OXFORD, Miss. – Hunting enthusiasts can join football
legend Archie Manning in a quest to help his hometown of
Drew, and one lucky participant will win a duck hunting
trip in the Mississippi Delta this winter with the CBS
Sports commentator.
The fundraiser, a collaboration with the Drew Chamber of
Commerce and the William Winter Institute for Racial
Reconciliation at the University of Mississippi, supports
the restoration of a historic school, which will become the
permanent home for the local Boys and Girls Club.
Tickets are $100 each for the Nov. 3 drawing. They are
available at the Drew Chamber of Commerce, 129 Shaw Ave.,
Drew, MS 38737, by calling 662-745-8975 or by e-mailing The
Drew Leader newspaper at drewleader@yahoo.com. All
donations are tax-deductible.
The winner gets to join Manning in a hunt on a mutually
agreeable date at the Fighting Bayou Hunting Club, located
15 miles from Drew. The prize includes overnight
accommodations and breakfast for two at the lodge, plus a
keepsake DVD documenting the event on film.
“The Winter Institute has been supporting the restoration
of Li’l Red school, a former Rosenwald school there, since
2001. It will be used for a community center once
renovated,” said April Grayson, documentary educator at the
Winter Institute. “After initial funding of $400,000, we
have secured funds totaling almost $200,000 from the
Mississippi Department of Archives and History and the
Mississippi Arts Commission. We must now secure matching
funds to access those grants.”
Manning, an Ole Miss football standout in 1968-70 and
former star quarterback for the New Orleans Saints, became
involved in the Drew restoration project through a
fortuitous series of events.
“Archie and I grew up together and graduated from high
school in 1967,” said Steve Shurden, executive director of
Drew Enterprises. “He and I had not been in contact very
much since then, but one day this year he called me up and
asked me whether or not we were having a 40th anniversary
class reunion. Archie was the class president, so I
answered, You tell me.'”
Shurden said Manning had previously been contacted by the
Drew police chief about contributing to the downtown
renovation efforts.
“Archie really wanted to do something to help find a
permanent location for our local Boys and Girls Club,”
Shurden said. “He comes home about once a year to duck hunt
anyway, so I suggested he combine both the Boys and Girls
and Lil’ Red projects with one of his return visits. Of
course, he agreed and the rest is history.”
Jeff Andrews, another member of the Drew Chamber of
Commerce board of directors, said hopes are high that the
duck hunt will secure the $66,000 in matching funds needed
for the Li’l Red renovation.
“We started the Boys and Girls Club over a year ago and had
more than 100 kids participating,” Andrews said. “The
program needs a permanent facility, which is what Li’l Red
would provide.”
“Lil Red project is a historic example of interracial
cooperation,” said Susan Glisson, director of the Winter
Institute. “Even during the decades of segregation, whites
and blacks came together to educate black school children.
This project reflects the interracial spirit and hope for
the future.”
For more information about the Li’l Red project, see
http://www.drewrosenwaldschool.org.
For more information about the Winter Institute for Racial
Reconciliation, call 662-915-1605 or visit