By: Sandy Dickson
The Zion-Benton Boys and Girls Club of Lake County/Zion-Benton Unit ‘Have a Heart’ dinner of Feb. 10, 2012 drew the largest crowd of their five-years. The event, taking place at the Illinois Beach Hotel, was privileged to have Billy McKinney as the keynote speaker, though McKinney said the honor was his.
McKinney graduated in the Zion-Benton class of 1973 as a high school athlete extraordinaire excelling in three sports: that of basketball, baseball and football. His name is still legendary in Zion. His basketball scoring record remains unchallenged and his basketball jersey was retired, where it still hangs proudly in the Zion-Benton high school gym as an inspiration.
After attending Northwestern University in Evanston, IL, he played for the Denver Nuggets, at which time he was voted the most popular Nugget. In the mid-to-late 80s, he was voted most popular Nugget before becoming Assistant General Manager to the Chicago Bulls. Following that, he was invited to Minneapolis to serve as the General Manager of that new ball club.
Despite his illustrious career, he still has a soft spot for his boyhood days in Zion because of the sense of community, which he still recalls fondly and holds dear. Among his favorite memories are his days in the Waukegan Boys and Girls Club because Zion’ unit wasn’t formed until 2008.
He cited Zion mentors and friends from his high school days, many of whom were in the dinner’s attendance, saying he held them his mentors like John Samuelian and Loren Sparks in especially high esteem for taking time and showing the had good faith in him. Jack Senter, class of 1974, who co-emceed the event with John January, was a devoted fan, attending all his games, while John January was always someone he looked up to as an example of the kind of person he wanted to be. When they told him there would one day be a B& G Club in Zion and wanted him to speak, he said, “Just tell me when and I’ll be there.”
Coincidentally, Loren Sparks won the raffle for a basketball signed by all the Bucks, and a personal autograph from Billy McKinney.
Keeping his word, he happily joined the dinner group last Friday night, February 10 and is no doubt responsible for drawing such a big crowd, despite the bitter cold and icy weather.
He recognizes the importance of a club for a B&G Club, saying they need a place to fill their time in a positive manner. B&G Club supplies that with great roll models and mentors. Several students and parents expressed their gratitude, saying what a difference it had made in the students’ lives.
“With more than 1.3 million young people dropping out of high school yearly, there is a need to provide programs to teach students academic success, building good character and citizenship, daily guidance in behavior and attitude as well as healthy living style.”
The statistics are staggering for need of change. “At North Chicago high school, less than 60 percent of the freshman will graduate. In Waukegan, 30 percent will drop out before reaching sophomore year and less than 30 percent of the high school seniors will meet state standard for reading and math,” McKinney said.
“They’re our future leaders, so we are investing in our future when we support them. While we’re guiding the ship now, we will be passing the torch. The more we can spend time with these kids and get involved with their lives and share personal and professional experiences with them, mentor them how to be good young men and women, good students, children, teammates and pillars of the community, the better off we are all going to be.”
Pastor Doug Carlson and wife Judy were honored with flowers and an appreciation plaque for stepping up and offering Grace Missionary Church as the B&G meeting place. The church board and members approved and the B&G Club thanks them heartily for making the difference in the lives of these young kids.
When thinking of where we might want to donate, let’s remember the B&G Club for their ongoing operating expenses and how we will be investing in our community by investing in our kids.
