Big Red Arrow luncheons make a comeback

By Taylor McKay Hathorn

Four years ago, Tony Howard was invited to volunteer as a football coach at Sumner Hill Junior High School. Howard had played football at Belhaven University, so he wasn’t new to the x’s and o’s of one of Mississippi’s favorite past-times, and he quickly agreed to begin mentoring young athletes in Clinton.

“I’m a servant,” Howard says of his decision to donate his time and energy to the next generation of Arrow athletes. “I love helping, and I’m big on community service.” Howard claims that he is not unique in this regard, as the Clinton community has long been staunchly supportive of its sports programs.

“A lot of the churches [in the area] will be hands-on and feed the kids before a game. They don’t allow coaches or the media, but they get to know the kids. It spreads a wildfire, in a positive way.”

Howard was given the opportunity to fan the flames of that fire when the previous president of the booster club stepped down at last year’s athletic banquet.

“She opened the floor up for nominations, and, immediately, some of the coaching staff stood up and nominated me,” Howard remarks. “I asked Coach Boswell, ‘Why me?’ and his response was that I care about the program and not just my kids – and I do. I want the program to be solid, and I want great infrastructure.”

When considering ways that he could put positive infrastructure in place to better serve Clinton’s football players, Howard decided to bring back the “Big Red Arrow” Luncheon, a monthly lunch-and-learn whose profits support Arrow athletes while allowing sports fans to gather around the table.

“Years ago, the Big Red Arrow Lunch was a big deal, where many people in the community got together,” Howard recalls. “It takes a village to raise a kid, and [the luncheon] was where the community came together to see how they could serve the school.”

The newest iteration of the classic tradition took place last month, but Howard says the coming months will hold an interesting slate of events for Arrow sports fans.

“Nash Nunnery is speaking this month,” Howard says. “He’s big into Clinton history.” Howard is excited to hear Nunnery’s thoughts on Clinton’s history, as he believes that unifying Clinton’s storied past with its bright future is the key to generating positive interest in the next generation of Arrow athletics.

“Tradition contributes a sense of comfort and gives a sense of security among current players and old players,” he says. “It keeps everybody connected, and there are those a-ha moments of ‘do you remember the time…’”

The formation of such connections has already sparked the memory of an upcoming Big Red Arrow guest speaker: Speaker of the Mississippi House of Representatives Philip Gunn, who was a quarterback for Clinton High School before becoming the state representative of his home district.

“The title of your job is something [to talk about] when you can bring back good things,” Howard said of August’s speaker. “People can forget about the current moment, and that’s what those luncheons do.”

Howard ultimately believes that the goodwill fostered by the revival of the Big Red Arrow luncheon will pay dividends for the school district’s athletes, as he concludes, “If you have a Cam Akers, you’ll pack the stands, but what packs the stands where you don’t have that? It’s the community excitement, and, at the Big Red Arrow luncheons, we execute those ideas and make those Friday night lights something fun for the current Arrows as well as past.”

Clintonians interested in attending the Big Red Arrow luncheons or supporting Clinton athletes can email Geris.Howard@gmail.com for more information.