[Press Release] : Robnett Jr. and Minority Achievement Committee (MAC) Scholars named Diversity Award winners

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 
Contact: Office of Community Services - (573) 874-7488 (v), 874-7356
(tty)

Robnett Jr. and Minority Achievement Committee (MAC) Scholars named
Diversity Award winners

COLUMBIA, MO (January 15, 2009) - James Robnett Jr. was named the
winner of the individual award and the Minority Achievement Committee
(MAC) Scholars was the organizational winner of the 12th annual Columbia
Values Diversity Awards. The awards were given at this morning’s
Columbia Values Diversity Celebration at the Holiday Inn Select Expo
Center.

The awards are given to an individual/family and an organization/group
who have made significant contributions in promoting appreciation for
diversity and cultural understanding in Columbia.

James Robnett Jr.
The Columbia Values Diversity Award is presented to James Robnett Jr.,
a longtime Columbia resident who has dedicated his life to promoting an
appreciation of peace, diversity and cultural understanding. In his
professional life, James works at the State of Missouri Department of
Economic Development on the Compliance Team, working to ensure public
resources are distributed fairly and adequately.

In his personal life, James is the proud parent of two children, James
Robnett III and Angela Robnett. He is also a tireless community activist
who has worked in the spirit and by the example of Dr. King, at the
grass-roots level. James can often be found working directly with
individuals in need, providing legal guidance, helping to settle a
dispute peacefully or simply giving someone in need a ride to an
appointment. James has also worked to organize community groups such as
Concerned Citizens of Boone County as well as rallies for peace and
social justice.

In his Nobel Prize acceptance speech, Dr. King said: “Nonviolence is
the answer to the crucial political and moral questions of our time: the
need for man to overcome oppression and violence without resorting to
oppression and violence. Like Dr. King, James’ work in the community
has long been guided by his belief in non-violence as the only means to
the end toward which he works and of which Dr. King dreamed: justice for
all.

Inspired by the teachings of great individuals like Dr. King and Angela
Davis, James has worked to enrich the community by promoting peace and
non-violence, teaching tolerance and celebrating shared human values.

Minority Achievement Committee (MAC) Scholars
The Columbia Values Diversity Award is presented to the Minority
Achievement Committee (MAC) Scholars, a program which strives to address
achievement disparities between groups of students in Columbia Public
Schools. In doing so, the MAC Scholars program embodies Dr. King’s
belief that access to a quality education is the great equalizer in our
society.

The MAC Scholars program began six years ago with 10 high school
students. Today, the program serves 500 minority students in grades
6-12. With a motto of “achievement matters,” the program fosters an
expectation of high academic achievement among its participants.
Students in the program also experience character building as well as
opportunities in leadership, in keeping with what Dr. King once said and
what his life epitomized: “Intelligence plus character -- that is the
goal of a true education.”

Additionally, one of the cornerstones and reasons for the success of
the program is the expectation that the MAC Scholars must give back to
their schools, the community and to the world. Therefore, the MAC
Scholars have been and continue to be involved in a variety of community
service projects such as: the March of Dimes Walk for Babies, collecting
food for the Central Missouri Food Bank, the Voluntary Action Center’s
holiday gift program and voter registration drives.

The purpose and the work of the Minority Achievement Committee Scholars
are a true representation of Dr King’s values and dreams and have
contributed greatly to the Columbia community.

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