The Our Promise Cancer Resources Young Men of Distinction program honors outstanding young men in the community and educates them on cancer treatment with an emphasis on fundraising and volunteerism.
Garland County rising sophomores, juniors and seniors are asked to apply and encouraged to participate for three years.
Our Promise Cancer Resources helps cancer patients with gas cards, utility bills, prescription costs, and other financial needs in Garland County and 36 other surrounding counties. The Our Promise mission is to provide caring professional support and education to cancer patients, survivors, and caregivers through direct financial assistance, social programs, and educational services. A new resource, "The Our Promise House," will lodge cancer patients during their treatments. It will be located at 230 Franklin St. with the land being donated by The Lynn Heller Family, David Boatright as the contractor and Benny Arego as the project manager.
YMOD, a branch of Our Promise, will be recognized at the Tailgate fundraiser on Oct. 15 at the Hamp Williams Building. YMOD promotes and fundraises for Our Promise through contribution of several hundred service hours to the community. Community service hours included manual labor at various locations and festivities, collecting food, clothing, and school supplies for charity organizations, and securing donations from sponsors.
YMOD participants are committed to serving their community and local cancer patients. In 2020, 35 young men participated in the program. Last year in 2021, 43 boys participated in the program. This year, 77 boys are serving for Our Promise and the community.
Participating students are exposed to cancer diagnosis and treatment modalities during a series of meetings with local physicians who explain their roles in current diagnosis and treatment of cancer. Therapeutic options are explained to the YMOD members, and diagnostic modalities such as surgical resection, pathologic specimen preparation and examination, and radiologic testing and treatment vehicles are discussed in small group settings. Chemotherapy and holistic treatment options are explored.
They recently were led by Karen Reeves in a Yoga as Cancer Awareness class. This is a free class offered to cancer patients/survivors and their caregivers. YMOD participants will also go to an overnight retreat at The Timber Lake Lodge in Amity where they will learn workplace and community etiquette from Kathryn "Kitty" Cherry. At the end of each YMOD year, many will receive college scholarships on behalf of the program presented at the annual fundraiser in the fall.
This year, there are four executive board president members in the class: Ben Hollis, Jack Henry Frisby, Bradyn Aitken and William Ivy. They were chosen for leadership roles and assisted in organizing the program with Our Promise Chair Jon Jon Hollis and Executive Director Stacey Pierce.
"YMOD is such a positive and uplifting organization that gives our young men an opportunity to be more involved with our local community. It's been such a great experience watching my son, Pierce step out of his comfort zone to volunteer his time and help others as well. Thank you for providing this amazing program to our boys," Faith Smalley, mother of YMOD graduate Pierce Smalley, said.
The Young Men of Distinction are:
Brayden Aitken, Lake Hamilton senior, son of Mr. and Mrs. Shane Aitken.
Brady Arnold, Lakeside junior, son of Mr. and Mrs. Clay Arnold.
Luke Atkinson, Lake Hamilton senior, son of Mr. and Mrs. Jeremy Atkinson.
Harrison Barmore, Lakeside junior, son of Mr. and Mrs. Brent Barmore.
Hayden Barton, Lake Hamilton sophomore, son of Mr. and Mrs. Derek Barton.
Christian Bell, Lakeside senior, son of Ms. Aimee Ellsworth.
Maddox Bell, Lakeside junior, son of Mr. and Mrs. Brian Bell.
Jake Bishop, Lakeside senior, son of Ms. Ashley Bishop and Lt. C. Dustin Bishop.
Benjamin Bivens, Lakeside junior, son of Mr. and Mrs. John Bivens.
Bartley Bledsoe, Lakeside junior, son of Mr. and Mrs. Bart Bledsoe.
Ty Braziel, Lakeside sophomore, son of Mr. and Mrs. Mark Braziel.
Isaac Carroll, Lakeside senior, son of Mr. and Mrs. Stephen Carroll.
TJ Caudill, Lakeside senior, son of Mr. and Mrs. Donald Caudill.
Layton Cordell, Lakeside sophomore, son of Mr. and Mrs. Benji Cordell.
Greyson Cornelison, Lakeside senior, son of Mr. and Mrs. Daniel Cornelison.
Clint Cox, Lakeside junior, son of Mr. and Mrs. Gary Cox.
Towle Douglas, Lakeside senior, son of Dr. and Mrs. Brien Douglas.
William Dreamer, Christian Ministries sophomore, son of Mr. and Mrs. Jerry Dreamer.
Evan Eastwood, Lakeside senior, son of Mr. and Mrs. Michael Eastwood.
Luke Erwin, Lake Hamilton sophomore, son of Drs. Janette and Scott Erwin.
Brayden Free, Lakeside junior, son of Mr. and Mrs. Jason Free.
Jack Henry Frisby, Lakeside senior, son of Ms. Lee Kathryn Lackey and Mr. Henry L. Frisby II.
Wyatt Gibson, Lakeside senior, son of Mr. and Mrs. Joe Gibson.
Will Gordon, Lakeside sophomore, son of Dr. Nicquel Gordon and Mr. Neil Gordon.
Griffin Gulley, Lakeside senior, son of Mr. and Mrs. Griffin Gulley.
Riley Harris, Lake Hamilton senior, son of Mr. and Mrs. Chad Harris.
Sloan Hayes, Lakeside sophomore, son of Mr. and Mrs. Douglas Hayes.
Jacob Hermosillo, Lakeside junior, son of Mr. and Mrs. Josh Hermosillo.
Caleb Herring, Fountain Lake junior, son of Mr. and Mrs. Jade Herring.
Ben Hollis, Lakeside senior, son of Dr. and Mrs. Thomas Hollis Jr.
Parker Hudnell, Lakeside junior, son of Mr. and Mrs. Jason Hudnell.
William Ivy, Lakeside senior, son of Mrs. Malka Ivy and Dr. Donald Ivy.
Kyin Jamerson, Hot Springs sophomore, son of Ms. Konniesha Hannah.
Nasir Jamerson, Hot Springs senior, Ms. Konniesha Hannah.
Matthew Kara, Lake Hamilton senior, son of Ms. Stephanie Kara and Mr. Raymond Kara.
Jack Krauss, Lakeside sophomore, son of Mr. and Mrs. Jason Krauss.
William Lewis, Lakeside sophomore, son of Mr. and Mrs. Shea Lewis.
Nate Lindsay, Lakeside sophomore, son of Mr. and Mrs. William Lindsay.
Elliott Lockwood, Lakeside sophomore, Mr. and Mrs. Chad Lockwood.
Evan Lockwood, Lakeside senior, son of Mr. and Mrs. Chad Lockwood.
Weston Lynch, Lake Hamilton senior, Mr. and Mrs. Brandon Lynch.
Gavin Mace, Lakeside junior, Mr. and Mrs. Jeremiah Mace.
Robert Mace, Lakeside junior, Mr. and Mrs. Nate Mace.
Sanlin Malone, Lakeside sophomore, Mr. and Mrs. Patrick Malone.
Cole Martin, Lakeside junior, Mr. and Mrs. Clint Martin.
Kaden Mays, Lake Hamilton senior, Mr. and Mrs. Fred Mays.
Brodie McAllister, Lakeside senior, son of Ms. Kim McAllister and Mr. John McAllister.
Lucas McCain, Lake Hamilton junior, Mr. and Mrs. Kevin McCain.
Bradyn Messersmith, Lakeside junior, Mr. and Mrs. Bryan Messersmith.
Daniel Montgomery, Lakeside junior, son of Mr. and Mrs. Philip Montgomery.
Spencer Moore, Lakeside junior, son of Mr. and Mrs. Courtney Moore.
Andre Mouton, Lakeside sophomore, Mr. and Mrs. Alex Mouton.
Grady Ohman, Lakeside sophomore, son of Mr. and Mrs. Cory Ohman.
Cohen Oswalt, Lakeside sophomore, Mr. and Mrs. Brad Oswalt.
Whit Parks, Hot Springs sophomore, son of Ms. Kim Parks.
Jack Patterson, Lakeside senior, Ms. Mandy Patterson and Mr. Trent Patterson.
Brenden Penor, Hot Springs sophomore, Dr. and Mrs. Steve Penor.
Holten Phillips, Lakeside junior, son of Mr. and Mrs. Brad Phillips.
Yancy Rainwater, Lakeside senior, son of Mr. and Mrs. Dylan Rainwater.
Griffin Ralph, Lakeside sophomore, son of Mr. and Mrs. Ronnie Ralph.
Drew Reeves, Lake Hamilton sophomore, son of Mr. and Mrs. Seth Reeves.
Ty Robinson, Lake Hamilton junior, son of Mr. and Mrs. Shaun Robinson.
Ryan Slay, Lakeside sophomore, son of Dr. and Mrs. David Slay.
Jake Spruill, Lake Hamilton sophomore, son of Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth Spruill.
Jackson Stone, Lakeside senior, son of Mr. and Mrs. Jeremy Stone.
Mack Story, Lakeside junior, son of Mrs. Felice Horn and Mr. Lance Story.
Gavin Thomason, Lake Hamilton junior, son of Mr. and Mrs. Jeremy Thomason.
Brody Townley, Lakeside senior, son of Dr. and Mrs. Jonathan Townley.
Sam Trusty, Lakeside sophomore, son of Mr. and Mrs. Landon Trusty.
Gabe Van Bebber, Lakeside sophomore, son of Dr. and Mrs. Nicholas Van Bebber.
Ben Varner, Lake Hamilton senior, son of Mr. and Mrs. Kevin Varner.
Caleb Villines, Lakeside junior, son of Ms. Haley Hatch and Mr. Scott Villines.
Landon West, Lake Hamilton sophomore, son of Mr. and Mrs. John West.
Pike Williams, Lakeside junior, son of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Williams.
Walker Wood, Lakeside senior, son of Dr. and Mrs. Michael Wood.
Zach Wood, Lakeside sophomore, son of Mr. and Mrs. Mickey Wood.
Reed Yaney, Lakeside junior, son of Mr. and Mrs. Grant Yaney.