Mayor Keith Gaskin honors two resident for their work in Columbus
COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI) – The City of Columbus is ending the year on a high note. On December 27, Mayor Keith Gaskin took time out to honor 2 residents for their work to make Columbus better.
Gaskin presented the annual “Ernest Brown Good Change Award” this morning at City Hall.
The award honors those who are volunteering their time to change things for the better in the city.
This year’s recipients are retired MUW professor Doctor Martha Jo Mims and the founder of Save The Youth, Donel “Coach D” Briggs.
In her role as an Education professor at The W, Mims helped raise the bar for turning out professional educators. She was also instrumental in creating the Mississippi Hall of Master Teachers.
Since her retirement, she has remained active in local government and as a volunteer archivist at The W, working to preserve historic documents and artifacts for the university.
Through Save The Youth, or STY, Briggs works to empower young people and get them on the right path by teaching them athletic skills and life skills.
STY’s basketball program is accredited through the AAU and has competed in 18 tournaments and three college campus tours.
Briggs has been through hard times, and works with young people to help them steer away from those situations.
