The City of Danville will be honoring a longtime ambassador of the city by naming two new basketball courts after him. Mayor Scott Eisenhauer says the city plans to honor Nathan ‘BoBo’ Smalls by dedicating the new outside basketball courts after him on Saturday, June 10th, 2017. The brief dedication program will begin at 1:00 p.m.
Smalls (on left in photo) was born and raised in Savannah, Georgia and came to Danville in 1969.
‘’I met my wife here playing with the Indianapolis Clowns, who was a part of the Negro Baseball League – who was the last team. So that’s how I ended-up here in Danville. And my mission in life – besides being a baseball player – I’ve always, always wanted to work with kids. And God gave me the opportunity for what I’m doing now,’’ said Smalls during an interview with VermilionCountyFirst.com News. ‘’And I’ve been doing this for a long time. So I know what working with kids is all about.’’
Smalls says the courts will also be dedicated for his kids – all of the kids who play there.
‘’When we have our games – a lot of times during half-time, I’ll stop it or Pastor (Frank) McCullough will stop it. And we’ll have speaking sessions, you know to try to tell them some things they need to be doing, and how to straighten their lives and things up. Because there’s a lot of kids out there that are really not that bad. They just don’t have anybody to tell them anything,’’ added Smalls. And he noted: ‘’If you’re a Bo Bo kid you’re suppose to act accordingly.’’
Smalls is a member of the Three Kings of Peace…a group which has dedicated itself to trying to prevent violence in Danville.
‘’Every Saturday at 6 o’clock, we march about two hours in different sections of Danville where the trouble spots are, you know to try to prevent some of the crimes and stuff that have been going on in Danville. The killings, and the shootings and stuff, and the young gangs and things like that,’’ added Smalls.
Another member of the Three Kings of Peace, Reverend Frank McCullough, says in addition to recreational activities they have been working to find jobs for some kids.
‘’Champaign County has a program that puts kids to work each year. And we know that that would be a crime prevention if the majority of the kids that get out of school would be working,’’ said McCullough (on right in photo). ‘’You know they could earn their own money and do positive things.’’
The Three Kings of Peace spent hundreds of hours during the school year at local schools, talking to students and trying to help keep them focused on the mission of getting a good education.
