Photos by Timothy Ramsey
Most Valuable Players Kevon Powell, left, and Nathan Cathcart stand with head
coach Lester Nowlin.
m
Coach Lester Nowlin poses with his team as they display their trophies in front
of Tony's Lounge, where the banquet took place.
Coach holds banquet for championship team
BY TIMOTHY RAMSEY
THE CHRONICLE
Early last month, the
Winston Lake YMCA
crowned the Spurs champi
ons of their 13-14 age
group. Head coach Lester
Nowlin told his team if
they won the champi
onship, he would do some
thing special for them.
Last Sunday, coach Nowlin
followed through on his
promise and held a banquet
for his team at Tony's
Lounge, 117 Walkertown
Ave. in Winston-Salem.
Nowlin, who has been
a longtime coach at the
YMCA. has always had his
awards banquets for his
team at Tony's Lounge,
where he has also worked
for nearly three decades.
Nowlin, who pays for the
trophies out of pocket, says
he is happy to be able to
provide this celebration for
the kids and their parents.
“I feel great and it
makes me feel even better
to get these young men off
the street and in the gym to
win a championship,”
Nowlin said. “It makes me
feel good to be able to set a
positive image for these
young men and the com
munity.”
Nowlin not only pro
vided each team member a
trophy but also provided
rings for every player. He
also had two specially
made Most Valuable Player
(MVP) trophies for Kevon
Powell and Nathan
Cathcart. He says he has
been blessed in life and
doesn't mind spending
money on the young men
who fought so hard to win
the championship trophy.
Tony Couch, owner of
Tony's Lounge, provided
the venue and food to
everyone free of charge.
He said it made him feel
great to see all the smiling
faces of the kids and par
ents.
“I think as a local busi
ness owner we sometimes
need to step up and help
the youth,” Couch said.
“I've always been one to
work with the community
and the young people
because they are our
future. We have to do
more to help them. We are
treating them special
because that was a special
feat by them winning the
championship and hopeful
ly we inspire them to con
tinue to do great things.”
The two MVP's of the
team, Cathcart and Powell,
were totally surprised and
honored to have been
named MVP by Nowlin.
They said they weren't
expecting all of what
Nowlin did for them.
“This feels great and I
have to thank God because
without Him I would not
have been able to make it
this far,”Cathcart said.
“I'm just going to continue
praying to Him because I
could have been injured or
something but God saw fit
for me to win this instead.
I want to keep working
hard and do the best I can.”
Powell added, “I am so
happy to have been named
MVP, especially after all
the hard work I have put in
this season. I am really just
so proud of myself and my
team for winning the
championship. Going for
ward, I just want to do the
best that I can by keeping
my grades up and staying
out of trouble.”
Nowlin says he would
love to have the kids who
are eligible to return on his
team next year. For those
players who are moving
on, he wishes nothing but
the best for them.
2017 RiverRun
offers documentary on HBCUs
SPECIAL TO
THE CHRONICLE
This year’s RiverRun
festival is packed full of
events and educational
offerings for the Winston
Salem community. In its
19th run, the annual festi
val is being held on
through April 9.
During the run of the
Festival, RiverRun creates
an inspired environment in
downtown Winston-Salem
featuring a dynamic com
bination of talent, film-lov
ing audiences and industry
heavyweights. A hotbed of
discovery and interactivity,
this cultural event offers
screenings of yet-to-be
released films, opportuni
ties to interact with artists
and immersion into the art
and business of the inde
pendent film world.
This year the festival
will feature a film titled
“Tell Them We Are Rising:
The Story of Historically
Black Colleges and
Universities” - USA,
directed by Stanley
Nelson. It chronicles the
150-year story of histori
cally black colleges and
universities (HBCU). It
will be shown 2 to 3:30
pm. on Sunday, April 9 at
the Babcock Theatre on the
campus of the University
of North Carolina School
of the Arts, 1533 S Main
St. in Winston-Salem.
In addition to its inter
national submissions, the
This photo comes from the film “Tell Them We Are
the RiverRun festival.
Rising: The Story of Historically Black Colleges and Universities
festival will present stories
from North Carolina. This
section boasts North
Carolina filmmakers using
their talents to creatively
render compelling tales.
Some of the films will
include:
♦“Chairman Jones,”
which tells the story of a
self-educated farmer who
disregards racism and lack
of education and emerges
as a trailblazer during the
tense 1969 school desegre
gation crisis in
Northampton County, lead
ing the fight to end nearly a
century of inequality in
education.
♦“Purple Dreams,”
which tells of a three-year
journey that serves as an
inspirational window into
the lives of inner-city, at
risk students in Charlotte,
who succeed at their pas
sion while embracing the
transformative power of
their arts education.
♦“Truth
Underground,” which tells
of how three spoken word
poets struggle through
poverty, discrimination,
PTSD and abandonment to
illuminate what fellow
North Carolinian poet
Maya Angelou called “a
brave and startling truth.”
RiverRun’s year-round
education program (Films
with Class) gives area edu
cators the opportunity to
expose their students to
Festival films. During the
festival, students attend
and participate in private
screenings with the film
makers and special guests.
This is opportunity is
sponsored by Wells Fargo.
Founded in 1998,
RiverRun was inspired by
the French Broad River
near Brevard, North
Carolina, where the festi
val was originally held.
Each year since its incep
tion, RiverRun has grown
substantially, boasting
over 18,000 tickets sold in
recent years
For the RiverRun’s
entire schedule, go to
http://riverrunfilm.coin/#r
dv-calendar.
Ellis inducted into the NCAE Educational Hall of Fame
SPECIAL FOR
THE CHRONICLE
The North Carolina
Association of Educators
(NCAE) inducted Rodney
N. Ellis Sr., former NCAE
president from Forsyth
County, into its
Educational Hall of Fame.
Each year, NCAE names
an educator or staff mem
ber posthumously to the
Hall of Fame in recogni
tion of an outstanding
career in public education
or service to the
Association.
In addition to the Hall
of Fame Induction, Ellis
received posthumously the
Order of the Long Leaf
Pine, which is among the
most prestigious awards
presented by the governor
of North Carolina. It is
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awarded to persons for
exemplary service to the
State of North Carolina
and their communities that
is above and beyond the
call of duty and which has
made a significant impact
and strengthened North
Carolina. Some notable
recipients of the Order of
the Long Leaf Pine include
Maya Angelou, Rev.
William Barber n, Andy
Griffith, and Charles
Kuralt.
The dream to become
an educator began for Ellis
while a student at Winston
Salem State University,
where he served as presi
dent of the Student NCAE.
Once in the classroom, he
served as a building repre
sentative, as vice president
of the Forsyth County
Association of Educators
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(FCAE), and as president
for two terms. A life-long
learner and someone who
excelled in everything he
did, Ellis ran for and was
elected to the NCAE Board
of Directors. He then ran
for NCAE vice president,
serving two terms (2008
2012), and won the seat of
NCAE president, serving
from 2012-2016.
A native of
Mocksville, N.C., Ellis
was the oldest of five sib
lings. As a student educat
ed in public schools, he
loved English and social
studies, and credited his
eighth-grade health and
physical education teacher
with piquing his interest in
teaching. He described him
as “a mentor and an inspi
ration.”
Ellis was recognized
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Ellis
extensively for his work as
an educator and communi
ty leader during his career.
He was twice voted as
Middle School Teacher of
the Year while still in the
classroom. In 2010, his
alma mater Winston-Salem
State University bestowed
upon him the Alumni
Achiever Award for the
School of Education and
Human Performance. A
member of Phi Beta Sigma
Fraternity Inc., he was
honored by the organiza
tion with the Delta Sigma
Chapter President’s
Officer Appreciation
Award, the Spirit of Sigma
Award, The Centennial
Legacy Award, and the
Man of the Year Award.
After leaving the
NCAE presidency, Ellis
returned to Winston-Salem
to teach at Philo-Middle
School in Winston-Salem.
The school recently named
a classroom in his honor,
which is now occupied by
his daughter and teacher
Gabrielle Ellis. “It’s unique
that I’m able to be right in
his
classroom, doing
something that was impor
tant to him,” she said. “I
know he’d be proud.”
Ellis was married to
wife and best friend Lisa
for 23 years. His legacy
will live on through the
couple’s five children.
A special presentation
was made at the NCAE
Convention and
Representative Assembly
in Raleigh on Saturday,
March 25, to recognize
Ellis. His family was pres
ent to accept the awards,
which were presented by
NCAE President Mark
Jewell.
NCAE is the state’s
largest education advocacy
organization for public
school employees and rep
resents active, retired, and
student members.
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