Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

The Lowndes County Area Chamber of Commerce (LCACOC) held its 2nd Annual Elmore Bolling Business Breakfast on Thursday, April 24 at 9 a.m. at Deepwood Restaurant in Hayneville. The breakfast theme, Stimulating Economic and Community Development Growth in Lowndes County, offered local students the opportunity to present ideas for stimulating economic growth while pursuing scholarship opportunities.

Seniors from across Lowndes County submitted essays to answer the question, “What do you think is needed to stimulate economic and community development growth in Lowndes County?” Three were selected for sponsorship to attend Huntingdon College’s Economic and Community Development Scholars (ECDS) program July 14 and 15.

Winners of the essay competition — Shakerrie Walker from The Calhoun School, Central High School’s Aziya Flynn and Huston Hampton, a student at Lowndes Academy — were recognized at the breakfast and each delivered their essay presentation to the guests in attendance.

“They did a fantastic job with their presentations,” said LCACOC President and Executive Director Dr. Ozelle Hubert. “We talked about opportunities in agribusiness. One gentleman talked about the need for mechanics to work on heavy farm equipment.

“Students discussed looking at other types of industries. Another one mentioned leadership… which encompasses community as well as government.”

Guest speaker for the event was Dr. Christopher Clark, vice president of Huntingdon College. Bria Rochell Stephens, director of Huntingdon’s dir. office of strategic academic initiatives, was also present and delivered an overview of the college’s scholars’ program.

Josephine Bolling Mccall, daughter of the late Elmore Bolling and founder of The Elmore Bolling Initiative explained the connection between the chamber’s youth development initiative and her father’s legacy.

“Elmore Bolling was illiterate, but he placed so much emphasis on education that he had placed his eldest two sons in school in Montgomery,” McCall said. “So, he would have definitely supported the young people chosen for the Huntingdon project and would have provided transportation for them.”

“My father was an entrepreneur, and he was so grateful to God for his accomplishments that he tried to help others through his philanthropy. As he succeeded in business, he wanted to help others to succeed, and he had a motto. He believed in working for yourself. He thought that everybody should own their own business, and so this was just a fantastic way for me to remember how my father worked, and for them to honor him by naming the breakfast after him.”

Numerous community sponsors supported the effort, Hubert said.

“I think Huntingdon’s program will be a very enlightening experience,” Hubert said. “I’m happy that we have representation from all three high schools and such good community support.”

McCall said the experience revealed how each person can play a part in Lowndes County’s economic development.

“The [contest] was a way that each [student] could have a hand in advancing the economic opportunities for the county,” she said. “Each one felt that he or she had an opportunity to bring growth to the county from their own learning and perspectives.”