Gadsden City Schools Announces 'BE SOMEONE DAY' at Litchfield Middle School

GADSDEN, Ala., Aug. 29, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- The purpose of this event is to serve students, staff members, parents, and members of the community.  Those participating will be motivated to propel themselves to reach personal goals and students will be challenged to aspire to personal and educational greatness.

Ms. Felicia Padgett, Community Education Coordinator for Gadsden City Schools, is pleased to secure Orrin "Checkmate" Hudson, two-time World Open Speed chess champion, founder of Be Someone, Inc., and author of One Move at a Time, as the presenter for this event.

The seventh of 13 children, Hudson grew up in public housing in Birmingham, Ala., finding himself in and out of foster care. As a teenager, he was stealing tires and struggling in school until James Edge, his high school English teacher, taught Hudson the game of chess.

"With his help, I began to understand life through a chessboard. He showed me that every move you make has consequences and in order to improve my game and my life, I had to make better choices," says Hudson. "I slowly realized that I was responsible for my own success or failure."

Chess helped improve Hudson's focus - and helped him develop the analytical thinking skills needed to make the winning move. Hudson went on to win the Birmingham City Chess Championship in 1999, and again in 2000, despite being the lowest-ranking player in the tournament on both occasions.

"BE SOMEONE DAY" will begin on September 6, 2012, with an assembly at Litchfield Middle School, 1109 Hoke Street, Gadsden, AL, 35903. He will begin with his story of how education and chess made a difference in his life.  Upon completion of the assembly he will work throughout the day with individual classrooms while teaching students how to play chess and to make the right moves and decisions in life. He will demonstrate to students how the game of chess relates to real-life situations, and how it helped to improve his focus and helped him develop analytical thinking skills.

Dr. Ed Miller, Superintendent of Gadsden City Schools, and Mr. Micah Cook, Principal of Litchfield Middle School, invite students of Litchfield Middle School and their parents to attend the closing event.  The "BE SOMEONE DAY" family night event is scheduled to begin at 5:30 pm at Litchfield Middle School.  Mr. Hudson will be the keynote speaker.  One purpose of this event is to talk to parents and teachers on how to communicate and deal with today's children. He will continue his purpose by communicating with the students on dealing with pressures in and out of school.  Hudson knows today's youth hear many different messages while outside of school. Some of these messages tell them that school isn't important, while other messages may be temptations to smoke, experiment with drugs or flirt with the wrong side of the law. "Heads up, pants up, grades up and never give up," is one of the catch phrases Hudson uses to challenge students to make the right moves and choices that can position them for success in life.

Must see video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NLFENGymr34

Contact info:
Kim Rice
Be Someone, Inc. 770-465-6445
http://www.besomeone.org/

Felicia Padgett
Coordinator, Community Education
Gadsden City Schools
Phone:  256 549-2925
Fax:  256 549-2962

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SOURCE Be Someone, Inc.