Perry Tyner Tate Memorial

The Perry Tyner Tate Memorial Award

Perry Tyner Tate was a member of the Clinton High School Speech and Debate Team during her sophomore and junior years of high school before transferring to St. Andrew’s for her senior year as a recipient of the Malone Scholarship. Despite suffering from rheumatoid arthritis from the age of 17 months, she finished her career with 1,636 NSDA points, earning the degree of Premier Distinction and attending NFL Nationals in her junior year. After graduating in 2007, Perry attended the University of Alabama and won a national championship in Communication Analysis at the Delta Sigma Rho-Tau Kappa Alpha National Tournament in 2008 before retiring from competitive speech. After graduating from Alabama, Perry briefly attended law school before determining that her calling lay in helping children. To that end, Perry was working as the Director of Childcare and Aquatics at the YMCA in Clinton while pursuing a degree in Counseling from Mississippi College. In late 2012, Perry was stricken with Hemophagocytic Lymphohistiocytosis and passed away on January 2, 2013, less than two weeks shy of her 24^th birthday.

Those of us who remember Perry knew her as a vibrant young woman of faith who faced the world, and even the knowledge that her condition would prove mortal, with a sense of purpose, courage, positivity, and humility. The coaching staff at St. Andrew’s Episcopal School and her family commit ourselves to honoring her memory through the creation and sustaining of the Perry Tyner Tate Memorial Award. Specifically, the award honors a student who:

· has overcome adversity to achieve success in the world of competitive speech

· displays a competitive fire within the competition round and compassion outside of it

· uses their talents and experience to enrich the speech and debate experience for others, particularly young students

· shows intellectual curiosity both in and outside of the world of competitive speech

In addition to an award recognizing the recipient, the tournament will make a cash donation in the winner’s name and in memory of Perry to one of a list of charitable organizations relevant to different aspects of Perry’s life.

The previous winners of this award are (from Mississippi unless otherwise noted):

2013 – Jayla Cooper, Olive Branch High School

2014 – Jarrius Adams, Hattiesburg High School

2015 – Jazi Atassi, Bob Jones High School (AL)

2016 – Jade Lewis, Northwest Rankin High School

2017 – Tanner McGee, Oak Grove High School

2018 – Jessica Styres, Madison Central High School

2019 – John Houston Pugh, Petal High School

Jan 2021 – not awarded due to lack of nominees

2022 – Asia Anderson, Oak Grove High School, awarded as part of 1^st place in Original Oratory

2023 – Will Vailes, Cabot High School (AR)

2024 – Julia Lever, Germantown High School, awarded as part of 1^st place in Original Oratory

We ask coaches of students whose experiences are similar to those of Perry to nominate them for this award. Our sincere hope is that our efforts sufficiently honor this young woman who was taken from us all too soon.

Nominations are due by Friday, December 13. Below is the link to a Google Form where you can submit the nomination. If you wish to include a letter for the last question, you can send that to Darin Maier at maierd@gosaints.org, but please do also complete the other questions on the form.

Google Form Link for the Perry Tyner Tate Memorial Award -https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfBjV311TFMvMphBBtTge82shG9CKnF5tMbul8kH80U4AIdeA/viewform?usp=sf_link