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Once inside, the foyer was covered from ceiling to floor in rich purple fabric with a small Moroccan styled chandelier hanging from the ceiling. Tropical palms with flowers and foliage spilling over the sides, silk floor pillows in shades of fuchsia and orange, bright fabric covered ottomans and area rugs completed the entrance.
In the ballroom itself, the ceiling was lavishly covered in orange interspersed with strips of fuchsia and purple. An elaborate multi-hued chandelier was suspended from center of the tent.
The backdrop of the presentation stage appeared very regal with a curtain of purple topped with a hand-painted border of Middle-Eastern design. The gold king and queen's bench, four enormous palms, and more flowers finished off the stage area.
Guests were treated to a sumptuous meal, which was featured on two L-shaped dining tables. The savory dishes were accented by floral arrangements composed of roses, Fuji mums, ti leaves, birds of paradise and more in varying shades of pink, orange and chartreuse green.
Each dining table was covered with a pink or orange iridescent table topper. Each centerpiece was one of several different lanterns surrounded by scattered chartreuse rose petals and votive candles.
The perimeter walls were adorned with several more palm plants up-lighted in pink, which created a warm glow to the room.
For at least one night, the attendees of the 2009 Charity Ball were transported to the wonders of Morocco!
The highlight of the evening was the presentation of the Charity Ball Court, which culminated in the naming of the 2009 king and queen, Les L. Bumgarner Jr. and Ann Kirkpatrick Jacobs.
Les L. Bumgarner Jr.
Reigning as King of the 42nd Krewe of Ceres Charity Ball is Les L. Bumgarner Jr. King Bumgarner is a well known figure in Lincoln County having resided here for the past 31 years. He has been both a community activist and a promoter of the youth of Brookhaven having spent countless hours volunteering and mentoring many of Brookhaven's populace.
He is a 1965 graduate of Clinton High School where he played both football and baseball. In football he was a three year starter at running back, defensive back and punt returner and was chosen as permanent team captain. In addition to being chosen as the Most Valuable Player and Most Outstanding Back he was named to the All Little Dixie Conference Team. He was a four year starter for the Clinton baseball team at shortstop and also was a pitcher and catcher. As in football, he was named permanent team captain and was a member of the All Little Dixie Conference Team. He helped lead the team to two North Little Dixie and two Overall Little Dixie conference championships. As a senior he was selected by his peers as Most Athletic.
Bumgarner was not limited in his accolades to just the sporting arena. He was a member of the Clinton High School debate team and was chairman of the competitive Parliamentary Procedure Team that competed on the state level.
Upon graduation he received a full football scholarship to Hinds Junior College at Raymond. He was a two-year starter at fullback and was selected to the All-State Team. While at Hinds he also was voted both Freshman and Sophomore Class Favorite.
After two years at Hinds he attended Delta State University where he was a member of Pi Kappa Alpha social fraternity and served as chairman of intramurals. He graduated with a BSE in social science in 1970.
In 1969 Bumgarner married Katherine Sutherland, of Hattiesburg, and began his coaching career immediately upon graduation. He served as an assistant coach at Greenville, Corinth and Warren Central high schools, head track coach at Greenville, and head baseball coach at Corinth and Warren Central. While coaching at Greenville he led the track team to an undefeated season and was chosen the conference's coach of the year. In 1976 he began serving as head football coach and athletic director at St. Aloysius in Vicksburg. During his tenure at St. Aloysius he coached the Flashes football team to two undefeated seasons and earned a State Championship in baseball. He was selected as Coach of the Year for the conference twice in football and once in baseball. He then went on to earn honors as Mississippi's Class Double B Coach of the Year in baseball.
In 1978 King Les received an offer to become head coach and athletic director at Brookhaven High School. He coached the Panthers for three years. During the summer of 1978 he was selected as an assistant coach in the Mississippi High School All-Star football game, becoming one of the youngest coaches to ever receive the honor. At both St. Aloysius and Brookhaven he served as faculty advisor for the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.
During his coaching career that spanned 11 years he received four resolutions from the Mississippi State Legislature commending him and his teams for their successes and had the opportunity to be the head coach in two Mississippi Bowl games and one Red Carpet Bowl. He was the head coach in the first televised high school football game, the 1977 Mississippi Bowl.
Beginning in 1973, while he was still coaching, he joined the Mississippi National Guard and graduated from Officer Candidate School. He served as commanding officer of the Mississippi National Guard 114th Military Police and retired with the rank of captain from the 412th Engineer Command Army Reserve Unit after 11 years of service.
Always recognizing the merit of contributing to his community, Bumgarner became very involved in Lincoln County and its civic needs. He served as a head coach of Pee-Wee Football and Dixie Youth Baseball where he led his Charlie Nelms Ford team to two Over-All City Championships in baseball and the Jets to two Over-All City championships in football.
He has been a member of the Brookhaven-Lincoln County Chamber of Commerce since moving to Brookhaven and has served on the board of directors of Brookhaven Country Club. He is president of the Southwest Mississippi Delta State Alumni Association. He has been selected to Cambridge's Who's Who Registry Among Executives and Professionals. The Brookhaven Recreation Department has had him as a board member for 16 years, serving as secretary-treasurer for 11 years. For 10 years he was a member of the Separate School District Board of Trustees serving in many different officer capacities. He is currently serving as alderman at large for the City of Brookhaven.
Bumgarner is an active communicant of the Episcopal Church of the Redeemer where he is the senior warden. He also serves as an usher, chalice bearer, verger and vestry member.
In 1979, while still coaching, he opened The Locker Room Men's Shop, located in the "B" Building in historic downtown Brookhaven. After two more years of coaching and having a manager for the store, he decided to retire from his education career and concentrate on the business. The Locker Room is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year.
Bumgarner is the son of the late Dona Jo and Les L. Bumgarner Sr., of Clinton. His siblings are Randa Navar, James Bumgarner and Rena O'Steen. He is the father of two children, Brad, married to Kami Burns Bumgarner, and Leslie, wife of Rod Delaney, all of Madison. He is the proud grandfather of six grandchildren, Katherine, Elizabeth, and Ryan Delaney, and Anna Kay, Brooke and Claire Bumgarner.
Ann Kirkpatrick Jacobs
Ann Kirkpatrick Jacobs is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. William Orton Jacobs. She is the granddaughter of Mrs. William Polk Alexander Jr. and the late Mr. Alexander, of Dyersburg, Tenn., and Mr. and Mrs. Charles Robinson Jacobs, of Brookhaven.
Queen Jacobs was a special honors graduate of the Brookhaven High School Class of 2005 with a ranking of fourth in her class. She was named to the All A Honor Roll, the National Honor Society and ultimately to the BHS Academic Hall of Fame. She was selected a scholar of the Mississippi Governor's School Class of 2004 and served as a page to the Mississippi House of Representatives.
She was elected senior class vice president and served the student council as representative, treasurer and vice president. Twice named as student of the month for both the Lions and Kiwanis clubs, Jacobs was selected to the BHS Science Bowl Team, named Junior Class Favorite and elected Most Likely to Succeed.
Jacobs was a member of the BHS Varsity Tennis Team and was selected Most Improved Player. She was a mentor for Big Brothers Big Sisters, named a Les Belles de l'Hospitalitié, a Girl Scout and volunteered for the Brookhaven Arts Council.
She is presently a senior at the University of Mississippi from which she will graduate in May with a degree in International Studies and a minor in French. She will also be a member of both The Croft Institute of International Studies Class of 2009 and the Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College Class of 2009. She is an active member of Tau Chapter, Chi Omega Sorority.
Jacobs enhanced her study of the French language through extended studies at Université Stendhal in Grenoble, France, the summer following her sophomore year, as well as a semester of study in Nantes, France, at the Université de Nantes through IES Abroad during her junior year. She received a 2008 Honors Fellowship to study abroad from the Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College.
At Ole Miss, Jacobs served as a junior senator in the Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College Senate. She is presently a senior senator in the Croft Institute Senate where she was named the Public Relations Chair. Jacobs served on the Student Alumni Council for two years. She was named to the Chancellor's Honor Roll, and is a member of: Mortar Board, Alpha Lambda Delta Honor Society, and the National Society of Collegiate Scholars. She was selected as a Sophomore Sensation by the university in 2006. She has participated in the LeapFrog After School Program in Oxford as a tutor and enrichment volunteer for all of her four years at Ole Miss. Jacobs has also volunteered her time at various nursing homes in Oxford throughout her years there.
During the summer of 2008, Jacobs received an internship in the Washington, D.C., offices of Senator Thad Cochran where she served under the Senator's Foreign Relations and Education Legislative assistant.
She is a member of Faith Presbyterian Church and attends College Hill Presbyterian Church in Oxford as well as Reformed University Fellowship. Her special interests include: the French language, travel, reading and tennis.
Jacobs is presently completing work on her senior honors thesis for graduation in May. Upon graduation, she has applied through the French Embassy in Washington, D.C., for a position in their French Teaching Assistantship Program for 2009-2010. She has future plans to 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 ball and as a maid in the 2005 ball. Her father, William Orton Jacobs, served as an escort during the l975 Harvest Ball and her grandfather, Charles Robinson Jacobs, was named as the second king of the annual event in l967. Her sister, Meredith Alexander Jacobs, served as an aide to the queen during the 2003 ball.
