A Open Letter from our Chairman Reginald Grant

March 01, 2005


Every year I am touched by the power, determination and class of our Watkins Award "Elite Five" each of these young men in the Class of 2005 are exceptional. They all have committed at a young age to be the best they can be and understand that to do that takes hard work and dedication.  The annual awards weekend was fantastic as our Watkins Alumni mentored the incoming class and inducted them into the Watkins Family. The Awards banquet  was an emotion filled evening from the speeches by the Class of 2005 to the presentation by Dr, Gabbin. Everyone in the room was touched and many a tear was shed "in joy" as we celebrated these positive young men and the great job their families have done.

The announcement of the winner was the culmination of the weekends activities which included a Teen  Summit held at the IBM complex and the Awards Presentation Banquet. In attendance were Watkins Alumni including Darnell Dinkins - Baltimore Ravens, Deryck Toles - Indianapolis Colts, Nick Maddox - Carolina Panthers, 2004 Winner Darius Walker - Notre Dame, 2003 Winner Sam Cheatham -Northwestern, 2002 Winner Marcus McCutcheon - Stanford and  2002 finalist Jonathan Hubbard. The keynote speaker was  Sportscaster and 16 year NFL veteran Eugene Robinson. Robinson  played in three Super Bowls, three Pro Bowls and is ranked 10th  all time in the NFL with 57 interceptions.

The winner of the 14th Annual Watkins Award was Ekom-Abassi Udofia of Chaparral High School in Scottsdale, Arizona. Udofia has a high school GPA of 4.2 and played defensive tackle and is a highly sought after recruit who will attend Stanford University in the fall. The remainder of this years "Elite Five" include Robert Kibble of Westfield High School in Houston Texas with a 3.8 GPA and he has committed to UCLA. Mohamed Massaquoi of Independence High School of Charlotte, North Carolina was a highly recruited student athlete with a 3.75 GPA and he has committed to the University of Georgia.  Shawn Oatis of Chino High School in Chino California was one of the countries top Strong Safeties with a GPA of 4.1 and has committed to UCLA as well. Lastly but not least, Vincent Oghobaase of Hastings High School of  Houston, Texas was one of the top defensive tackles in the nation with a high school GPA of 3.96. Oghobaase graduated from high school in December and  he is already attending Duke University.

We need all of those of you who support OUR VISION: " We Believe That at the Most Basic Level, ALL African American Males Want a Secure Home, A Family, Good Health, Friends, Meaningful Employment and A Presence in Their Community."  As we kick off our  "Be Our Voice" campaign we ask everyone to donate or join our organization as a member and support our efforts. You can help us  have a measurable impact on the lives of African America males.


Sincerely,

Reginald Grant
Chairman
National Alliance of African American Athletes
presenters of the "Watkins Award"
www.naaaa.com
 

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