KAPPA ALPHA PSI FRATERNITY, INC. ELDER WATSON DIGGS AWARD PETITION JOHN F. BURRELL
i. Executive Summary
Growing up in the small town of Vicksburg, Mississippi—known for being one of the two turning points of the Civil War in the Union Army’s favor—only to be followed by the Red Shirts, who worked assiduously to suppress Black voting, Black leadership (they ran the Black-elected Sheriff out of town) and the progress of Blacks, serves as a stark backdrop to my formative years and that burning, unquenchable desire to awaken within me the high ideal of achievement. Hills, bluffs, magnolia trees, antebellum homes and tourists juxtaposed the history of this thriving community. I knew early on that I wanted to be a Vicksburg High School Gator and attend college at the University of Southern Mississippi. Education was key to me, but more specifically, while in high school, I knew that one day I was going to become a certified athletic trainer. Working for what you wanted is all I knew. Two jobs during the summer of high school and college was a must. My humble upbringing was tough and simple. If you wanted it you must work for it. This became the essence of who I am. See a goal. Work for that goal. Achieve that goal. Move to the next goal. Applying my resolute determination to Kappa Alpha Psi®, I can look back on a particular phone call and subsequent meeting with Dr. Frank S. Emanuel. The subject of the meeting was the Membership Orientation Intake Process (MOIP). He had just come back from a meeting with the Council of Province Polemarchs that fleshed out MOIP. Brother Dr. Emanuel tapped me to facilitate these changes in the Southern Province and the rest is history. I had the passion to give my best, and over time, I understood that when someone taps you to do a task, your work product reflects on them as much as it does you, so you must bring your best to the task always. Over the years, I learned that having high standards will carry you along way.
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