Don E. McNair Jr. Presented Posthumous 2018 Friend Of Youth Award

On Tuesday, December 18th, 2018, The Downtown Optimist Club of Meridian presented its annual Friend of Youth Award posthumously to Don E. McNair, who worked to support area youth over many decades, and the club will rename the award in his honor. McNair’s children, Tavia Cavett and Eric McNair, were presented the award by DTOC President Lee Thaggard.

McNair was a charter member of the North Hills Optimist Club and was the co-founder and president of the North Hills Optimist Club’s Rookie Baseball League, expanding the youth baseball league at Hardin Field. He earned both the 1985 Sertoma Club Man of the Year Award and the 2011 Optimist International Lifetime Achievement Award for his lifelong volunteer efforts.

The Boys and Girls Club of East Mississippi, the family’s selected charity, will also receive an additional $250 from the civic organization in McNair’s name.