By Rita Howell

Sports commentator and former college football coach Pete Cordelli will be the speaker for the Boys & Girls Club of Northwest Mississippi Steak and Steak Banquet on Thursday night at 7 p.m. at the Batesville Civic Center.

A number of local celebrities will be recognized for their achievements after they walk “The Blue Carpet.”

Among the celebrities planning to attend are Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback Deshea Townsend, BET network entertainer Lester Bibbs, Memphis dentist and rap artist Dr. Mario Thomas, blues artists Mark Massey and Blind Mississippi Morris, sculptor Sharon McConnell and theatrical director Robert B. Canon.

Denise Dubois Taylor of Como, formerly with Memphis’ WMC-TV, will be the emcee for the banquet. The Northwest Community College Jazz Band will provide entertainment.

A special performance is planned by the Boys & Girls Club ballet troupe.

Keynote speaker Cordelli has coached at Arkansas, Memphis State,  Notre Dame, Kent State and Western Michigan. He is known to local fans as a radio commentator and color analyst for the Ole Miss Rebels.

In between collegiate jobs, Cordelli worked in the NFL, assisting in the personnel department of the Cleveland Browns and as a scout for the Dallas Cowboys. Cordelli received a bachelor’s degree in education from North Carolina State in 1977 after playing three seasons with the Wolfpack.

The Boys & Girls Club of Northwest Mississippi operates after school programs in Batesville, Sardis and Crenshaw and serves about 250 children daily. The Steak and Steak Banquet is the non-profit’s major fund-raiser of the year.

Tickets are $10 to attend the program only, and $50 per person for the dinner and program.

Tickets are available through the box office at the Batesville Civic Center, 662-563-1392. Tickets may be purchased online at www.batesvilleciviccenter-ms.com

For more information contact Boys & Girls Club executive director Belinda Morris at 662-578-7309.

Special activities are planned all week in celebration of National Boys & Girls Club Week. A health fair was held Monday, and today a “penny carnival” is planned at the Batesville Club. On Wednesday there will be a cup stacking competition with kids pitted against a team of adults from G.E.

Parents and club members will be involved with the banquet on Thursday night.

The week will culminate with a basketball tournament on Saturday.