Officer Clayton Turner, Coach William “Woody” Woodruff, Fred Jones, Leonard Draper Sr.
Congratulations to our 2019 Citizen Mentor Honorees. Each year, the Tarik Black Foundation presents four awards to citizens who inspire, encourage, and support youth. This year’s recipients were honored during the closing luncheon for SPORTS CAREERS interns. The awards are named after the inaugural recipients. This year’s honorees are Officer Clayton Turner – Sgt. Byron Johnson Neighborhood Officer Role Model Award Coach William “Woody” Woodruff – Wesley Henning Northern Star Award Fred Jones – Willie Gregory Touchstone Award Leonard Draper Sr. – Leonard Draper Jr. Guiding Hand Award.
The Citizen Mentor Awards were created to recognize and encourage individuals to take the time to mentor and support youth. The four men for which the awards are named were men that mentored Tarik as he was growing up. “Sgt. Johnson, Coach Henning, Mr. Draper, and Mr. Gregory offered me guidance and wisdom. I owe a lot to these men for helping to shape my values, encouraging me to grow in character, and pushing me to work hard – never give up,” said Tarik. “This year’s honorees share the same qualities and we are pleased to acknowledge how much they have contributed to the community and the hundreds — if not thousands — of young lives they’ve positively touched and continue to touch.”