GNAT’s fifth annual Shining Stars Banquet in Fort Worth, Texas,
in October has a multifaceted philanthropic mission that centers on
helping the youth and senior citizens. GNAT — Good News Available
Transportation — led by attorney Lonnie Woods, will honor the
civic, entrepreneurial and political contributions of several
prominent Dallas-Fort Worth individuals. The event will be held at
at the Fort Worth Club and will feature keynote speaker Rev. Dwight
McKissic Sr.
“The real focus of our organization is to provide scholarships
to disadvantaged youth. And each year we’ve given away a car to
students who otherwise would not have had transportation,” Woods
says of the awards program, which will also give away thousands of
dollars in scholarships to a deserving student. “Other focus is to
secure an operation that will allow us to transport senior citizens
on the weekends who do not have assistant to travel to the store, get
prescriptions [or] maybe go to the mall.”
GNAT began with the “Good News Class” at St. Luke’s
Methodist Church in neighboring Arlington, Texas, with the mission of
spreading the ministry of the church into the community.
“I see this as an extension of [the] ministry. And I do believe
that it is necessary sometimes for organizations to take it upon
[themselves] … to recognize their own,” says Woods, who is also a
seminary-trained minister. “… We cannot depend on the majority
media to do that. We have to do that for ourselves.”
The awards on Oct. 17 will begin with a silent auction from 4 p.m.
to 5 p.m., with the banquet portion of the program taking place from
5 p.m. to 7 p.m.
McKissic’s address is serendipity in that he just made national
headlines when the city’s independent schools declined to allow
students to listen to President Obama’s speech to them.
“They refused to let children hear Obama speak, but were willing
to bus children to hear President Bush at the Cowboys Stadium,”
Woods said. “Pastor McKissick decided to open [Cornerstone Church]
and allow students to come and view the speech from his church.”
–terry shropshire
For more information, log on to www.gnatdfw.com.
