A capacity crowd cheered the presentation of the Junior Auxiliary of Columbus 2015 Charity Ball king and queen Saturday evening at Trotter Convention Center. King Thomas Leyton Phillips and Queen Caroline Emily Borland were introduced with fanfare at the 65th annual ball, along with a court of 29 high school seniors who have performed more than 2,500 hours of service in their community, schools and churches.
The Ball, and Junior Auxiliary’s Report to the Community, support the chapter’s year-round service projects for children throughout Lowndes County. They include Choose Your Path, school uniforms and clothing for children in need, Fit and Fabulous Forever, In My Shoes, Junior Auxiliary Mentors, Little Free Library, National Stand Beside Her Week, Stand Up-Speak Out and Reality Fair.
The king
King Thomas Leyton Phillips is a lifelong resident of Columbus. Known as “Bud,” he is the son of the late Mr. and Mrs. Bill Phillips. His father was the Pilgrimage Ball king in 1979. This year’s honoree is married to Joy Burnette Phillips and is the father of four children: Lisa Phillips Kerby, a JA Associate Member; Leyton Phillips; Doug Phillips, whose wife, Katherine, is a JA Life Member; and Brian James. Phillips has seven grandchildren.
A 1958 graduate of S.D. Lee High School, he was elected Mr. Lee High, served as senior class president, was captain of the marching band and was a member of the 1958 Pilgrimage Ball Court. He was chosen by faculty as a Lions Club Boy of the Month and served as president of the YMCA Club and was in the Key Club.
Phillips earned a Bachelor of Science degree in business administration at Mississippi State University, where he was a member of Kappa Alpha Fraternity.
Following graduation, he returned to Columbus, joined the Mississippi National Guard and began a successful business career. He has been associated with Phillips Contracting Co., Phillips Development, Falcon Contracting Co., P&W Enterprises, Mills Morris Automotive Co., Rhett Real Estate and Avalon Development.
In the community
Phillips is an active member of First United Methodist Church, serving for years as captain of the Usher team and on numerous committees. He is a past president of the Ivy Bible Class.
The Charity Ball king is an example of community service to Columbus and Lowndes County. His contributions and efforts for the United Way of Lowndes County have helped keep the programs active. He has served as chairman of the organization’s annual drive, as board president, as a division head and as an executive committee member. He was instrumental in hiring Col. Billy McLeod as the city’s first executive director of the United Way.
In the Columbus Chamber of Commerce, Phillips served as president, vice president and board member. He was also president of the Columbus-Lowndes Economic Development Association. For his outstanding service, he was named the Chamber of Commerce’s Business Person of the Year.
Phillips has also served on the YMCA Board of Directors, and as president of the Annunciation Catholic School Advisory Board and its Development Committee. A past president of the Annunciation Catholic Church Parish Council, he also hosted boating events for children attending Camp Rising Sun.
Having been on the board for 30 years, Phillips also served as president of the Region Six Mental Health Foundation of Community Counseling, touching the lives of many. At the state and regional level, he has served on the board of the East Mississippi Council and was past president of the Mississippi Asphalt Pavement Association.
He is a past chairman of the Tenn-Tom Waterway Grassroots Organization and has been appointed by Governors of Mississippi to the Four States Tenn-Tom Planning and Development committee and the Tenn-Tom Waterway Development Authority, of which he has been a board member for 24 years. He was instrumental in organizing the Tenn-Tom Christmas on the River Parade.
A longtime supporter of Junior Auxiliary, Phillips has appeared in several Ball pageants and faithfully attended the event for many years.
The queen
Queen Caroline Emily Borland is the daughter of Frances Jones Borland and Mr. and Mrs. James Alan Borland. She is the granddaughter of the late Mr. Robert Samuel Jones and Mrs. Robert Samuel Jones and the late Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Harry Borland.
Her grandfather, Bobby Jones, reigned as the 1990 Pilgrimage King. Her great aunt, Ann Fletcher Lee, was the 1956 Pilgrimage Queen. Her mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother, the late Mrs. Frances Fletcher, are JA Life Members. Her mother, Frances, and her grandmother, Emily, were both past Pilgrimage Ball court members.
In 2010, Borland graduated from Heritage Academy with a GPA of 3.98. She was selected to the Heritage Academy Hall of Fame and was selected by the student body as homecoming queen. She served as president of her class each year of high school and was a cheerleader throughout high school, serving as squad captain her senior year. She was named Universal All Star Cheerleader her freshman and senior years.
A member of Fellowship of Christian Athletes, Borland played on the Junior High and Varsity Basketball teams, receiving the Best Offense Award, Patriot Award and Most Valuable Player Award.
A Heritage Academy Honors student, she held membership in the National Honor Society, Beta Club, MPSA Honor Society, Mu Alpha Theta and was named a Mississippi Scholar. She earned the highest average in Honors Algebra 2, Spanish 2 and Computer Applications. She also served as chaplain of the MCA Social Club. A participant in the Heritage Beauty Revue, she twice placed in the Top Five.
Volunteer spirit
A member of First United Methodist Church and its youth ministry, Borland served as a Fuel Group Leader and mentor for seventh-grade girls. A Vacation Bible School volunteer for several years, she participated in mission trips after Hurricane Katrina and was part of a mission team to South Carolina. She sang in the annual Singing Christmas Tree and served as an acolyte.
While in high school, Borland volunteered with the Salvation Army’s Angel Tree, Operation Christmas Child, Columbus Humane Society, Angel Food Ministries, Loaves and Fishes Soup Kitchen, Relay for Life and Habitat for Humanity. She served as a Columbus Pilgrimage hostess and was in the 2010 Pilgrimage Court.
Continued service
After graduation, she was admitted to the Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College and The University of Mississippi where she received three academic scholarships. At Ole Miss, she was inducted into Pi Kappa Phi Honors Society, the President’s Leadership Council, National Society of Collegiate Scholars and Gamma Beta Phi Honor Society and was a Dean’s List scholar.
A member of Delta Gamma Sorority, Borland was elected vice president of recruitment and was an Alpha Delta Pi Ambassador, helping establish the new sorority on campus. She was also a member of the Ole Miss Wesley Foundation, Campus Crusade for Christ and the The Reformed University Fellowship. She was an intern at Oxford University United Methodist Church, leading a youth group and assisting with youth activities.
The Charity Ball queen was a counselor at Camp Lake Stephens and volunteered at Rainbow Camp, a camp for mentally challenged adults. She continues to serve on North Mississippi Chrysalis and Emmaus teams. A member of a mission team to Honduras, she helped build cement block houses and led a children’s Bible School.
Borland volunteered with the Boys and Girls Club and with the Safe Routes to School program. With More than a Meal, she served food to the needy and taught Bible studies for children in the Oxford area.
Her love for basketball led her to play intramural basketball for her sorority. She also refereed basketball games for mentally challenged children through Special Olympics. She participated in the Care Walk, raising money for Breast Care Awareness, and tutored children after school through the Leap Frog Program.
Borland is an Honors Scholar graduate of the Sally Barksdale Honors College and a magna cum laude graduate of the University of Mississippi, where she earned a Bachelor of Science degree in exercise science with a GPA of 3.84. She is currently pursuing a Doctorate of Physical Therapy at the University of Mississippi Medical Center.
Borland continues to volunteer, offering free physical therapy through the Jackson Free Clinic. Through Young Life Capernaum, she weekly mentors disabled individuals of all ages. She also volunteers in several Jackson nursing homes, and with the Jackson Humane Society.
JA Ball Royalty for the past 10 years
■ 2005 Mr. Bascom Andrew Atkins
Miss Katherine Elizabeth Waters
■ 2006 Mr. Allen Boyd Puckett III
Miss Florence McLeod Davis (Mrs. Mark Dutton Matthews)
■ 2007 Mr. Thomas Kelleam Sneed
Miss Elizabeth Spencer Ford (Mrs. Bentley Hamilton Jones)
■ 2008 Mr. Charleigh Ford Jr.
Miss Bailey Blaire Griffin (Mrs. Sage Copeland)
■ 2009 Mr. James C. Galloway
Miss Elizabeth Harper Ferguson
■ 2010 Mr. Eugene Beard Imes
Miss Jennifer Rose Adams
■ 2011 Mr. John Thompson Bean III
Miss Madeline Frances Hardy
■ 2012 Mr. Raymond Michael Waters III
Miss Kendyl Diane Hall (Mrs. Cody Taylor Hensley)
■ 2013 John Eugene Reed Jr.
Miss Margaret Fairfax Davis
■ 2014 Mr. Elton Sigrest Thomas Jr.
Miss Madison Ann Ford
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