USA: Greatest Grandparents Get Greatest Honour

COLUMBIA, South Carolina (The State), October 16, 2007: DeShawn Perry is not lost for words when expressing the love he has for his grandmother. “You raised me up to be a thankful, generous and respectful young man. You took me out of foster care and carried me under your wings. You put a shelter over my head, put food in my tummy and put clothes on my back.” The 12-year-old Eastover youth recently penned those words to his grandmother and had the opportunity to publicly share his feelings for her on Sunday when the S.C. State Fair announced the winners in this year’s Greatest Grandparents competition. DeShawn’s grandmother, Bessie Lee Branham of Eastover, was one of six winners selected from more than 10,000 essays submitted from grandchildren across the state this year. She and the other five winners were honored during an awards ceremony Sunday afternoon in the Grandstand at the fair, where each of the winning essays was read. Each grandparent received an engraved plaque and a television. DeShawn’s essay was among two selected in the 11-to-13-year-old division. Two other Midlands-grandparents were named winners based on essays submitted by their grandchildren in the 7-to-10-year-old division. Stephen P. Isaac of Columbia was nominated by 9-year-old Bailey Scott of Columbia, and Yegennia Kelly of Newberry was nominated by 8-year-old Dymon Gallman of Newberry. “Grandma inspires me to not be fearful, not to worry about tomorrow,” Dymon wrote in her nomination letter. “She encourages me to pray before I do anything and to keep the power of God’s love safe within me.” Bailey, who now lives with her grandfather, praised him for “raising two of her (mother’s) children. “He’s the greatest grandfather in the world,” she wrote. Rounding out this year’s winners were Gerald Reeves of Honea Path, who was nominated by Taylor Turner of Honea Path; Helen San Miguel of Spartanburg, who was nominated by Kristen San Miguel of Greenville; and Tommy Yarborough of Lamar, who was nominated by Wesley Weaver of Lamar. By Bertram Rantin, News Columnist © 2007 TheState