On June 19, Tobey Bartee was awarded the Trailblazer Award by the Juneteenth Committee in Meridian.
He had been contacted in advance to let him know about the award. While he didn’t respond with everything they requested immediately, he did begin to become more excited about it as Juneteenth approached.
“I received a message on Facebook from Terrence Davis, who was over the stuff in Meridian, asking me if I would submit a biography because I had been nominated for a Trailblazer Award,” explained Tobey. “I was shocked. He told me I would get it on Juneteenth. A month went by, but I never sent a biography in. Several weeks went on, and someone contacted me and requested that I send my biography to Terrence. I went ahead and did that. I didn’t get too excited at that point because sometimes stuff happens that could make things change. As time grew, I got more excited and was telling my son that lives in Slidell, and he was excited.”
When the time for the event finally arrived, he was impressed with how professionally everything was done.
“I went to the Juneteenth celebration at the Temple Theatre. I’ve watched the Grammy’s on tv, and this was the closest thing to being there. It was laid out so professionally,” described Tobey. “Once I got there, I had a section that was designated for family and friends. I was escorted to the seat, and they came and escorted me backstage. Judge Young was the emcee, and she read my bio. They called me on stage and presented me with the award and escorted me off the stage and back to my seat. The music was phenomenal. It was so professional with the lineup they had. I’ve never heard in person such clarity in gospel singing as I did that night, and the building was packed.”
He was thrilled to be able to share the stage with others who were receiving awards that day as well.
“I just felt honored to be on the stage with some of the recipients,” declared Tobey. “One other person was Coach Connie Crenshaw. She’s a basketball coach from Meridian. She coached at Georgia State, I believe, and now she’s at Texas A&M. She’s a pretty famous coach. She was awarded that night, and there were some others. I just felt honored to be in the presence of people with such caliber as what was there.”
Although he never questioned the committee about what inspired them to select him as the recipient of the Trailblazer Award, their presentation suggested that it is from his experience as a judge.
“I really didn’t ask them why I was chosen, but they read my bio and talked about the fact of me serving for 28 years in Clarke County and being the first black person to serve as a judge in Clarke County,” informed Tobey. “They felt as though I was a trailblazer, like I was leading the way and making it believable that it can happen. Times have changed; times are different. I took it as though they recognized me because of that because in this day and time, people need something positive to believe in.”
He is still very humble about the award and takes more pride in the actual work and accomplishments that allowed him to attain it.
“I just felt that it was a great honor,” proclaimed Tobey. “I’ve received a lot of awards during my career, but I never get excited necessarily for that paper or plaque and all. I was always excited about the work within itself because it was never about me. It was always just about showing gratitude that the Lord chose me to do this.”
