MT. VERNON — “Strong leadership and an engaged, diverse community will bring about a successful community for tomorrow.”

That was the message keynote speaker Melinda Miller brought to the 12th annual Jefferson County African-American Heritage Committee Gala Saturday night.

Miller, who grew up in Mt. Vernon, was a Marine and currently works for the Ford Motor Company in Chicago. She shared stories of her past and her personal motivations for achievement.

“I didn’t really stress to set high goals,” she said. “I wanted to make my mother proud. It was to make my mother and Mt. Vernon proud, and that Dr. Martin Luther King’s dream is still alive in me.”

Miller spoke to the children who attended the gala, as well as the elders of the community. She encouraged mutual respect between the generations, telling the younger people to respect their elders, and telling the adults to offer words of kindness to the children growing up in Mt. Vernon.

“As parents, teachers and mentors, encourage children with words of praise,” she said. “If they got a C plus, tell them, ‘That’s wonderful.’ If they got their homework done and turned it in, and it was a C plus instead of a D, that’s a blessing for that child to have accomplished it.”

Miller said she always keeps three books close — a Bible, “to sustain,” a dictionary, to allow her to be eloquent and an encyclopedia to allow her to travel places she may never actually go.”

The JCAAHC gala encouraged education with celebrations of leaders in the community and the awarding of several scholarships.

The JCAAHC Community Scholarship Program promotes the higher education of students of color within Jefferson County. Students must be a recent graduated of Mt. Vernon Township High School and have applied to an institution of higher learning. Two students are selected to receive a $500 scholarship each year.

This year’s recipients were Ashtun Rush and Briea Campbell.

Rush, 19, has plans to attend Indiana State University in Terre Haute, Ind., to major in accounting. He attended MVTHS and played football and basketball all four years of high school and was an honor student sophomore through senior year.

Campbell, 18, was a member of the Health Occupations Students of America and plans to attend Rend Lake College in the fall to study nursing. She said she hopes to become a neonatal nurse.

In addition to the scholarships, the JCAAHC Gala also included the recognition of several outstanding citizens in the community with Heritage Achievement Awards. Those who received recognition were Victor Durham, Daniel Davis, Dr. Prince Oliver, Lara Morris, Savannah Connaway and A.J. Rudd.

Durham was recognized for his accomplishments at MVTHS in football, wrestling, band, track and field, cross country and cheerleading, as well as his dedication to youth ministry at East Salem Baptist Church.

Davis, 18, was recognized for his achievements in band and cheerleading. Davis, a varsity member of the cheerleading team, was chosen as the team’s MVP and also achieved a second place at state competition. He plans to join the Marines in November.

Dr. Oliver was recognized for his accomplishments in the field of medicine and his dedication to the King City.

“Dr. Oliver is truly admired by his coworkers and patients,” the gala pamphlet states. “He has served the Mt. Vernon community for 37 years and continues to enjoy the challenges of his profession.”

Morris, the manager of the Mt. Vernon Walmart, was recognized for achievement in her career path.

“Morris, 39, began her career at Walmart 20 years ago as a part-time cashier while a college student at Kaskaskia College,” information states. “She has moved her way up the ladder through hard work, dedication, intelligence, and most of all, her ideals of open communication.”

Connaway, a 2010 MVTHS graduate, was celebrated for her achievements on the student council executive board, Future Business Leaders of America, Youth and Government Legislature and Sub Debs President. Connaway plans to attend RLC in the fall.

Rudd, 25, was celebrated for his achievements in education and community service. He wrote that he has achieved more than 1,000 hours in community service in Alpha Pi Omega.

In addition to the awarding of scholarships and recognition of outstanding achievements, the event included remarks from Mt. Vernon Mayor Mary Jane Chesley and Jefferson County Sheriff Roger Mulch, as well as performances by Pamela McReynolds and the Judiah Praise Team from Lively Stone Apostolic Church.