Brighter Tomorrow, Texarkana restaurant treat L-E basketball team to dinner

Brighter Tomorrow Foundation Director Johnathon Boyce, far left, speaks to members of the Liberty-Eylau High boys basketball team at the Dapper restaurant. (Staff Photo by Andrew Bell)
Brighter Tomorrow Foundation Director Johnathon Boyce, far left, speaks to members of the Liberty-Eylau High boys basketball team at the Dapper restaurant. (Staff Photo by Andrew Bell)

TEXARKANA, Ark. -- The Brighter Tomorrow Foundation and Dapper at Park Place treated the Liberty-Eylau High School boys basketball team to a buffet-style dinner on Tuesday to show support and appreciation for the young student athletes.

Brighter Tomorrow Foundation Director Johnathon Boyce said they closed the place down to treat them. All of the meals for the student-athletes were covered by the Brighter Tomorrow Foundation and the Dapper.

"Liberty-Eylau's head coach came to me and said 'I want to do something for my kids. What can I do?' And I told him I'd make a phone call," Boyce said. "And we pretty much just made it happen. This was a way for me to get them together and show some appreciation and support for what they do."

The team has enjoyed some recent success, winning the 2021 Gunslinger Tournament at New Boston High School.

The event was not a mandatory one for the L-E players, however, there was a good turnout.

Boyce, who is a 2005 graduate of L-E High, said he thinks it's important to make student-athletes in the community know that they have a support system around them.

"You have a lot of things going on -- crime and deviance -- which is always gonna be a problem," he said. "But it's mostly a problem because our future generations don't have a Boys and Girls club. They don't have the things that some of us had when we were their age or younger. So, when things go on, the community talks about how these younger generations are out of control. They put them all in a category.

"But in order to be an athlete, you have to be a student first. So by them being an athlete also, it shows you that they are a student first, and they meet all the requirements to be an athlete. They need to feel as if the hard work and dedication they're putting into that passion is appreciated.

Brighter Tomorrow's mission is to educate, mentor and assist with the future of underprivileged individuals. The foundation is designed to be the catalyst that will bring change and success to all who are fighting for opportunity.

"If it wasn't for the kids, then a lot of faculty and staff members wouldn't have jobs," Boyce said. "I think a lot of people forget that the kids don't work for you. You work for the kids."

Dapper at Park Place Co-owners Tederal Jefferson and Jeeves Williams said it was their pleasure to welcome the kids into their establishment and treat them.

"We want to give back to the community," Jefferson said. "(Boyce) mentioned the L-E basketball team to us and that he wanted to do something nice for them. And we said 'Just bring them on over. Don't worry about it. We've got it covered.' I was excited about it. We want to give our youth a different experience, and we want to show them that you can have success no matter where you're from."

(To learn more about the Brighter Tomorrow Foundation, visit brightertomorrowvocationalfoundation.com/ online. Dapper at Park Place is at 2905 Arkansas Blvd. Phone: 870-330-0318.)

photo Dapper at Park Place Co-owner Tederal Jefferson, far right, speaks to members of the Liberty-Eylau High boys basketball team at the Dapper at Park Place restaurant. (Staff Photo by Andrew Bell)
photo Members of the Liberty-Eylau High boys basketball team arrive in a bus at the Dapper at Park Place restaurant. (Staff Photo by Andrew Bell)

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