Candace Brumfield of McComb walked to the McComb School District’s back-to-school rally on Thursday night, but she drove away from it in a new car she won in a drawing.
The mother of an Otken Elementary third-grader, Brumfield was the lucky winner of a 2016 Ford Fiesta after a raffle at the McComb School District’s Partners in Education parent rally held in the parking lot of Vendor’s Collection on Delaware Avenue.
Parents who registered their children for school in June were entered into a raffle for the car donated by Keith White Ford-Lincoln.
“We are really blessed to be able to do this for the community and for the parents in the community and we’re excited to see parents so involved in their children’s lives,” dealership representative Johnathan White said.
Last summer at the district’s back-to-school rally, Heather Rawls won a 2018 Ford Fiesta after winning that year’s raffle. She donated it to the valedictorian of the class of 2019. While that story ended up being much more complicated than expected when all was said and done, this year it looks like any sort of gaffe has been avoided.
Still, it took a while for Brumfield to win the car, as the winner had to be present. At last summer’s rally, more than a dozen names were drawn before Rawls’ was selected. This year it only took five tries.
A huge crowd, including local government officials, first responders, school staff, students and parents, came to the rally, which was meant to encourage parents to take an active role in their children’s education.
The 2019-20 school year begins Tuesday.
McComb Police Chief Damian Gatlin, who graduated from McComb School District in 1997, briefly addressed the crowd. It is important to make sure that your kids are on a pattern after school, he said. He noted the increased risk of human trafficking in this day and age.
“We don’t want to wait. We want to be proactive and keep our kids safe,” he said, adding that parents should make sure they know who their children are with and where they plan on going, he said.
Additionally, Gatlin said children need to have something to do when they aren’t in school.
“An idle mind is the devil’s playground,” he said. “The majority of crimes in McComb are committed by juveniles.”
McComb School District alumnus and former LSU head basketball coach John Brady also made an appearance. He said it is important for parents to hold their children accountable, adding that fair and proportional discipline is a good thing.
“I coached some great teams in my time and the characteristic they had in common was the respect and trust that they shared,” Brady said.
City of McComb Recreation Department director Joyce Smith gave a brief update on the work being done by the department.
A fall soccer program will begin Aug. 12, she said. The department will host a back-to-school event with The Well church from 4 to 6 p.m. today at the multi-purpose field at the sports park. The department is also building a new basketball court at the central park in Baertown.
Superintendent Dr. Cederick Ellis discussed the importance of community support.
“As parents you are vitally important to the school district and to your kids,” he said. “The greatest hope for our scholars is a great relationship between the school district, parents and kids.”
Ellis thanked parents and guardians for entrusting their children to the school district and said that with their support the district would meet its goals for high-achievement.
