Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

The Rev. John Frederick Jr., executive director of The Reed Foundation, considers the relatively new foundation’s upcoming first annual Community Gala its greatest accomplishment, yet. On April 29 at 7 p.m. EST, three scholarship recipients, three notable community members and several sponsors will be honored at Refuge Point Church in West Point. Semi-formal attire is required.

Only people who have been invited may attend the event. Frederick said seating is limited to around 170 to 175 people.  Dinner will be catered.

The biggest scholarship being awarded by the foundation, the Beulah Carlisle Memorial Scholarship, is $1,000. The two Reed Foundation book scholarships are $500 each. The scholarships are non-renewable, meaning students will only receive them for one school year. The deadline to apply for the scholarships was March 13.

To qualify for the scholarships, students had to be high school seniors attending school in Chambers County, have a GPA of 3.0 or higher, have a documented history of community service and write a 500-word essay about a time when they stepped up as leaders.

The Reed Foundation plans on making the Community Gala an annual tradition, he said.

“We just want to thank our students who did apply for the scholarships,” he said. “We wish we could have chosen them all, but there were only three scholarships available.”

Frederick thanked schools in Chambers County for participating.

“I want to thank all of the counselors who helped us make this possible,” he said.

The scholarship recipients being honored are Chandler Winston from LaFayette High School, Marleigh Phillips from Valley High School and Alexander Jones from Lanett High School.

The community honorees are City of LaFayette Police Chief George Rampey; community member Yolacia Davidson, who is the CEO of clothing brand y.s.f.co and City of Lanett Athletic Director Trent McCants.

The Reed Foundation officially launched on Jan. 1, 2022. ​​It was founded by Cameron Reed, a graduate of Lanett High School who is now the equipment administrative assistant for the Chicago Bears. According to Frederick, the organization aims to address many different community needs such as helping seniors get their medications, helping seniors tidy their lawn, mentoring youth, picking up trash, and doing workshops on how churches can play a role in the community.

Frederick thinks The Reed Foundation is progressing pretty fast. He said it receives calls from people as far away as Opelika, Beulah and LaGrange asking for assistance and asking how they can contribute to the foundation.

The organization’s website is https://www.thereedfoundation1.com.