By JONATHAN FELDMAN
Leader editor
The family of the late Oliver W. (Dub) Myers has established a leadership award for students of Jacksonville, North Pulaski and Lighthouse high schools who are also members of the Jacksonville Boys and Girls Club.
Myers, who died in 2012 at the age of 82, was a brigadier general in the Arkansas National Guard who went on to have a long career in business in Jacksonville and was frequently involved with community service.
The $500 Dub Myers Emerging Leadership Award will help pay for school-related expenses like books, clothes, transportation, equipment or other fees. It is available on a competitive basis annually to students with a minimum grade point average of 2.5.
“Throughout his life, he was in service to his country and community in roles both formal and informal. He quietly made sure that children in the community had the supplies they needed to succeed in school and in life. He never forgot that, in his sophomore year in high school, people in his community recognized his leadership potential and helped him with resources he needed to succeed in high school, college and throughout his life,” according to a news release.
Born in Crowley’s Ridge, “Dub never forgot his modest roots and looked for ways to help others fulfill their potential based on merit and without prejudice. He proudly appointed the first African American officer to a command leadership position in the Arkansas National Guard, and he was the first to recommend a female officer for a command,” it continued.
“(He) was a leader, and he believed that every human being had potential but might need a little help. His motto was ‘don’t go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.’”
A selection committee — two Boys and Girls Club board members, the club’s director, a club volunteer and a member of the Myers family — will consider applicants’ grades, community involvement and extracurricular activities. The award will be presented at the club’s spring banquet.
Applications must include a letter of recommendation from a school faculty member and one from a community member or fellow student. They are available at the Boys and Girls Club, which is open from 1 until 6 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Call 501-982-4316 for more information.
