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American hero General Colin Powell, USA (Ret.) speaks at Union University's Third Annual Scholarship Banquet on Veteran's Day, Nov. 11, at the Jackson Civic Center. (Photo by Jim Veneman)

"The General Colin L. Powell Scholarship will benefit worthy students who have overcome adversity and who demonstrate significant promise for future achievement," Dockery explained.

Powell responded to the honor with tremendous gratitude. "You get lots of awards and medals in this world, but nothing could mean more to someone than to have a scholarship, which will go on for generations to come to help young people in your name," he said.

The scholarship announcement preceded nearly a 60-minute address where Powell shared his passion for improving the lives of America's children.

"No child in America should be at risk if we have the possibility of making that child a child of promise," Powell said. This simple theme came from the 1997 President's Summit on America's Future and endorsed by all living U.S. presidents. This soon became the vision for America's Promise – The Alliance for Youth, a national crusade of which Powell is chairman.

"Many of our young people are fine. They live in great homes, live Christ-centered lives, graduate from schools and attend great universities like Union University," Powell said. "But the reality is there are millions who are not on such a path. But they can be if we get involved in their lives."

Powell identified the five core objectives of America's Promise:

• Make sure our children have loving and caring adults in their lives.
• Make sure our children have safe places to grow and learn.
• Make sure our children get a healthy start in life.
• Make sure our children get the marketable skills they need.
• Make sure our children have opportunities to serve.

"If we do these things, we're on our way to being º£½ÇÂÒÂ×ÉçÇø and re-creating the communities we need," Powell clarified.

Powell explained that he was an "at-risk kid," but because of the strength of the community that surrounded him as a child, his life was changed.

With humor and realism, Powell recalled stories related to his autobiography, "My American Journey." He traced his life from his birth to immigrant Jamaican parents in Harlem and the adversity of growing up as a black youth in urban America to his role in advising the country's three most recent chief executives – Presidents Ronald Reagan, George Bush and Bill Clinton.

This was Union's third annual scholarship banquet hosted by the Board of Presidential Associates. The prior two events featured Lady Margaret Thatcher in 1998 and Coach Lou Holtz in 1997.

The purpose of this annual event is for Union University to offer a special gift to our city and this community as well as to raise significant scholarship dollars for our students, Dockery said. Nearly $300,000 was raised for student scholarships from this year's event.

The evening was made possible through the generous gifts of more than 150 sponsors. The lead sponsor of the event was BancorpSouth. Other premier sponsors included DeVilbiss Air Power Co., Benny and Norma Fesmire, FirstBank, Jack and Zan Holmes, Carl and Alice Kirkland, Ted and Tricia Nelson, Porter Cable Corporation, Union Planters and Roy L. White.