Rena McNeil assisting in voter registration. According to Rep. Garland Pierce, it is "high time" McNeil's contributions were recognized.
"Rena McNeil always has something going on to help the young people of this county," Pierce said. "It is high time she was recognized for her contributions."
Pierce, Scotland County NAACP president, will host the proceedings at Bright Hopewell Missionary Baptist Church in Laurinburg, where he is minister.
McNeil is characteristically low key about her role as an advocate for the young.
"I am honored to be recognized in this way, but the biggest thing is to realize that it really is about the young people," McNeil said. "We must assist and engage the young in order to bring out the best in them, and in all of us."
McNeil cites the influence of her mother, Frannie Brown Williams, as the inspiration for her to become involved with the NAACP and with assisting the young.
"My mother worked with Parks and Recreation, and became the first African-American female to be a scorekeeper at athletic events in Scotland County," McNeil said. "That sounds like a small thing, but it was an important accomplishment to me.
"She had such a great admiration for youth," McNeil said of her mother. "She always had time for everyone."
For 13 years McNeil has been the chairperson for the Scotland County Afro-Academic, Cultural, Technological and Scientific Olympics (ACT-SO) program, an annual academic competition open to students in grades nine through 12 and designed "to recruit, stimulate, improve and encourage high academic and cultural achievement among African-American high school students", according to program literature. Students from more than 500 communities nationwide take part in competition on a local level through area NAACP branches, with medal winners competing in the national ACT-SO finals during the NAACP annual convention.
McNeil will accompany a group of Scotland County students to the NAACP's 100th anniversary proceedings to be held July 8 in New York, where they will compete in an "Olympics of the mind" in categories covering the sciences, humanities, and the performing and visual arts.
"It is called a competition, but really it is an environment where great young minds and great young thinkers come together in one place, and they feed off one another", she said. "When I walk into a room of young people at events like this, where these exceptional children are doing what they do best, I could stay there forever."
When encouraging the young to reach their potential, McNeil tries to find what is unique to each individual.
"With every child, you have to find their motivation," she said. "It's what makes all of us take that second step, or that third step, toward what we do best. There are times when some will pull it up to another level; to all of them I say master your gift, and see how you will soar."
In addition to Pierce, Sen. Bill Purcell, Rep. Doug Yongue, Laurinburg Mayor Matthew Block, and other city and county officials are expected to be in attendance Sunday.
"What Rena McNeil does for the young is from the heart," Pierce said, "and she is always on the forefront of empowering young people. We are thankful for people like her, and we are extremely proud of her efforts."
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