Imperial House Project for Victims of Hurricane Katrina

MBA's sponsored family of four moved into their apartment in the Imperial House on September 19. Many thanks to David Robinson, Project Leader, and Mrs. Synder and Mrs. Billington for their tireless work. Click here for a photo album of the apartment with furnishings donated to this project.

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Edmondson Park

Edmondson Park is a project still in the planning stages. The park on Charlotte Avenue is subject to plans for remodeling by the state government through the Hope 6 grant to remodel the housing projects behind the park. However, the MBA service club would like to continue its involvement in attempting to remodel the park. The goal of the service club is to work with the Bethlehem Center and Mr. Joe Hodgson's landscaping company to help the park serve as a memorial for William Edmondson and be more than a mundane strip of green space. Six oak trees were planted last year, and we're looking forward to working with Mr. Hodgson and Metro to beautify the Park.

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Preston Taylor

Preston Talyor is a tutoring activity with the Boys and Girls Club of Nashville at McKissack Middle School , located at 915 38th Ave. N. Every Tuesday and Thursday from 3:45-5:00 PM , boys from MBA participate by tutoring underpriveleged grade schoolers. Tutoring these kids is a rewarding and exciting experience. Mr. Caldwell, the leader of the Boys and Girls Club, is excited about continued MBA involvement in Preston Taylor. If you have any questions about the program, e-mail Read Ezell.

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Vandy Parking

Vandy Parking is a project done by the Service Club to raise money for the school. Two to three hours before every home Vanderbilt football game, students gather at a parking lot near 30th Avenue and Mapco Express. Led by Dr. Bob Clark, this project entails collecting money from cars entering at either entrance and then directing cars to a parking place in the lot. It is crucial that cars to be parked are organized carefully in order to maxmize the number of cars the lot will hold. Email Thomas Sanders, Matt Smith, or Trey McMinn if you have any questions.

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Soup Kitchen

Soup Kitchen is a project undertaken on the first Saturday of every month by MBA students to benefit the community. The group of boys travels to Holy Name Catholic Church to prepare by hand a warm and free meal for the poor and homeless in Nashville . Funds are gathered from collections at assembly, from the faculty, and from other school projects. From 9 to 1, Volunteers prepare, make, and serve the meal, and they stay to clean up after the meal as well. Those who regularly participate do so because of their appreciation of the need of the community, and for the interaction with those who eat the meal. The excitement on the faces of those men, women, and children who come to dine is all that is needed to get these young men out of bed on a Saturday morning to better the community.

September 3, 2005: The student council and the service club served 165 patrons at the soup kitchen. We had 35 volunteers led by senior leaders Brooks Tate, Matt Behar, Pete Burgess, Nick Power, Michael Crum, Jordan Docker, Michael Marks, Nabil Saleh, and Eric Bader. All classes were well represented. The students prepared honey glazed ham, cheesy mashed potatoes, seasoned grean beans, buttery biscuits, and Mr. Tate's Hawaiin surprise, which consisted of a heterogeneous mixture of Graham crackers, oreos, chocolate sauce, cherry filling, crushed pineapple, and cool whip. It was a good start to the year. Thanks to Mr. Tate for the faculty support.

Click here for a photo gallery of the October 2 and December 4, 2004, soup kitchens.

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Special Olympics

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Ten volunteers traveled by "prison" bus to Beaman Park on Saturday, Oct. 4, to build trails in Metro’s second largest park. Seniors Josh Sumislawski, Andy Alsentzer, and Cage Spoden were joined by Juniors Bobby Goodrich, David Downing, Kafkas Everest, and Maclean Grindell, and by exchange students Kurt Duvel and Lynton Monaghan. Trail design and construction was provided by Bob Richards, former Tennessee forester, and Jesse Richard’s (’04) dad. The group worked from the ridgetop (elevation 858 feet) down, building about a half mile of new trail with fire rakes and mattocks. Nancy Dorman, president of Friends of Beaman Park, graciously fed us hot dogs and fixings at the end of a good morning workout. She values MBA’s help, and looks forward to even larger groups in the Fall to help the park open by Spring 2005.

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The Service Club, working in conjuction with Tom and Beth Molteni, organized Hurricane Katrina relief supplies for residents of Laurel, MS. A trailer parked beside Harris Teeter was filled with water, drinks, first aid supplies, food, and clothing beginning last Tuesday. This past Sunday Gordon Chenery departed with the truck that was supplied by Western Express, and driven by "Sarge", Robert L. Williams, a retired music teacher from Chicago. The Volunteer Fire Department outside of Laurel took in all the material, and will supervise its distribution. The community was hard hit, with 1000 homes being destroyed, and hundreds suffering some damage, from slight to moderate. The community was very appreciative of all the work and generosity demonstrated by MBA and the Nashville community.Pictured below on the lower left is Mary Jo Wedgeworth, the mother of Rep. Marsha Blackburn, who assisted in finding a place to send and receive the items.