Making an impact in the community through his
professional and personal life is what drives McCoy Curtis Jr., especially in these challenging times, and it has
not gone unnoticed.
Curtis was honored last month on Martin Luther
King Jr. Day during a “live” virtual celebration of the Tri-County MLK
Coalition’s 36th annual banquet honoring their namesake. He was the Somerset County recipient of an
achievement award presented to standouts in the area for their humanitarian
services to the community.
The purpose of the event, according to the
coalition’s president, Jesse Ballard, is to not only commemorate Rev. Dr.
Martin Luther King’s birthday and the civil rights activities that he was known for, but to
also recognize those currently working to “bridge the gap.”
“We want to recognize people in our community
during this difficult year,” said Katrina Purnell, program coordinator for the
event. “Tasks may have been hard, faith
may have been tested, but they stood the test.
We want to thank them for working in their communities all over the
Eastern Shore and to let them know that we appreciate all the sacrifices that
they have made for our community.”
Purnell introduced Curtis as an educator with
the University of Maryland Eastern Shore Extension’s Expanded Food and
Nutrition Education Program who also gives of his time to the Garland Hayward
Youth Center’s afterschool program in Princess Anne and to the community as
founder and senior pastor of Restoration of Christ’s Kingdom Community Church. In addition, he is the founder and director of Young Men of
Distinction, a mentoring program for male students in grades 3-12 in Somerset
County.
“One of my favorite quotes by Dr. King is, ‘The
time is always right to do what is right,’” Curtis said. “I’m appreciative of
this opportunity to be a blessing to the community, because that is the right
thing to do. It’s never a wrong time to
do the right thing for yourselves and for your community.”
In his post with the U.S. Department of
Agriculture’s EFNEP program at UMES, Curtis helps educate low-income
populations on nutrition, safe food practices and healthy physical
activity. According to EFNEP, low-income
and minority populations disproportionately experience nutrition insecurity and
accompanying poor health. EFNEP is a
federal extension program that operates through the 1862 and 1890 Land-Grant
Universities, which UMES is among..2.jpg)
“Mr. Curtis is a selfless social worker and a
great community leader,” said Dr. Virginie Zoumenou, the director of UMES
Extension’s 1890 Nutrition and Health program.
“He is a valued member of our programs, including EFNEP, the Family and
Consumer Sciences program and the Well Connected Communities Initiative, and is
well deserving of the honors recently given him.”
Curtis was also a recent honoree of the Town of
Princess Anne Commissioners for his contributions toward community development
activities.
Gail Stephens, agricultural communications and media
associate, School of Agricultural and Natural Sciences, University of Maryland
Eastern Shore, 410-251-7009, gcstephens@umes.edu.