Page 7 - LifelineInaugural

1000 MEN RALLY Land, Inc., and in part by various corporate sponsors,
2008-PRESENT by Keturah Austin Catholic, non–denominational, Baptist and Methodist
In 2008 Rev. Greg James gave birth to a vision of
restoring the family by putting the man in his rightful
place as father, husband, uncle, brother , and most
important of all, leaders and mentors within the
community. The 1st Annual 1,000 Men Rally was
held in Tallahassee, Florida. The Inaugural Rally was
presented by Reclaiming the Land, Inc., Gregory L.
James, Senior Minister; Tabernacle M.B. Church,
Tallahassee, Florida, Stanley Walker, Senior Pastor;
Vision of Manhood; Tallahassee, Florida, Executive
Director, Joe Thomas; and Leon County Commissioner
Bill Proctor.
The theme for 2008 was “Repositioning the Man,”
and the guest speaker was Rev. Henry Lyons. In
addition to Rev. Lyons, other leaders in the community
continued to reiterate the importance of volunteering
and men positioning themselves in the community as
leaders. The event proved to be a great success with
more than 200 men committing to volunteer a minimum
of 10 hours of their time to mentor other young men.
The Tallahassee Boys Choir uplifted the crowd through
song and the speakers moved the crowd with their
message encouraging men to become more involved.
The Saturday following the 2008 1,000 Man Rally, was
the “1st Annual Boys II Men Breakfast,” with speaker
Rev. O Jermaine Simmons, Sr.
In 2009, the Rally was held in Quincy. Florida. Despite
torrential rain minutes before the 2nd Annual 1,000 Men
Rally kicked off, there was a crowd of several hundred
that followed the Rally indoors to Shanks Middle
School gymnasium. It’s empowerment mantra, “Men
Speak Now or Forever Hold Your Peace,” resounded
throughout the region and called men from every walk
of life to speak with actions, not just words.
The 2009 Rally was presented by Reclaiming the
LIFELINE magazine
to include Wal–Mart, Captain D’s, Florida Lottery, and
United Way to name a few. Regional churches, from
Churches also sponsored and participated in the 3-day
event. The speakers’ lineup included mayors, pastors
and retired prison warden, Carlyle Holder.
The hosts & hostess for the entire weekend festivities
was CBS Affiliate WCTV Shonda Knight and Cumulus
Broadcast Radio 96.1, personality and the official voice
of the FAMU Marching 100 Band, Joe Bullard.
In 2009, the “2nd Annual Boys II Men Breakfast”
welcomed speaker Rev. Billy Neal. Rev. Neal, the
author of ‘I Shall Not Die’ had his life spared 7 hours
before he was to be put to death. Rev. Neal spoke
about the importance of choices and the consequences
of wrong choices.
The Florida Department of Corrections Secretary Walt
McNeil, Gadsden County Superintendent Reginald
James, Attorney Mataqee Akbar, Rev. Doug Stephens,
of Midway Fellowship Church, Rev, Danny Glover,
Malik Aziz, President of the National Exhoodus
Council, Philadelphia, PA., and Major Woods (in the
absence of Sheriff Morris Young), Gadsden County
Sheriff Department, all served on the panel discussion
of issues facing our young men. The breakfast was
sponsored by the Gadsden County Sheriff Department.
During the Boys II Men Breakfast, Rev. Gregory James,
founder of Reclaiming the Land, Inc., and the founder
of the 1000 Men Rally was presented a proclamation
from Mayor Pro-Tem Derrick Elias on behalf of the City
of Quincy for such trailblazing results and commitment
to such a worthwhile cause.
With each year the event gets bigger and continues to
focus on men by addressing issues that directly affect
them such as health, family, employment, education
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