Ebenezer Greenleaf Church recently held its homecoming and sixty-eighth Reubin Thompson family reunion at the national Methodist historical site, founded in 1800 and located in Kemp. The service was presided over by Andy Thompson, chairman of the foundation board, and included singing old, familiar hymns, having a message delivered by Mark Sweat, remembering deceased family members with a memorial ceremony, and hearing the family history. As part of the program, Susan Middleton, scholarship committee chair, presented Peyton Lee with the Roots and Wings Scholarship. This scholarship has been awarded to a deserving member of the Reubin Thompson family for the past twenty-five years.
Faith and family are the roots of the strong Thompson Family Tree. Over time, these roots have allowed this family to find wings and fly away to seek their futures. Several years ago, members of the Reubin Thompson family decided to help a fellow family member with a scholarship. The purpose of this $1,000.00 scholarship is to allow a Reubin Thompson descendant to pursue some worthy ambition and explore career possibilities. Each applicant must be a descendent of Reubin Thompson and be able to place himself/herself on the Thompson Family Tree by drawing the family tree and showing the names of his ancestors linking back to Reubin Thompson, an American Revolutionary War veteran. Additionally, each applicant must be enrolled in a post-secondary institution at the time of receiving the scholarship and is also required to write an essay to include how the scholarship will be used.
Peyton is the son of Michael and Jana Lee of Kite and is the ninth great-grandson of Reubin Thompson on the maternal side of his family tree. The salutatorian of David Emanuel Academy’s Class of 2025, Peyton will be entering Georgia Southern University in January as a sophomore and will be majoring in civil engineering.
