Members and guests of the Krewe of Ceres were transported to anexotic moonlit location to celebrate the 42nd annual Charity BallSaturday evening.

As guests arrived inside the Lincoln County Multi-PurposeBuilding they were magically ferried into a Middle-Easternatmosphere, which was in keeping with the ball’s theme of”Moonlight Over Morocco.” The annual ball is held to raise fundsfor community projects.

The entrance, brilliantly transformed into a Sultan’s tent, wasaccented by copper torches, palms and exotic flowers and drapedwith fabric and lights.

Once inside, the foyer was covered from ceiling to floor in richpurple fabric with a small Moroccan styled chandelier hanging fromthe ceiling. Tropical palms with flowers and foliage spilling overthe sides, silk floor pillows in shades of fuchsia and orange,bright fabric covered ottomans and area rugs completed theentrance.

In the ballroom itself, the ceiling was lavishly covered inorange interspersed with strips of fuchsia and purple. An elaboratemulti-hued chandelier was suspended from center of the tent.

The backdrop of the presentation stage appeared very regal witha curtain of purple topped with a hand-painted border ofMiddle-Eastern design. The gold king and queen’s bench, fourenormous palms, and more flowers finished off the stage area.

Guests were treated to a sumptuous meal, which was featured ontwo L-shaped dining tables. The savory dishes were accented byfloral arrangements composed of roses, Fuji mums, ti leaves, birdsof paradise and more in varying shades of pink, orange andchartreuse green.

Each dining table was covered with a pink or orange iridescenttable topper. Each centerpiece was one of several differentlanterns surrounded by scattered chartreuse rose petals and votivecandles.

The perimeter walls were adorned with several more palm plantsup-lighted in pink, which created a warm glow to the room.

For at least one night, the attendees of the 2009 Charity Ballwere transported to the wonders of Morocco!

The highlight of the evening was the presentation of the CharityBall Court, which culminated in the naming of the 2009 king andqueen, Les L. Bumgarner Jr. and Ann Kirkpatrick Jacobs.

Les L. Bumgarner Jr.

Reigning as King of the 42nd Krewe of Ceres Charity Ball is LesL. Bumgarner Jr. King Bumgarner is a well known figure in LincolnCounty having resided here for the past 31 years. He has been botha community activist and a promoter of the youth of Brookhavenhaving spent countless hours volunteering and mentoring many ofBrookhaven’s populace.

He is a 1965 graduate of Clinton High School where he playedboth football and baseball. In football he was a three year starterat running back, defensive back and punt returner and was chosen aspermanent team captain. In addition to being chosen as the MostValuable Player and Most Outstanding Back he was named to the AllLittle Dixie Conference Team. He was a four year starter for theClinton baseball team at shortstop and also was a pitcher andcatcher. As in football, he was named permanent team captain andwas a member of the All Little Dixie Conference Team. He helpedlead the team to two North Little Dixie and two Overall LittleDixie conference championships. As a senior he was selected by hispeers as Most Athletic.

Bumgarner was not limited in his accolades to just the sportingarena. He was a member of the Clinton High School debate team andwas chairman of the competitive Parliamentary Procedure Team thatcompeted on the state level.

Upon graduation he received a full football scholarship to HindsJunior College at Raymond. He was a two-year starter at fullbackand was selected to the All-State Team. While at Hinds he also wasvoted both Freshman and Sophomore Class Favorite.

After two years at Hinds he attended Delta State Universitywhere he was a member of Pi Kappa Alpha social fraternity andserved as chairman of intramurals. He graduated with a BSE insocial science in 1970.

In 1969 Bumgarner married Katherine Sutherland, of Hattiesburg,and began his coaching career immediately upon graduation. Heserved as an assistant coach at Greenville, Corinth and WarrenCentral high schools, head track coach at Greenville, and headbaseball coach at Corinth and Warren Central. While coaching atGreenville he led the track team to an undefeated season and waschosen the conference’s coach of the year. In 1976 he began servingas head football coach and athletic director at St. Aloysius inVicksburg. During his tenure at St. Aloysius he coached the Flashesfootball team to two undefeated seasons and earned a StateChampionship in baseball. He was selected as Coach of the Year forthe conference twice in football and once in baseball. He then wenton to earn honors as Mississippi’s Class Double B Coach of the Yearin baseball.

In 1978 King Les received an offer to become head coach andathletic director at Brookhaven High School. He coached thePanthers for three years. During the summer of 1978 he was selectedas an assistant coach in the Mississippi High School All-Starfootball game, becoming one of the youngest coaches to ever receivethe honor. At both St. Aloysius and Brookhaven he served as facultyadvisor for the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.

During his coaching career that spanned 11 years he receivedfour resolutions from the Mississippi State Legislature commendinghim and his teams for their successes and had the opportunity to bethe head coach in two Mississippi Bowl games and one Red CarpetBowl. He was the head coach in the first televised high schoolfootball game, the 1977 Mississippi Bowl.

Beginning in 1973, while he was still coaching, he joined theMississippi National Guard and graduated from Officer CandidateSchool. He served as commanding officer of the Mississippi NationalGuard 114th Military Police and retired with the rank of captainfrom the 412th Engineer Command Army Reserve Unit after 11 years ofservice.

Always recognizing the merit of contributing to his community,Bumgarner became very involved in Lincoln County and its civicneeds. He served as a head coach of Pee-Wee Football and DixieYouth Baseball where he led his Charlie Nelms Ford team to twoOver-All City Championships in baseball and the Jets to twoOver-All City championships in football.

He has been a member of the Brookhaven-Lincoln County Chamber ofCommerce since moving to Brookhaven and has served on the board ofdirectors of Brookhaven Country Club. He is president of theSouthwest Mississippi Delta State Alumni Association. He has beenselected to Cambridge’s Who’s Who Registry Among Executives andProfessionals. The Brookhaven Recreation Department has had him asa board member for 16 years, serving as secretary-treasurer for 11years. For 10 years he was a member of the Separate School DistrictBoard of Trustees serving in many different officer capacities. Heis currently serving as alderman at large for the City ofBrookhaven.

Bumgarner is an active communicant of the Episcopal Church ofthe Redeemer where he is the senior warden. He also serves as anusher, chalice bearer, verger and vestry member.

In 1979, while still coaching, he opened The Locker Room Men’sShop, located in the “B” Building in historic downtown Brookhaven.After two more years of coaching and having a manager for thestore, he decided to retire from his education career andconcentrate on the business. The Locker Room is celebrating its30th anniversary this year.

Bumgarner is the son of the late Dona Jo and Les L. BumgarnerSr., of Clinton. His siblings are Randa Navar, James Bumgarner andRena O’Steen. He is the father of two children, Brad, married toKami Burns Bumgarner, and Leslie, wife of Rod Delaney, all ofMadison. He is the proud grandfather of six grandchildren,Katherine, Elizabeth, and Ryan Delaney, and Anna Kay, Brooke andClaire Bumgarner.

Ann Kirkpatrick Jacobs

Ann Kirkpatrick Jacobs is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. WilliamOrton Jacobs. She is the granddaughter of Mrs. William PolkAlexander Jr. and the late Mr. Alexander, of Dyersburg, Tenn., andMr. and Mrs. Charles Robinson Jacobs, of Brookhaven.

Queen Jacobs was a special honors graduate of the BrookhavenHigh School Class of 2005 with a ranking of fourth in her class.She was named to the All A Honor Roll, the National Honor Societyand ultimately to the BHS Academic Hall of Fame. She was selected ascholar of the Mississippi Governor’s School Class of 2004 andserved as a page to the Mississippi House of Representatives.

She was elected senior class vice president and served thestudent council as representative, treasurer and vice president.Twice named as student of the month for both the Lions and Kiwanisclubs, Jacobs was selected to the BHS Science Bowl Team, namedJunior Class Favorite and elected Most Likely to Succeed.

Jacobs was a member of the BHS Varsity Tennis Team and wasselected Most Improved Player. She was a mentor for Big BrothersBig Sisters, named a Les Belles de l’Hospitalitié, a Girl Scout andvolunteered for the Brookhaven Arts Council.

She is presently a senior at the University of Mississippi fromwhich she will graduate in May with a degree in InternationalStudies and a minor in French. She will also be a member of bothThe Croft Institute of International Studies Class of 2009 and theSally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College Class of 2009. She is anactive member of Tau Chapter, Chi Omega Sorority.

Jacobs enhanced her study of the French language throughextended studies at Université Stendhal in Grenoble, France, thesummer following her sophomore year, as well as a semester of studyin Nantes, France, at the Université de Nantes through IES Abroadduring her junior year. She received a 2008 Honors Fellowship tostudy abroad from the Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College.

At Ole Miss, Jacobs served as a junior senator in the SallyMcDonnell Barksdale Honors College Senate. She is presently asenior senator in the Croft Institute Senate where she was namedthe Public Relations Chair. Jacobs served on the Student AlumniCouncil for two years. She was named to the Chancellor’s HonorRoll, and is a member of: Mortar Board, Alpha Lambda Delta HonorSociety, and the National Society of Collegiate Scholars. She wasselected as a Sophomore Sensation by the university in 2006. Shehas participated in the LeapFrog After School Program in Oxford asa tutor and enrichment volunteer for all of her four years at OleMiss. Jacobs has also volunteered her time at various nursing homesin Oxford throughout her years there.

During the summer of 2008, Jacobs received an internship in theWashington, D.C., offices of Senator Thad Cochran where she servedunder the Senator’s Foreign Relations and Education Legislativeassistant.

She is a member of Faith Presbyterian Church and attends CollegeHill Presbyterian Church in Oxford as well as Reformed UniversityFellowship. Her special interests include: the French language,travel, reading and tennis.

Jacobs is presently completing work on her senior honors thesisfor graduation in May. Upon graduation, she has applied through theFrench Embassy in Washington, D.C., for a position in their FrenchTeaching Assistantship Program for 2009-2010. She has future plansto study International Law.

Jacobs enjoys close family ties to the annual Charity Ball,having been presented as an aide to the queen during the 1998 balland as a maid in the 2005 ball. Her father, William Orton Jacobs,served as an escort during the l975 Harvest Ball and hergrandfather, Charles Robinson Jacobs, was named as the second kingof the annual event in l967. Her sister, Meredith Alexander Jacobs,served as an aide to the queen during the 2003 ball.