Scott County Chess Club Hall of Fame

It is with great pride and appreciation that we introduce Dianne McLaurin as our 2024 inductee in the Scott County Chess Club Hall of Fame.

McLaurin retired from the Central Mississippi regional Library System as branch manager of the Forest Public Library on December 14, 2024, after many years of faithful service to the library and Scott County. McLaurin was a valuable supporter and partner since the establishment of the Scott County Chess Club in May 2018.

"Dianne has been here since the beginning and was so excited for my idea to start the club. She provided unwavering support, going above and beyond to make sure we had everything we needed to have the best chance at success. So much of our growth is a direct result of her support and counsel," said Chris Allen Baker, founder and coordinator. 

Baker said a long list of examples of her assistance is highlighted by a major donation whereas the library received $1,000 for chess development. 

"After the library was so blessed to receive it, Dianne was instrumental in making sure we stretched that incredible donation as far as it could go. With her counsel and leadership, we used half of it to expand the Forest library's inventory of chess materials including books and chess sets. The other half was used to start the annual Randy Richardson Memorial Chess Camp for instructing children in learning and playing chess," Baker said.

McLaurin is a native of Smith County and graduated from Raleigh High School. After her studies at Mississippi College, McLaurin worked for many years in the newspaper industry serving newspapers in Jasper and Smith counties. She changed professions to lead programs for many more years in the Central Mississippi regional Library System. She has served in multiple roles in libraries including but not limited to circulation manager, children's librarian, and other positions before taking the reins as branch manager in Forest. She also served the community through the Forest Area Chamber of Commerce as many library programs were linked in support of chamber activities in particular support of the downtown area. 

In addition to supporting the chess club's activities, McLaurin worked tirelessly in the library's management, again including but not limited to leading staff, coordinating children and adult programs, creating and coordinating community service and outreach programs, maintaining and growing the library's circulation assets, and much more.  

At the time of her induction, McLaurin's name became attached to the champion of the open section of the Roosevelt Chess Classic tournament held each November.

"We will miss her as the chapter of her library tenure ended, but she will remain connected to the club in our hearts through this outward visible recognition of her service. As each year's champion is honored, their success will be linked to honoring Dianne as a loyal and dedicated servant to chess in our community," Baker said.

Dianne started her retirement with plans to spend more time with family and friends, but remains steadfast in support of the library - now as a patron - and the community.

It is with great pride and appreciation that we introduce Lt. Col. (ret.) Michael Hawkins as one of our 2023 inductees in the Scott County Chess Club Hall of Fame.

Former Forest resident and native retired Lt. Col. Michael Hawkins donated $1,000 in memory of a former classmate who taught him how to play chess. Hawkins said he wished for the funds to be used to obtain whatever materials the library needed to educate and promote chess in the community, particularly among children.

The classmate Hawkins referred to is the late Randy Richardson who, with Hawkins, was a 1960 graduate of Forest High school. Chess was among many activities they were involved in during their school years. Hawkins said he also played with other friends when possible.

“He taught me the game and I just became hooked. I love it so much. We played 24 straight games with him winning all of them before I was able to beat him on the 25th try,” Hawkins said. “It was a great experience. I appreciated the opportunity Randy gave me to learn the game and I still play it whenever I can. When I learned that a chess club was started in Forest, I wanted to help the library any way I could to keep the game going.” 

In addition to the funds, Hawkins also sent a set of chess lesson books and a traditional analog game clock.

“This is an incredible gift that Lt. Col. Hawkins has provided, and we are humbled by his support of the game. The funds will enable the library to acquire items that will be tremendously valuable in our efforts to promote the game and teach more people how to play it,” said Scott County Chess Club Founder and Coordinator Chris Allen Baker. “(Library Manager) Dianne McLaurin and I have mapped out a strategy to take the donation as far as we can.”

Half of the funds was used to purchase books and other materials that the public can check out and learn the game. Some funds were also used to purchase additional chess sets to join the five boards originally donated by the Friends of the Library group. The remaining funds were used to establish the Randy Richardson Memorial Chess Camp, held in October, to teach the game to children in the community.

Hawkins, who now lives in Gautier, Miss., said life has been good for him and he wanted to use some of his resources to support the game he learned in school. 

After graduation, Hawkins earned a doctorate in education psychology and pursued a career in the U.S. Army until retirement. Hawkins said he also planned to participate in chess activities in his current community.

“I never forgot where I came from. I have many fond memories of life in the Moore Tower Road area of Scott County. I just wanted to give something back,” Hawkins said.

It is with great pride and appreciation that we introduce Beth Thrasher as one of our 2023 inductees in the Scott County Chess Club Hall of Fame.

There are not many chess players and leaders who have (and continue to) put in the hours, days, and years of work that Beth Thrasher has served and contributed to the development and growth of chess in Mississippi. Through countless chess tournaments around the state and summer chess camps and much more, Thrasher lives her chess passion daily in service to players across the state. Her unwavering dedication and devotion to players' chess success is a major factor in chess growth in Mississippi.

From 2022 until 2023, Thrasher provided boards, pieces, and clocks to the Scott County Chess Club as well as her time and experience as a tournament director. Without her support, the club would not have been able to host four of the eight tournaments that we have done. At the end of 2023, Scott County Chess Club purchased its own chess equipment for future tournaments, but Thrasher remains a valuable resource of support should we need her assistance.

In addition to supporting our tournaments, Thrasher also donated her time and talents through appearances on radio and television with the Scott County Chess Club in promoting chess across the state.  Thrasher has also provided valuable counsel and emotional support to our efforts in hosting events and providing other services to the chess community.

Thrasher is a native of Mt. Morris, New York and resides in Hinds County, Mississippi. A graduate of Mt. Morris High School, She has studied at University at Buffalo School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences and at Florida Institute of Technology. 

A former math teacher at Wingfield High School in the Jackson Public School District, Thrasher currently works at Crossgates Baptist Kindergarten and is a teacher at Jackson Classical Homeschool Program. She is also a cofounder and manager of Vector Jiu Jitsu martial arts school.

In the chess community, Thrasher is a board of directors member of the Mississippi Scholastic Chess Association, coordinator of the Capital City Chess Club, tournament director, and coordinator of tournaments and chess camps. 

She and her husband, Chris, are parents to their son, Clayton, and daughter, Sophia, all of whom are active chess players.

It is with great pride and appreciation that we introduce Beverly Jo Bracken Rhodes (posthumously) as our 2022 inductee in the Scott County Chess Club Hall of Fame.

Although Rhodes did not directly participate in the Scott County Chess Club's activities, it is befitting that we honor her contributions to chess education in Scott County during her education career in teaching the game to her students.

The first-place winner in the Open section of our annual Bienville Chess Classic tournament (established in April 2022) receives a plaque commemorating the Beverly Jo Rhodes Memorial Award, named for a former gifted teacher who started the WINGS program at Forest High School and supported chess among class activities.

Rhodes, 80, of Forest, died November 27, 2019 at Lackey Memorial Hospital. She was a native of Newton. As a young child, she was taught to read by her grandfather, Mr. A.L. Myers, and read constantly throughout her life. 

She was a Cum Laude graduate of Millsaps College in Jackson where she attended classes from 8 to 12 and worked at the Jackson YWCA from 1 to 9, riding a street bus to and from campus. She was on the Dean’s and President’s List and was a member of the Purple and White Staff, Eta Sigma (scholastic honorary) and Eta Sigma Phi (classical languages honorary).

She met her husband, Dusty, in 1956 when they worked at the Town and Palace Theaters in Forest. He proposed on the first day they met and they married four years later on June 4, 1960. Dusty was the sun in her sky and preceded her in death.

In 1981 she initiated the WINGS Class for gifted students at Forest high School. Her students excelled in numerous activities including Creative Writing, Quiz Bowl, Art Competitions, Chess, Future Problem Solving, Odyssey of the Mind, Stock Market Competition and Mississippi Economics Counsel Competitions. They won state and national awards, and many received college scholarships in part due to their WINGS class activities. She named the class WINGS and often said, “I hope to give them wings, and let them fly.” 

She always had words of encouragement for her students, urging them to be creative, to attempt new and different activities and to excel in all things but especially in creative writing. She was sympathetic when they were sad or disappointed. Beverly was an active member of the East Central Talented and Gifted Association and the Mississippi Association for the Talented and Gifted where she served as state treasurer. 

In 1991, she was chosen Mississippi Gifted Teacher of the Year and received the MS Award for Excellence in Gifted Education. She was chosen STAR Teacher four times, twice in Morton and twice in Forest. Beverly taught English in Morton and Forest where in 1982-1983 she was selected as Classroom Teacher of the Year. 

Although Dusty and Beverly had no children of their own, they were both dedicated to her students and will live on in the memory of those students. Beverly was selected as Star Teacher four times.
 

For many years she was a member of MENSA and was Gifted Children’s Coordinator for the Mississippi group. She was President of Friends of the Library, President of Lackey Hospital Auxiliary, member of MS Professional Educators and President of the Novel Lunch Bunch Book Club. She served in many offices in all these organizations. In the past, she had been a member of the Lions Club, Classroom Teachers, MEA, Kappa Kappa Iota and Fortnightly Club. 

The Beverly Rhodes Scholarship is a $1,000 award given in her honor by the Forest Friends of the Library. An avid reader who never lost her sense of curiosity, she was a life-long learner who maintained a great interest in the world and current events. In her later years she developed an interest in science and renewed an interest in cosmology, ancient civilization and geology which began while she was at Millsaps. Her favorite subject as a student was Latin and her email address was carpelibrum5813. The Latin words mean “seize the book” and the numbers are from the Fibonacci sequence. Friends treasured a birthday card from Beverly as she wrote a poem for the recipient on many cards.

After Hurricane Katrina she collected hundreds of books and sent them to the coast libraries with the help of friends, Pat and Martha Cleveland.

At her exercise class she was known for always being ready to amuse the group with a joke. Friends knew of her love for the Baltimore and later Indianapolis Colts. Often asked why she loved the Colts, she explained that the first thing she saw when her family got a TV in 1958 was the Colts-Giants game known as the greatest game ever played. She enjoyed watching football and other sports on TV while she read. She loved working cryptograms.

It is with great pride and appreciation that we introduce Deanne McCown as our 2018 inductee in the Scott County Chess Club Hall of Fame.

Essentially, the Scott County Chess Club would not exist if not for the service and efforts of McCown in teaching the game in the Forest Municipal School District. 

When Aaron Thomas Baker was in the second grade at Forest Elementary School in February 2018, he learned chess in the WINGS gifted class. McCown instructed each student to make a chess board out of construction paper and the students were given small plastic chess pieces. McCown proceeded to teach the students the basics of the game.

Upon his return home, Aaron asked his father, Chris, to play a game with him. Chris responded that he didn't know how to play chess. "I had always wanted to learn, but I never got around to it. The perceived complexities intimidated me," he said. 

Aaron showed his dad how the pieces move and the basic rules. Chris learned the pieces' movements quickly and fell in love with the game. After several weeks of playing almost every night with Aaron, Chris decided he wanted to find others in the community who may already play and others to join in the game. 

Therefore, in recognition of McCown's efforts to bring more students into the game of chess, she indirectly provided the inspiration that led to the eventual establishment of the Scott County Chess Club.

McCown now lives in Newton County, but keeps up with events in Forest and remains a friend of the club.