Annually, at the Christian Education Department Winter Meeting a monetary award is given through the Varick International Christian Youth Council in celebration of the life of Roosevelt L. Thompson.
Roosevelt L. Thompson, the son of Rev. and Mrs. C.R. Thompson, was born on January 28, 1952, in Little Rock, Arkansas. There he attended Central High School where he excelled academically, achieving remarkably high scores on the National Merit Exam and receiving the distinction of being named a Presidential Scholar. Roosevelt was extremely active in the community and served as a leader for the student body, on newspaper staffs, and as the governor of Boys State.
After graduation, he matriculated at Yale where he continued to add to his legacy of scholastic achievement, service, and overall success. There he majored in history and political science with plans to still further his education abroad at Oxford University in England. While at Yale, he was a member of Phi Beta Kappa scholastic fraternity and a recipient of the widely renowned Truman and Rhodes scholarships. Additionally, he headed service programs in New Haven and counseled college freshmen.
Roosevelt, a member of Payne Chapel A.M.E. Zion Church was also the parliamentarian of the National Christian Youth Council of the A.M.E. Zion Church. On March 22, 1984, Roosevelt L. Thompson died in an automobile collision traveling from Arkansas back to Connecticut, and it is in the honor of scholastic achievement, leadership, and service of which he was committed to in life, that the Varick International Christian Youth council makes available an award.
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RLTAwardApp2009.pdf