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Members of the Lowndes County Children’s Policy Council gathered at the Lowndes County Courthouse for their monthly meeting on Aug. 9. During the meeting, District Judge Adrian Johnson presented council members the Award of Excellence which was given to the council by the Alabama Department of Early Childhood Education. 

Amy Perry, who works as the coordinator for the Lowndes County Blackbelt Coalition as well as working with the Reclamation Center of Alabama, addressed the council and described the services provided the Reclamation Center of Alabama, which is a substance use and behavioral health treatment center servicing Montgomery, Lowndes, Butler, Crenshaw, Conecuh, Autauga, and Elmore Counties.

“What we purpose to do is bring services to individuals who alternatively don’t have access,” Perry said. “Some people have barriers to transportation and some people have financial barriers, so we purpose to eliminate those barriers and others.”

Perry said one of the most notable things about the Reclamation Center of Alabama is that they are able to offer their services at minimal to no cost to the individual seeking treatment. This is facilitated by outside funding and grants which allow the centers to maintain their services while keeping costs as low as possible.

Also called to attention during the meeting was the Sheriff “Big John” Williams Memorial Scholarship Motorcycle Ride. Ride coordinators Danny Rudolph (Partner), Angela Rudolph (Co-Chair), and Joanne Williams, the wife of late “Big John” Williams presented Johnson with an impressive $5,200 which was raised to benefit the council’s scholarship fund thanks to generations contributions from the community and participants of this year’s ride.

Danny Rudolph said this year’s ride had over 100 participants, and his goal is to host more participants in future rides.

“We want to spread the word about what we are doing for our children,” Rudolph said. “We don’t go outside the boundaries of Lowndes County; this scholarship helps local children. We want to see more people coming back than we’ve ever seen so we can keep doing what we do.”

Johnson said the council currently has around $12,000 in funding for scholarships, and members are in the process of adding new recipients to their docket.

“What an amazing blessing it is that we’re in the position we’re in,” Johnson said. “We have some money raised already, and now we just have to figure out how many more kids we can help with our scholarships. We started this scholarship fund three years ago, and we didn’t know if we would be able to raise money or not. It’s a true blessing, it’s absolutely awesome.”

Members of the community who are interested in donating toward the council’s scholarship fund are encouraged to contact any council member. Scholarship applications will be available beginning in January for any student interested in applying.

Lowndes County Children’s Policy will hold their next monthly meeting on Sep. 6 at 3 p.m. at the Lowndes County Courthouse.