Ribbon cutting for Men, Ladies of Honor

(ROWLETT-April 13, 2013) The Rowlett Chamber of Commerce welcomed new member The Men & Ladies of Honor with a ribbon cutting ceremony on April 11.

Men of Honor and Ladies of Honor is a strategic program to train and mentor youth to realize their full potential. Youth who participate are mentored and trained in principles of honor, chivalry, integrity, courageous leadership, and moral excellence using a three-pronged strategy of camps, conferences, and weekly curriculum based meetings in schools, churches, and recreation centers.

As the locally-based  program continues to expand, appointed Men of Honor leaders from Belize were invited to attend the ribbon cutting during their visit to the United States this week, along with leaders from a new group in Michigan. They will be a part of the upcoming camp weekend, working and learning together in tandem with experienced leaders to be able to host their own camps this summer.

The Belize TMOH group follows a number of other international outreach efforts, including Johannesburg, Kenya, and, most recently, Honduras, where they hosted a camp in 2013 for boys from a local community and orphanage, some of whom walked 6 miles to attend the camp.

“This is just the beginning of our outreach in South America,” said TMOH Founder and President Tony Rorie. “The Belize camp will be our gateway to starting groups in Brazil, and, hopefully, others. Meanwhile, we are starting new groups almost every week in the U.S.”

The Men and Ladies of Honor is a character education program for boys and girls ages 11-17, providing a structured leadership development path and incentives to set and achieve better short term and long term goals. Now celebrating its tenth year, the after-school program typically produces a 48-58% decrease in campus disciplinary rates in public and charter schools hosting the groups, including Rowlett, Dallas, and Mesquite, and Wylie.

The Men of Honor joined the Rowlett Chamber of Commerce in March after submitting an application to establish a charter school in Rowlett. If the charter is approved, American Honor Academy will open in September 2014, embracing the founding organization’s philosophy of modern-day chivalry, integrity, and honor a a foundation for excellence in education.

“If we train youth to be who they were created to be, we can change the world!” said Rorie.

For more information, visit themenofhonor.org or americanhonoracademy.org.

Jana (Shelley) Edwards

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