arts scene. As was the case in her previous places of residency — New Hampshire, Colorado and Arizona — her work was featured in area galleries, most recently at the Rosenzweig Arts Center
Not bad for someone who didn’t take up painting until she was in her mid-30s.
“I had a bad car accident and couldn’t do anything,” Scott said. “A friend brought me paints and brushes and water-color paper and said, ‘Here, paint.’ I said, ‘I don’t know how to paint. I failed art in high school.’ But like I said, I couldn’t do anything else. So I started painting.”
Scott learned more than just painting from that experience.
“What I figured out was just to say ‘get over yourself.’ So what if you don’t know how to do something? Give it a shot. What is the worst that can happen?”
Her painting is based on contemporary themes, especially social issues, subjects you might expect of a fiery young activist.
To expand on the stories behind her painting, Scott published her first book — Mixed Messages — a collection of her work, in which each painting is accompanied by an original poem.
And, no, she had never written poetry, either.
Now, she’s working on a novel, again a new adventure.
“If there is something you always wanted to do, do it,” Scott says. “The right time is right now, especially if you are older. What are you waiting for?”
STORIES BY SLIM SMITH
PHOTOGRAPHY BY RORY DOYLE
