Dallas Cowboys running back Deuce Vaughn gets to see the blue star every time he suits up, but he’ll see 12 stars during a scheduled appearance.
Vaughn and his father, Assistant Director of College Scouting for the Dallas Cowboys Chris Vaughn, are scheduled to be guests and speakers at the Black Cultural Council of Odessa’s An Evening with the Stars scholarship banquet.
Celebrating 25 years, An Evening with the Stars is an annual event that recognizes and awards scholarships to local high school students. This year’s banquet is scheduled for 7:30 p.m., Feb. 24, at the Odessa Marriott Hotel and Conference Center.
Organizer Jo Ann Davenport Littleton said 12 students will be recognized. Since its inception, she added, more than 250 total scholarships have been awarded. Additionally, one male student will be awarded a scholarship named after basketball coach Danny Wright, and one female student will receive a scholarship named after the late Dorothy Jean Mitchell.
“It’s an honor for our organization and our broad to be able to put on this event,” Littleton said. “To touch the lives of so many young people is just amazing.”
An Evening with the Stars is one of three major events organized by the Black Cultural Council of Odessa: the other two are the annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day Breakfast and Freedom March, and the annual Juneteenth celebration.
Guest speakers are also brought to the scholarship banquet to speak about their lives and the triumphs and tribulations they faced on their career paths. Previous speakers include Dallas Cowboys cornerback Trevon Diggs and Olympic medalist Natalie Hinds.
Littleton said it is also important for the students to know they have the community’s support behind them as they pursue their careers.
“To know that someone is there for you and that you have a support system in place that you can count on, that means a lot to many of them,” she said.
