Bishop Johnny Ward Sr.

The 2013 Prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award Banquet will be held on April 6, at the Bishop C.L. Ponder Jr. Memorial Complex, located at 722 2nd Ave. N.W. in Moultrie.

This award is presented to pillars of the community who have served the people of this community. They are being honored for their outstanding example of leadership, which has been much needed and appreciated throughout the years, said the Rev. Cornelius Ponder II. Additionally, Ponder feels that it is so easy for people to condemn public officials for what they don’t do, however, it is rare that they are commended for their efforts of what they attempt to do/accomplish.

This years honorees are Patricia Merritt, Geraldine Stevenson, Isabella Brooks, Samuel Stewart, Luke Strong Jr., and Bishop Johnny Ward Sr.

Merritt is a graduate of Alabama State University with a bachelor’s degree in elementary and music education and a master’s degree in counseling and guidance. She was a middle school counselor starting in 1970 until she retired as a full-time counselor in 2003. She continued to work part-time as a counselor until 2005.

She is an active member of Mother Easter Baptist Church, serving as chairperson for the education committee, stewardship chairperson and the greeters chairperson. She also steps in to teach Sunday school or play the piano when needed. As an active member of the community she has received several awards including Middle School Counselor of the Year (1995 and 2001), Region 10 Middle School Counselor of the Year ( 1995 and 2001), the Charlie A. Gray Middle School Award, the Woman of the Year for the Women’s Federated Club, Clubwoman of the Year for the Georgia Federation of Colored Women’s Club and Youth Affiliates and Citizen of the Year for the American Legion Post 533.

In January of this year, she traveled to Liberia as a part of a medical mission team, providing medicine, medical supplies, reading glasses, clothing, school supplies, toys, snacks and water to various cities.

She is married to Clarence L. Merritt, is the mother of two children and has five grandchildren.

Brooks, attended Colquitt County Schools and Moultrie Technical College. She retired from the Colquitt County Board of Education after 36 years of service.

She is a member of Friendship Missionary Baptist Church, where she teaches the senior women’s Sunday school class, is a member of the Women’s Auxiliary, the Senior Singles Ministry, and she is the director of the Miss Afro Beauty Pageant Scholarship Fund.

She is active in many civic organizations including serving as president of the Colquitt County NAACP, president of C.A. Gray/Oak Circle Neighborhood Watch, a member of the Moultrie Police Department Citizen Advisory Committee, a member of the Alfresco Club, president-elect of the Colquitt County Retired Educators and a member of the Ram-Round Up Scholarship committee.

She is the mother of three children, has seven grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.

Stewart attended Dougherty County Public Schools and is a graduate of Albany State University. Following his graduation from college, he served a tour of duty in the United States Army. He taught school for 30 years and is currently employed by the City of Moultrie with 34 years of experience.

He is a deacon at Mother Easter Baptist Church and an adult Sunday school teacher. He is also a life-time member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity.

He has organized and kept going a summer program called Kiddieland for more than 20 years and has worked with children of adults who had also participated in the program as a child. Under his leadership, the children participated in recreational activities, educational programs, out-of-town trips, spend-the-night parties and were provided with snacks.

He is also the organizer and director of the A.F. Shaw Gladiators. This groups consists of 25 senior citizens and their initial purpose was to have an exercise class. However, under his leadership, they have evolved into a community outreach group that has adopted a pre-school class, provided birthday parties for local nursing home residents, provided toys to children during Christmas, sent boxes to the VA hospital and provided food to the local food bank.

As a personal outreach mission, he provides food, clothing and other services to the community including going door-to-door to provide fresh vegetable to people in need. Several local businesses provide him with clothing items and toys which he distributes to both adults and children throughout the year.

He is married to Barbara Stewart and has three children, Sharon Roby, Samona Lamar and Algernon Tuff.

Strong, along with his wife Betty James Strong, founded Luke Strong And Son Mortuary Ltd., in 1995. He is a 1964 graduate of Williams Bryant High School. He attended Gupton-Jones College of Mortuary Science in 1990.

He is the first African American to serve on the Colquitt County Board of Commissioners and is the longest standing member with more than 22 years of service to Colquitt County.

He is a member of Grant Chapel A.M.E. Church, Selected Services Board, Colquitt County Branch of the NAACP and GABEO, just to name a few.

He is the son of the late Luke Strong Sr. and the late Mamie Hodges Brown. He has one son Luke Strong III and five daughters, Dorothy Strong, Sarah Strong, Dr. Pam Simmons, Kimberly Percy, and Fonda Strong.

Ward served as the assistant pastor at Miracle Deliverance Center in Moultrie, under the leadership of Pastor Orestes Cobb, in 1974. In 1976, he joined the headquarters church, Miracle Deliverance, The Triumphing Church of the Apostolic Faith, Inc. in Columbus, Ga., under the leadership of Apostle Horace Leonard, and then became its pastor in 1977. He was appointed vice bishop of the organization in 1983 and, then, in 1990, left to begin Outreach Deliverance, the Triumphing Church of Apostolic Faith, Inc. During the early 1990s, he began to fellowship with Celebration of Praise Ministries and, in 1994, he was appointed vice bishop by Bishop Q.S. Caldwell.

He graduated in May of 2003 from Jacksonville Theological Seminary with a doctorate. He has traveled extensively throughout the United States and other countries preaching.

He is married to First Lady Renell Ward and he has five children, Johnny Jr., twins LaQuisa and Charlise, Daniel and Paul, whom all work in some sort of auxiliary in the church.

Tickets for this event must be purchased in advance and seats are limited. Please call 229-454-1488 for more information.