Sunday's Internet Edition, May 11, 2008.
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“I had been after Joe for years to be a volunteer for us,” Younts said. “I just knew he had so much to give.”
Leonard finally agreed to take on a student to mentor through the CIS program.
“I’m sorry I didn’t do this much sooner,” Leonard said of his volunteering with CIS. “They linked me up with this young man, and he is just absolutely super. He just needed someone in his life who could be his friend.”
Leonard was particularly impressed when Kalab May, a student at Liberty Drive Elementary School, told him of his ambitions.
“One day I want to be an Army sergeant,” May told his new mentor.
In recent years, including this one, Leonard has headed the committee that plans Thomasville’s annual Memorial Day Parade, an event that attracts people from all over the state.
“If you just work at it, you can do it,” Leonard responded to May.
“What do I have to do?” May asked.
It was a challenging question, but one Leonard was more than happy to answer.
“I began to set out all of the conditions and the terms that he would have to meet in order to become an Army sergeant,” Leonard recalled. “For Christmas, Santa Clause brought him a couple of military uniforms.”
The uniforms did not have stripes and Leonard told May the things he had to do, literally, to earn his stripes.
“I told him the requirements he had to fulfil in school and things he needed to do at home,” Leonard said. “I let him know that he had to display leadership qualities. When people tried to do something that he thought might be wrong, he was better off not doing anything until he determined what was best.”
May lives with his mother and brother and has shown to teachers and other officials in the Thomasville City School System that he could use some guidance from a father figure. Leonard has proven them to be right.
“Joe has just done magic with this young man,” Younts said. “He’s given him a reason to want to be in school, a reason to do better and a reason to want to work on his homework. And he certainly needed someone who he could talk to about his military future.”
Like many of his fellow students, May liked to make — and fly — paper airplanes. Like other kids, for generations, May and many of his classmates enjoyed doing this while class was going on. Leonard set May straight on this.
“I told Kalab that the teacher is air traffic control,” Leonard recalled. “She must give permission for his plane to take off.”
May listened to what his mentor said — and followed his advice. As a result, he earned his stripes. In a ceremony that took place earlier this week at Liberty Drive Elementary School, Maj. Gen. Hubert Leonard (Ret.), former adjunct general of the N.C. National Guard, presented May with some World War II aviation wings. Hubert Leonard, who served as mayor of Thomasville for 10 years, is Joe Leonard’s brother.
“This young man was absolutely elated, but he earned every bit of it,” Joe Leonard said.
May had a question for his mentor.
“At the end of the school year, are you still going to be my friend?” he asked Joe Leonard.
“I’ll be your friend for life,” Leonard replied to May. “I look forward to watching your accomplishments as you go through life.”
Staff Writer Kevin Reid can be reached at 472-9500, ext. 230, or at reid@tvilletimes.com.