Sissy Lynn recalls praying that enough teams would sign up to make the first golf tournament the Madison County Schools Education Foundation sponsored successful.
Days before that tournament in 2024, her prayers were answered.
Team entries poured in, and Lynn, president of the foundation, found herself praying that she wouldn’t have to turn a team away.
Lynn is once again hoping for a successful golf tournament, which is this year scheduled for Aug. 28 at Whisper Lake Golf Club in Madison.
“Last year, we just had one flight, a morning flight,” she said. “This year, we’ve expanded to have both a morning and afternoon flight.”
Timmy Pickett, vice president of the foundation, is spending time making sure golfers know about the tournament.
“When I’m out at a golf course, I look for guys who pull up in a company truck or vehicle,” he said. “I make a point to look for those guys because they’re more prone to play in a tournament because their company may be a sponsor.”
Pickett, who with Chamar McDonald is co-chair of the tournament, said he’s calling on judges, police chiefs, sheriffs, business leaders and elected officials and asking them to participate.
“We’re working diligently,” he said. “We believe in what we’re doing. We believe we live in a good county and a good school district and want that to continue forever.”
The golf tournament is the foundation’s biggest fundraiser. Last year’s tournament raised about $34,000 and cleared about $27,000 for the foundation, which exists to enhance educational opportunities for students, teachers and staff in the Madison County Schools.
With part of the proceeds from last year’s tournament, the foundation funded a project meant to address a shortage of teachers, which is an issue across the country and even in Madison County, Lynn said.
“One thing Mr. (Ted) Poore, the superintendent, requested was that we fund eight no-interest loans to teachers who were trying to get National Board Certification,” said Lynn, who was the 2015 Parent of the Year at both the district and state level.
“My understanding of that is if a teacher wants to start the process, he or she has yo pay $1,000 out of pocket to start that process. Without the foundation’s support, some teachers may not have been able to pursue certification due to the financial burden.”
The Mississippi Department of Education will eventually reimburse a teacher who goes through the process and that’s one way the loan can be repaid, she said.
Teachers who have gone through the certification process receive an additional stipend on top of their pay from the state and the district for their accomplishment, Lynn said.
“The teachers who go through that process are amazing,” she said.
In July, the foundation sponsored a catered lunch during the Madison County School summer leadership meeting, which brought together principals, assistant principals and district leaders, Lynn said. There was even enough food to treat the entire central office staff to lunch.
The foundation works to develop community and business partnerships and has been successful in the last year doing that.
Last May during Teacher Appreciation Week, the foundation, in partnership with the Madison County Community Trust, the philanthropic arm of the Madison County Business League & Foundation, provided a total of $10,000 in gas cards for teachers and staff at Luther Branson Elementary and Camden Elementary.
Each teacher received a $200 gas card and each staff member received a $60 gas card. Craddock Oil preloaded the cards and waived the associated fees.
“Most of the teachers at those schools drive 30-plus miles one way to get there,” Lynn said. “It’s a simple gesture but something we found resonated with the teachers. “
Also in May, the foundation received a $5,000 donation on behalf of the Madison County Schools to support early literacy and ensure Madison County students in second and third grades are reading at grade level, she said.
The funds were to enhance the Summer Reading Academy, a program that provides intensive reading intervention for students struggling to meet literacy benchmarks. The academy serves third graders who require reading intervention based on their MAAP-ELA Assessment, commonly known as the “third grade reading gate,” along with second graders showing signs of reading difficulties.
The foundation, which was launched in 2019 but soon after paused its efforts due to the global pandemic, includes representatives from each school zone in the district. “We want to make sure the entire district is represented,” Lynn said.
Officers of the foundation board are Lynn, Pickett and Mike Rhodus, secretary/treasurer. Members are Thomas Agostinelli, Gaye Broyles, Janie Jarvis, McDonald, Tommy McMillin, Edith Mitchell, Leigh Sargent, Vicky Tate and Camille Young.
In its first year after the pandemic, the foundation raised $10,000 and awarded a $2,500 scholarship to a graduating senior at each of the district’s four high schools, Lynn said.
“We haven’t continued that because it only reached four students,” she said. “We want to impact more students.”
The foundation is considering providing funding for an additional teacher in the district to become a dyslexia therapist and for teachers to get ESL (English as a Second Language) certification, Lynn said.
Also being considered is a mini-grant program of some kind for teachers and perhaps a food distribution program in the summer to help students who qualify for the free/reduced meal program, she said.
Lynn, whose two college-age children attended Madison County Schools starting with Ann Smith Elementary and graduating from Ridgeland High School, said the foundation works to make the schools even better.
For more information, visit www.mcsef.org/golf-tournament.
