It takes a village to raise a child.

We’ve all heard that saying a hundred times. That’s probably because there’s a lot of wisdom in those eight words.

We hear a lot of stories of single parents raising children on their own these days. While there certainly are a lot of single parents, no one raises a child on their own.

Children are raised not only by their parents, but the communities they live in. In communities like Greenville, Georgiana and McKenzie this is especially true. For a child growing up in these three communities, it can at times seem like he or she has a dozen or more parents, ranging from teachers, to coaches, to aunts and uncles, to the neighbor down the street.

That’s because for the most part, our communities take an interest in our children and ensuring that they have the brightest possible futures.

After all, as cliché as it sounds, these children are the future of our communities.

On May 2, we have the opportunity to celebrate the bright future of our communities when we recognize some of our brightest young people at the 16th annual Achiever Award Banquet, which will be held at First Baptist Church.

The Achiever Award recognizes one male and one female student-athlete from area schools who not only excel in the classroom and on the playing field, but are also involved in church and the community.

Student athletes from Fort Dale Academy, Georgiana School, Greenville High School and McKenzie School will be recognized, and two students will walk away with a $1,500 scholarship.

The banquet is a chance for us to applaud these students for the things they have already achieved, but it’s also a chance for us to encourage them to continue to strive to achieve even more.

We’d like to encourage the entire community, or village if you will, to show up and show its support for these young people. Tickets are just $15, and that includes a meal and the opportunity to hear keynote speaker John Ed Mathison, who spent 36 years as senior minister at Frazer Memorial Methodist Church in Montgomery.

Mathison is a nationally known and sought-after speaker. For several years he has served as platform speaker for the National Conference of Fellowship of Christian Athletes, and platform speaker for the National Hi-Y Tri-Hi-Y Conference at Black Mountain, N.C.

Don’t miss out on this chance to hear a nationally-renowned speaker and at the same time show these student-athletes that our community is behind them.

You can get your tickets by stopping by the Greenville Area Chamber of Commerce.

We hope to see you at the banquet.