FamilvArenaJourn~1

Watkinshonoredfor hisdreamSGMAawardwinnerhelped.bringamateurathleti~stothecC?unty'

. Dan ElavSky phot

Frank Trulaske(r!ght) presents Ed Watkins with Ii plaque as~issouri's win-n~r of the Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association' Heroes award.' .

SGMA.Heroes ..many waYl!t.Trulaske said,award winner, "includingme Ree-Plex, theWatkinswill reCeive arena, OldNewboysand espe.a $100~ award . cianythe fantasybaseballas well as a $400 camp for the hearing- .

.donationto thepro- impaired.~ .

gI'anfof hiScho~ce;' Watkinsalso thankedWatkins also is ell- Trulaske for his work with thegible to become one arena. " .

of three national "I've learned so much fron. SGMA.Heroes . Frank about just sticking in .

award winners who there and hanging jn there,.will'receive a $3,000 Watkins.said.cash 'award an4 a "Wetalked every day for$15,Qoo,contribution about four years. ..' .

to tlieir respectiv.e The.Family Arena, whichsports program, openedin October,holds lO,OOC

The national fans for hockeyand ~l,200forSGMAHeroes win- basketball. . .

ners was to have "Withthe 'OzzieSmith Sta-been announcedthis dil1lJl.the Lindenwoodarena,month at SGMA's the Rec-Plex,this-was reallyannual ind~try sort of 1I)eculminatiop.;of all OJbreakfast dUringthe that, because this is som.etl)ingSuper Showm that serves the whole relP.Dn,.Atlanta. 'The Super .Watkinssaid of the FamilyShow,the world's Arena: .'

largeSt sporting "Andto have this out here i:goods.trade show,is St. Charles, this thing is going()wnedby SGMA. to do nothingbut grow, grow,

. "He'sdonethis grow,grow."It'soffto a great.Dan8avskyphoto wi.~ a passion.!IDd ,st:u't, but the best years are. '. a VlSlonforhelpmg stillto come,andthebest

IkTrulaske,FormerBaseballCardinaland Hallof FarnerLou.Brockand EdW~ns at a Swann the.reg!onin so timesare stillto come.. .Ie. ,',.:. " i ' ';\';\.I.'.Lj,~.j:ii!'ULL...'!.n ,... .! i ~.'j. ~ . .,'.:1 'i,q. . '. 1~!'. .,' ,..H., ~ r "',;!~." qH I lluiH41 H'!H:4:!"{H!I!.dnt.u.d.l,,,H~Ji~ li&.H,~'.l4J.j:i'~h~~~~al~'~!H..{-,d ~,~\ : ~.<; : i., i!';, t"h~. ..~,; : '-, .' ;-'" '/< i' . 1 : ,. .- .. .-. .,.. ...1 "' :40-16-" ,u~'$A4;.,t""'.~ :'"-;..L;O ;, :.;;J;,.;;~~ ~

3y Alan Gerdes;taff writer

A decade ago, Ed Watkins!reamed of making St. Charles

County anamateursports .mecca. Andthanks toWatkins'persistenceand hardwork, thatdream hasturned into areality.

TheRiver CityRascals

aseball team opened its inan-nral season last summer at.R. Hughes Ballpark at thezzie Smith Sports Complex in'Fallon, while the St. Louiswarm basketball team and the:issouri River Otters hockeyam are in the middle of their!asons and play their homeIDles at.the Family Arena!ar St. Charles. .

Along w.\1I)helping get thecilities built to bring minor-ague sports to the area,atkins, owner.4f W'mningldeavorsin5t Charles.

Watkins

County, also was instrumental.in helping get the Rec-Plex inSt. Peters and the Robert F.Hyland Performance Arena atLindenwood University built.Watkins, president of theMissouri Sports Commission,also is the founder of the MikeBush Fantasy Baseball CampfOr hearing.imp~d. children. .

Watkins was rewardedJorall his hard work at halftime ofthe Swarm's game Jan. 22 .

against Las Vegas when he waspresented the Sporting GoodsManufacturers AssociationHeroes award for the state of .

Missouri. . .Frank Trulaske, managing

partner of the Family ArenaManagementEnterprise .(FAME), presented Watkinswith the award. '

. "Ed poured his heart andsoul into making this thing hap-.pen: Trulaske said of thearena. "It's really a team effortwith our group and a lot oflocal leaders on the county sideand on the city side. But this isjust one of the projects that Edwas in¥olved in, so that's why ladmire him so much . . . He'sdoing a lot of different thingsat a lot of different levels, and

. not all get recognized.I think

that's why hegot the award.

: When youthink -aboutit, .only one per.son gets thisaward inMissouri.That's a greathonor because

. . there's peoplein Kansas Citywho do a greatjob, 'Columbia,Springfieldand plenty in

. 5t. Louis.... . "It's agreat honorbecausethere's.only!lne person. .selected out ofthe state ofMissoUri. It's

highly co~~t; .itive,.Wa .said."I'mvery, veryhonoredandvery humbledto get it .There's soD;lIPlY deServ~ing people..

As a.state

... ._u ... .

--. . -.- ...- "'_'___' ' . "0_"__'__.-- --~

----._.. -~.--- _.---- -

___u.

(ONG~~TUl~TION~NOmINU~1

'News

YouthIn Needto honorEdWatkinsI Volunteersarecredited

foragency'ssuccess

"',i

By Aisha AbramCorrespondent

Ed Watkins helped organize Youth InNeed's first Celebration of Youth fund-rais-er 15 years ago when he was president ofthe St. Charles-based agency's board ofdirectors.

, - "It was just a joy to see what has hap-pened since that time. They've raised a lotof money over the years for the kids theyserve;" Watkins said recently. , .'

, In recognitionof his c~mmunity service,Watkins himself will be the honoredor, the'15th annual 'Celebration of Youth, set for 6

, p.m. March 23at the Hilton St. LouisFrontenac.' "

"Ed was chosen because he's an out-, ~standingcommunity me,mber,"said John'

Farrell; Youth In.Need's community educa-tion director. '

Wa,tkinsis president of Winning ,

Endeavors, a productivity company special-izing in business planning, marketing andboard d!,!velopment. He has been involved\.VithnUmerousprojects and charitable '

. activities, including being co-founder and, president of Drug Free Missouri, a founder,

of the National Baseball Fantasy Camp for,,the'Hearing Impaired and chief adviser forKSDK-NewsChannel 5's Volunteer 5.

Even as an honoree Watkins wanted tohelp with the celebration. "Hetold us he .Iwanted to be able to .work on the event andnot jUst be honored," said Kathy Kleba,Youth In Need special events coordinator.

, , "Youth~nNeed is exciting to me," '

Wat!dns said. "I really was ama,zed at theregional impact they've made. Youth In

'Need"in the metro region and country, is '

the premier one-stop agency for troubledkids. "

"It is important for people t() ,realizewhat was occurring here in terms of localwork, with taking in Children and helping

,them,get into the mairn?tream of life," hesaid.' , ,

Watkins cites the' efforts of Youth InNeed's volunteers. "It's those volunteersthat are there day to day to day making ithappen," he ,said. , ,', '

HEipoints to three women, in particular, ,

'for chariging Youth In'Need: Cathy Glosier, ,Mariann Chaseand CcgolConoyer.~Ilookat the contribution they've made and thinkthey should write a movie about their volun-teerism," Watkins said. "They truly revolu-tionized the board, and I believe 'were 'theimpe~ that took the board to the level it'sat now." ,

Ed Watkins, 2002 Celebration of Youtl:thonor~e, and 'Cathy Glosier, Youth In Needchairman of the board, pose on a 2001, Harley-Davidson Road Glide, one of two~arley-Davidsons to be auctioned during the March 23 Celebration of Youth.

Youth In Need is a classic example ~fhow volunteerism mak!'!Sa differen~e,Watkins said. "It's very important peoplerealiie th;it it's people like that who makean impact by having a day-to-day commit-ment to the kids," he said. '

"I think, this is a part of what is requiredof all us. This is what my hero, Jesus ,

'Christ, was all about - doing for those thatneeded a helping hand. I think that we '

shoUld all have that attitude. When we'reblessed it's our responsibility to help oth-ers." ' " ,

',Kleba said Youth In:Need began in i974 ,

as a small, local agency. Through donationsand voluriteerefforts, it has expanded to ,

serve nine counties in eastern Miss,ouri, shesaid. ' , '

Organizers hope the Celebration ofYouth dinner, silent and oral auctions andraffle will raise $100,000for the agency'sprograms. The fund-raiser is more impor-'tanrnow thanever,'Klebasaid. " '

"With the challenges of 9/11 so many ofoUr contributors are turning their attentionoutside the community, which is both ,

important and necessary, but we also needto focus on local organizations because weneed the support," Kleba said.

. ,This year marks the introduction of anew feature for the event. "Weput togetherthis honoree's cabinet, a group of regi9nal. . .leaders that I believe signed on to be a partof this because they understand the regionalimpact 'ofYouth ~nNeed," Watkins said.

Cabinet members include Bob !3eumer,of Hamilton Jewelers; Lou Brock,' 'BrockWorld;Rev. Jacqueline Brock, Brock-Ministries; Mike Bush, KSDK-NewsChannel5; Karen ,Carroll,KMOX;Jerry Daniels,Boeing Company;'Peter J. Genovese,UMBBaQk;Robert Hijdspeth, WorldCom; "ThomasR. Hughes;T.R. Hughes Inl:.; .:.;"Richard Jensen;;RX Systems Inc.; Riek -,Leach, Trans States Airlines; Herb Lesser, :MLS'HotriesInc.; Jerry McElhatton, '

MasterCardIntetnational;Joe Pepe, '. .' .

,SuburbanJournal~of Greater St. Louis; ,. 'p.eter Rook,'GenXmexFOQdsInc.; ."Cardinals Hall of Fam~r OzzieSmith, Smith& Slay's Restaurant; Frank Trulaske, True

, Fitness; Ray and.Deanna Vinson,AmericanEquity Mortgage; and Ted Wetterau,Wetterau Associa~es,LLC.' ,

. For more information about theCelebration of Youth call (636) 946-5600ext.

. 24.For information about .volmiteeringcall(636).946-0101. '

St. Cfiar{esCounty-51 cor

Watkins recognized for years of service to communityBy Kathleen T. Brady

-. Editor

It's all about the kids, said EdWatkins, owner of Winning

Endeavors Consulting Inc. andthis year's honoree for Youth InNeed's 15th annual Celebrationof Youth 2002.

Watkins will be honored for

his many.achievements andcommitment t('ilhe YIN organi-zation on March 23 at theHilton SI. Louis Frontenac dur-

ing a dinner, auction and awardceremony.

BUI Watkins said he wouldonly take the award if it meanthelping the kids of YIN.

"The purpose for doing thisis not to honor Ed Watkins; thepurpose for this event is to raisefunds for these kids, and I thinkwe're already going to have arecord year, and maybe, for thefirst time, break that $100,000net that the organization hasbeen shooting for," Watkins

said.A leader in community ser-

vice and volunteerism, Watkinshas been supporting adolescentsfor years through his work incareer planning and productivi-ty. Watkins is being honored forhis generosity of time andfinancial support.

"Every year we honor some-one who has really gone wellabove and beyond what peopleusually do in terms of support-ing the community in variousactivities that help build ser-vices and resources for childrenand families in the community,whatever it might be," said JimBraun, president and CEO ofYlN.

Watkins served as a boardmember and president of theboard for YIN, said Braun.Watkins was also helped orga-nize the Celebration of Youthevent 15 years ago.

Born in Texas in 1945,Watkins went to undergraduate

school at Southwest MissouriState University where heearned a bachelor's degree insociology in 1969. A year later.he earned hi.s master's degree,also in sociology. from Kansas'State University.

While in school. Watkinsworked for the Department ofSocial Services in Joplin, Mo.,after which he was recruited tobe a four-county coordinator fora John F. Kennedy programcalled the Economic SecurityCorp.

After school, Watkins wasdrafted for the Vietnam Warand served as an instructor ofVietnamese culture for Armyadvisors in the psychologicaloperations department at Ft.Bragg in North Carolina.

After the Army, Watkinsbecame a professor of sociologyat the University of North Car-olina at Pembrooke in 1970. It

~!~~~n;e~:r~~i:o:Sw~:~s~~~n:~~~~ I~C:t~d at 1288 Jungermann Road2002 recipient of the Children' Ch e .y EdWatkins.WatkinsIs the

. , in Need.of ~t f'h."a. S amplons award presented by Youth

lhis year's .event has receivedfrom the business community.

Items to be auctioned off atthe event include a dinner atOizie Smiih's new restaurant, a

party hosted by Lou & JackieBrock, a stay in a private suitefor a Ram's game and a guest

appearance on the tel'evisionprogram Sports Plus with MikeBush.

Major sponsors include Mas-terCard International, T. R.

Hughes, Findett Corp., The Boe-ing Co. and Lou & JackieBrock.

Spollsorships alld tickets arcstill availablc by ca./Iillg KathyKleba or 636-946-5600 Cott. 22,or Marissa Pulizzi.at ext. 24.

See WATKINS.'

.. .But he stiJI considers himself

a "big fan" of YIN."I think that there is only one

way to change the world, andthat is to change kids andchange first generation collegestudents," Watkins said.

He said that he wants to help .disadvantaged children to get achance to go to college and toreach their potcntiaL

"And 1 think that's whatYouth In Need does for justhundreds and hundreds andhundreds of people," Watkinssaid.

Walkins said that he is really

plcased at the amount of support

Phoro By (ontin IfcK/mVl OilrMy

.ST,LOUISPOST-DISPATCHST.CHARLESCOUNTYPOST FRIDAY,MARCH22,20D2 Sc3 -t

"Firstof all, it's appreciated.But there are.somanypeoplethat havedonesomuch morewith Youth In Need,in myjudgment,to make.if what it is today."

Ed Watkins, featured honoree at the 15th annual Celebration of Youth fund-raiser

Youth In Need 15th annual fund-raiser honors Watlcins~Hehelpedtointroducethe . membersTracy~a- . ''It's our agency'slargest fund-raiser," . . He has also beena ~nsultant to.more

. CelebrciiiOriof¥outh in 1987, was this', Cathy Glosier,said .Jo~ F~, Y~uthIn Need:scom- Celebration of Youth than 100collegesand bus~esses for.~', .n' '" . '. . . Mariann Chase, and mumty educatton director. "This year 8 What.Fund-raiserforYouthInNeed last 20 years, servedas chief fund-rmserYINboardofdirectorspresident. ~l Co~oyer for we'rehopingtoraiseatleast5100,000." 8 Whe~: 6 p.m.Saturdayat the St. Lo~is for the Ozzie Smith SporIBComplex'in

. special prmse, among Youth In Need is a nationally recog- H' .

F . .1335 So . O'FaUon,andhe servedas a consultant,BvMIKALJHARRIs others' nized .d f£'.-" . h ilton rontenac, uth Lindbergh, ~or the FamilyArenam' St

'

Charles ' :-. . , pl'OVler 0 all<UYsemces sue as 'B ".'

OjtheSt CharluCountypost But Watk.ins, prevention, ,education and crisis pro- oulevard, , ' ',. Watidns said he is especially proqdi:lf', founder and pres!- granuning for more than 25 yeafs. It 8 Features:Silentandoralauction,dinner his involvement with Youth In N~'

,Ed Watkins is much more. used to dent of the public i-e- helps more than 5,000 families in the and other entertainment. which he says has come far since 1987.""helping'plan events like Saturday's 15th lations finn Winning eastern Missouri region a year with pro- 8 Cost: $100 a person. "At that time it was a small organiza-annual ~ebration of Youth. He seems 'Endeavors,wiDserve Watkins grams such as Head Start,Teen Parent- 8 Infonnatlon':Call636-946-5600,ext. . tion, and primarily fOCll$OOon getting.genuinely humble about histum as as Safurday's man of Honoredforwork ing andYouthWorks, ,24. . !!helterfor kids whodidn't:have a pIaCe:Youth In N~'s (eatured honoree atthis the hour. He actually Farrell says that by choosing to honor to stay," he said. ''It is ,really amazing:-year's fund"ratser.. . ' helped .~ introd1;'ce Watkins at this year's event, Youth In ' The ~I! wehad the event was tI?raise

"First' of au; it's ,appreciated," he said the. first. Celebration of Youth' in 1987 Need is celebrating i1unique pillar of the the Volunteer 5 program of KSDK-'lV the V1s1biIityof Yo~ ,In Need .m, ~e."But there are so many people that have while serving as president of Youth In colIUllunity, "someone who's really gone (Channel 5)' successfully led a local earn- communi;y -:-, which.theri I1rimi1ri1y,

~one B?much more with ~outh ~ ~eed, ~eed's board of~. The event ~ ~ut of the ,way, to help youth and fami- paign top~h the state highway depart- ~rved ,St Charles, :-:'to'show'~ hOWm my Judgment, to ~ It what It IS to- ,smce helped to, rmse about $1 million in lies." ' ment to build Highway 370, WOrked as un~rtant an~ cnttcill th~ servu:e weday." < :::.:.. "' < , c6rpora.te and private money to support ~atkins is ~founder and president of national adviser ,for Hands ACross Ain~r- pl'OVlded"{as. '" .'..., '.: '.

H~ ~~,O$.Xouth,In Need ~ounder the reglonal growth of the nonprofit, St Drug-Free Missouri, has, raised. more .Ica and founded ,the National Baseball E-maJ1:~~~:cI~Sue,~SchneJ.d.er~d.~..pf,.,:iJirectors ~ .,~~I!8.\tI1I3:: :...<.-",...,~_':'"",._.~ ~ .$13,:million811Utechiefad~!.f~r_ FantasyCamI>.f~pieHearingImpaired, . Phone:636-946-3903,ext. 241' " ',-''.' . . ".':~.o:'..J'~_~~ - ,;c~_~ _~ : '4;.) '"', .' I

.

j..I,.:\;

II"J

j,

~------Page A4 . Friday, February 4, 2000 . Journal (STC)

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News

Chamberhonors4 forserviceto communityWatkinsreceivesDistinguishedLeadershipAwardBy Jessica Weickand Raymond CastileStaff writers

The movers and shakers ofthe St. Peters business commu-nity turned out in force Tuesdayto honor four of their own.

The St. Peters Chamber ofCommercebestowedits 1999

Distinguished Leadership Awardto Ed Watkins, president ofWinning Endeavors, at its annu-al award ceremony at theColumns Banquet andConference Center in St.Charles.

The Athena Award was pre-sented to Linda Howard, presi-dent of OASIS OfficeAutomation. Kevin and KarenDeSain, owners of DeSainSurveying, received the SmallBusiness Service Award.

Watkins was recognized forhis part in bringing minor-leaguesports to St. Charles County.

He was instrumental in theconstruction of the Ozzie SmithSports Complex and T.R. HughesBallpark in O'Fallon, where theRiver City Rascals played theirfirst season last summer. Hehelped bring the Family Arena,which hosts Missouri RiverOtters and St. Louis Swarmgames, to St. Charles.

Watkins also helped facilitateconstruction of the St. Peters

Uncia Howard Kevin DeSain

Rec-Plex and the Robert F.Hyland Performance Arena atLindenwood University in St.Charles.

He is a founding member ofthe St. Louis Sports Commission,

.co-founder of Sports St. CharlesCounty and founder of the MikeBush Fantasy Baseball Camp forhearing-impaired children.

"He is my hero," said MikeBush, KSDKTV NewsChannel5sports director, after Watkinsaccepted the award. "He hasdone so much with so manygreat projects."

"I've never been involvedwith a project that I was respon-sible for," Watkins said as hebegan singling out individualaudience members for thanks."This award does not belongtome, but to everyone in theroom."

"He must have thanked everyperson in the room," Bush saidafterward. "He is so humble thathe gives everyone else credit buttakes no credit himself. I'm

proud to be hisfriend. ..

Watkins said

sports havehelped to unifythe community.

"In the late19805, St. Louisand St. Charlescounties were

Karen DeSain deeplydivided,"he said. "But

sports became a unifier, bring-ing people together."

Howard serves on the cham-ber's board of directors and is amember of the St. Peters RotaryClub. She participates ili theNew Traditions MentoringProgram sponsored by St. .Charles County CommunityCollege, helping women strug-gling to enter the businessworld.

"I'm overwhelmed," she said."Look at the list of past recipi-ents. It's hard to think I'm in thesame caliber as those people."

The Athena Award recognizesindividuals who have demon-strated community service andunselfish assistance on behalf ofbusiness and professionalwomen.

Howard said she hopes heraward will serve as an exampleto young people to becomeactive in the community.

"Linda is a very community.involved person," said RobCunningham, chamber president

JessicaWeickphO'Ed Watkins, president of Winning Endeavors, was presented with the 1999 DistinguishedLeadership Award at the St. Peters Chamber of Commerce Awards Banquet on Tuesday.

and chief executive officer."She ers who support, educate or "Thecommunity has beenis selfless. It is evident in her expand small businesses in St. good to us," Karen DeSainsaid.activities. When she accepts a Peters. "We want to return the favor.project, she sees it through." "The DeSains are always We have found through charity

Kevin and Karen DeSain there when you need them," said several opportunities to help thelaunched their home-based land James Elcock, president of community. People need to seeksurveying and consultingbusi- LaMeDAcademy in St. Charles. out these opportunities. ..

ness in 1996in an officebehind "Allyouhave to do is call them. Cunninghamsaid all thetheir garage. Today, they are They are spiritually based and award recipients were "verylocated in officeson Mexico charitable." deserving of their accolades."Road. "Wehelp where we can and "Theyare people who make

The Small BusinessService we don't charge moneyfor it," our community a better place toaward recognizesbusinessown- Kevin DeSainsaid. live and work." he said.

WatkinshonoredforserviceYouthin Needeventraisesmorethan$1OO~OOOBy Carrie A. TrentStaffwriter '

The Youth in Need's Celebration ofYouth has raised nearly $1 million in thelast 15years. Saturday, the organizationhonoredEd Watkins,whoorganizedthe .

. first fund-raisingevent to help area youthandfamilies. .

About400peopleattended the event at .

the Frontena~ :amon, which includedauctions, dinner, and entertainment. The

. event raised moreST. CHARLES than $100,000this

COUNTY ye~~ction itemsincluded a trip to

watch "The Producers" on Broadway, aHarley-Davidson motorcycle and dinnerwith OzzieSmith at Smithand Slay'sRestaurant.

Watkins, of St. Charles, took YINunder his wing in 1987when he helpedintroduce the first annual Celebration ofYouth in order to raise funds fora youthshelter.

"This really means a lot becauseYouthin Needstarted in 1974in St. .

Charles as a way to take young peoplewithout a place to go and without shelterand give them a place to go," Watkinssaid. "It's such a scary thing to be with-outshelter. .

"Now , Youth in Need has become a .

full-service operation/' he said. "Becauseof this agency, people change and livesare different."

YIN is now a nationally recognizedagency serving families at 25 locationsthroughout eastern Missouri. The grouphas provided prevention, education andcrisis programming for more than 25years.

The agency helps mor:e than 5,000.,families a year cope with crisis and the .

challenges of everyday life. Early child-hood programs such as Head Start andTeen Parenting and youth programs such

" Ijust see. myselfas a

cheerleader che~r~leading to help thekids." . .

as Youth Works and the Youth Shelterare ways YIN helps the strength and'.potential of every child, said Jim Braun,'president and chief executive officer ofYIN. . . .

Watkins said he was embarrassed tobe the center of attention.

"I am grateful for the high honor, butwe all know tonight is for raising a'lot ofmoney, and that is the only reason some-one should subject thems~lves to thishonor," Watkins told the crowd S;iturday.

"I just see myself as a cheerleader.'cheerleading to help the kids,"he said. "Iespecially don't seemyself any more spe-cial than the chil-dren. Theyare the .

special ones; and all'the money raisedtonight will go tothem!' '.

Sportscaster MikeBushofKSDK-TV.introduced Watkinsat the event callinghim his friend."Whenever there's agood cause in'the .city, you can see Edleadingthe way,"Bushsaid. '.

Watkins founded the Mike Bush and'the National Baseball fantasy camps forthehearingimpaired. .

"He named it after me, but it shouldhave been him instead - that's the kind of

guy he is," Bushsaid. .

Watkins nephew, Lt. Kevin Watkins - ., a Naval Academy graduate, attended the

event. Kevin recently returned fromAfghanistan where he flew on sev.eralmissions. He presented the colors whileWatkin's wife, Janet, sang the nationalanthem. She is a professional vocalistwho has performed 'at Busch Stadiurri, theEdward Jones Dome and Powell.Hall.

, Watkins said his parents taught himimportant life lessons, such as "material

things are largely immaterial" and that .

"there is no greater honor than to serve.others.". '

. Watkins co-founded and served as.president of Drug Free Missouri; helpedlaunch KSDK's Volunteer 5 raising morethan $13million as chief advisor; and .

helped lead a lobbying effort for con-struction of the Highway 370corridor.

Watkins served as Chairman of theBoard for the Missouri SportsCommission, was Chief Fund Raiser forthe Ozzie Smith Stadium and Fields andserved as consultant for the 10,ooo-seatSt. Charles Family Atena that opened in1999.He also helped form the St. Louisand St. CharlesCountySports . .

Commissions and cUrrentlyserves on the Chairperson'sAdvisory Council for the St.Louis Sports Commission.He coordinated Lou BrockSalute Day; chaired OzzieSmith's Retirement Eventand since 1997has helped

. ,lead Old Newsboys Day.. Onthe national,level,

WatkinS. was the 2000 win-. ner of the MissouriSports .

Ed Watkins Heroes Award, given by theYIN honor-ee National A:sso.ciationof

- Sportswriters and. Sportscasters. He worked asnational advisor for HaIids AcrossAmerica. . . '

Watkins has also been recognized forhis work iri career planning and produc-tivity. He organized and hosted the first

. two national conferences on CareerDeve\opment and authored the book""Preparing Liberal Arts Students forCareers." He created the OccupationalLiteracy Exam; served as a member ofthe White House Conference on'Productiv.ity; and has been a consultantto more than 100colleges and businessesduring-a 2o-year span.

Watkins is also the founder and presi-dent of Winning Endeavors, a productivi~ty company specializing in strategic busi-

. ness planning~

Ed Watkins, of St. Charles, was honored during Youth In NECelebration of Youth fund-raising event Saturday night for'tleadership in community service. .

Page A4 · Sunday, January 30, 2000. Journal (STC)

News

St.Peterschamberto giveawards. I

TobepresentedatbanquetTuesdayBy.Jessica WeickStaff writer

I'

The St. Peters Chamber of Commercethis week will honor several people whohavegiven unselfishly to the community and thechambex:! .

. TheYffiVillbe honoredduringthe cham-ber's 16 AnnualAwardsBanquet,sched- .

uled from 11:30a.m. to 1:30p.m. Tuesday atthe ColumnsBanquet and ConferenceCenter,711Fair Lane in St. Charles.

Awards also will be given to outgoingboard members and1999committee chair-

. persons,and a specialEagle Service award will be presented, saidRobCunningham, president of the chamber.

"The~agle Service award goes to an indi-vidual wnohas demonstrated outstandingcommitment and service to the St. PetersChamber of Commerce," Cunninghamsaid.

Ed Watkins, president of WinningEndeavors, will be presented with the cham-ber's Distinguished Leadership award. Theaward is presented to individuals whodemonstr,ateexemplary leadership and con-

Ed Watkins UnciaHoward Kevin DeSain

tribute a significant amount of time andenergy for the betterment of the area.

Watkins has a long list of accomplish-ments, including the Governor'sLeadershipaward for foundingthe Fantasy Camps for .the Hearing Impaired, co-founderand firstpresident of Drug Free Missouri,chairmanof the ffighway 370and Northern CorridorCommissionand board president emeritus ofYouthIn Need, according to information.from the chamber.

Linda Howard, president of OASISOfficeAutomation,will receive the chamber'sAthena Award. The award is presented to anindividual for his or her commitment, profes-sional accomplishments, demonstrated com-

munity service andunselfish assistance onbehalf of business and pro-fessionalwomen.

Howardparticipates inthe New TraditionsMentoringProgram, whichis sponsoredthroughSt.Charles CountyCommunity

. ::..JIiIICollege,whereshe helpsKarenDeSain womenwhoare stru~

to enter predominantly-malebusiness fields through o~

the-job,hands-on training programs, accord-ing to information from the cliamber..

Kevin and Karen DeSain,owners ofDeSainSurveying, will receive the cham-ber's Small Business Service Award. Theaward is presented to the owner of a smallbusiness who has most represented and fos-tered the interest of small businesses in St.Peters by being involvedin projects thatsupport, educate or expand small business.

Cunninghamsaid the banquet is open toanyone who wants to attend. The cost is $15at the door.

Registration and networkingtime willbegin at 11:30a.m., with.the meeting startingat noon.For moreinformationcall 447-3336.

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St. Cfiar{esCounty-

Watkins recognized for years of service to communityBy Kathleen T. Brady

Editor

It's all about the kids, said EdWatkins, owner of Winning

Endeavors Consulting Inc. andthis year's honoree for Youth InNeed's 15th annual Celebrationof Youth 2002.

Watkins will be honored forhis many..achievements andcommitment to the YIN organi-zation on March 23 at thcHilton St. Louis Frontenac dur-

ing a dinner, auction and awardceremony.

But Watkins said he would

only take the award if it meanthelping the kids of YIN.

"The purpose for doing thisis not to honor Ed Watkins; thepurpose for this event is to raisefunds for these kids, and I thinkwe're already going to have arccord year, and maybe, for thefirst time, break that $100,"000net that the organization hasbeen shooting for," Watkins

said.A leader in community ser-

vice and volunteerism, Watkinshas been supporting adolescentsfor years through his work incareer planning and productivi-ty. Watkins is being honored forhis generosity of time andfinancial support.

"Every year we honor some-one who has really gone wellabove and beyond what peopleusually do in terms of support-ing the community in variousactivities that help build ser-vices and resourccs for childrenand families in the community,whatever it might be," said JimBraun, president and CEO ofYIN.

Watkins servcd as a boardmember and president of theboard for YIN, said Braun.Watkins was also helped orga-nize the Celebration of Youthevent 15 years ago.

Born in Texas in 1945,Watkins wcnt to undergraduate

school at Southwest MissouriState University where heearned a bachelor's degree insociology in 1969. A year later,he earned his master's dcgree,also in sociology, from KansasState University.

While in school, Watkinsworkcd for the Department ofSocial Services in Joplin, Mo.,after which he was recruited tobe a four-county coordinator fora John F. Kennedy programcalled the Economic SecurityCorp.

Aftcr school, Watkins wasdrafted for the Vietnam Warand served as an instructor ofVietnamese culture for Armyadvisors in the psychologicaloperations department at Ft.Bragg in North Carolina.

After the Army, Watkinsbecame a professor of sociologyat the Univcrsity of North Car-olina at Pembrooke in 1970. It

Winning Endeavors Consulting Inc., located at 1288 Jungermann Roadin St. Peters, is owned and operated by Ed Watkins. Watkins Is the2002 recipient of the Children's Champions award presented by Youthin Need af ~t rh~.I.e

this year's event has rec~ivedfrom the business community.

Items to be auctioned off atthe event include a dinner atOizie Smith's new restaurant,. aparty hosted by Lou & JacklcBrock, a stay in a private sUitefor a Ram's game and a guestappearance on the televIsIonprogram Sports Plus with MikeBush.

Major sponsors include Mas-IcrCard Intcrnatlonal, T.R.Hughes. Findell Corp., The Boe-ing Co. and Lou & JacklcBrock.

Spollsorships alld tickets are.~tillal'ai/able by callillg Ka~h)J(leba at 636-946~5600 e.~c..2.or Marissa PIlI,::1 ClCe.\C.~4.

See WATKINS.'

But he still considers himself

a "big fan" of YTN...[think that there is only one

way to change the world. andIhal is 10 change kids andchange first gencralion collegestUdents." Watkim ~aid,

He said thai hc wants to hclp .disadvanlaged children to get a,hance to go \U collcge and toreach their potcntlaL

"And I think Ihal" whatYouth In Need dues fur justhundreds and hundreds andhundreds of people," Walkinssaid.

Walkins said that he is really

pleased at Ihe amounl of support

Photo B, (01/". HcK.ml. Ditch.,