Five honored for impacting youths’ lives

Every child is at risk. At least that’s what Alan Marshall and Rolando Barry say.

Marshall, director of Upward Basketball, and Barry, director of the Mid-Missouri High Steppers, work with hundreds of children and adolescents to provide a positive influence on Columbia’s youth. They were two of the five honorees recognized for their work in a banquet Wednesday night that presented Columbia’s first Champions of Youth Award.

“For me, every child is at risk,” Marshall said. “In today’s society, you may have all the money in the world, but there are things in this world that are going to get to you. I’m doing this (Upward Basketball) because someone did it for me.”

The award, spurred by the Inside Columbia Association and various residents of Columbia, was formed to recognize people in the community who volunteer their time to make a positive difference in adolescents’ and children’s lives.

The other three honorees were Pam Ingram of Granny’s House, Brian Cook of the Columbia Boxing Club and Satish Nair, who works with middle school students on engineering projects to show the usefulness of math and science.

Marshall recalled Wednesday the reasons he joined Upward Basketball.

“To know that I might affect one of these children and then for them to turn around and in their lifetime and touch the lives of 300 children and for them to turn around and touch the lives of 1,000 children; I mean, I don’t know exactly what effect I’ll have on them,” Marshall said. “But I know I have to try, because someone touched my life like this, as well.”

Barry said passion alone isn’t enough to make a difference in the lives of youths.

“One person can have a passion to make a change in a life, but it takes more than that,” he said. “It takes people who are willing to share their time, resources and talents, and to challenge everyone to commit and make a difference.”