About 500 Monroe Countians, including Monroe County Commission Chairman Greg Tapley and District 1 Commissioner Lamarcus Davis, came out to Forsyth’s downtown on this windy afternoon (Saturday, Feb. 24) to honor Monroe County’s hometown football hero Malik Herring.
Forsyth Main Street organized a full slate of community events on Saturday to honor Herring, the Monroe County native and current Kansas City Chiefs defensive end whose Chiefs’ squad captured its second consecutive Super Bowl title when it defeated the San Francisco 49ers 25-22 in OT in Las Vegas on Feb. 11.
The apex of “Malik Herring Day” was a brief parade around the Monroe County Courthouse square followed by an hour-long pep rally at Ingram Field just a block from the square.
Commissioner Davis was one of a dozen of speakers at the pep rally. Commissioner Davis, who coached Herring in youth football, presented the Chiefs’ standout with a red road sign that reads: “Welcome to Monroe County: Home of Malik Herring 2 Time Super Bowl Champion KC 2023, 2024.” A green version of the same sign will be placed at all state road entrance routes into Monroe County to signify Herring’s incredible football achievement.
Other pep rally speakers included: Big Peach Car Wash co-owner Wes Cone; Herring’s uncle, Robert Moore; Forsyth Mayor Eric Wilson; Mary Persons football coach Brian Nelson; Culloden Mayor Lynn Miller; Wrights Grove Baptist Church Pastor Henry Leonard of Project Impact; Herring; Herring’s mother, Sabrina Watts-Mays; Herring’s brother, Tevin Davis; Herring’s father, Lenny Herring; and Forsyth Main Street Coordinator Kemie Childs.
In addition to the special road sign, Herring received a handful of other gifts during Saturday’s pep rally, including a commemorative football from the City of Forsyth, a Mary Persons football helmet from the Monroe County Board of Education, a commemorative plaque from the City of Culloden; and a commemorative plaque from Project Impact. In addition, Childs presented Watts-Mays with a framed photo of her hugging her son after his team’s Super Bowl LVIII win, an image that was broadcast nationwide on CBS to the largest United States television audience in recorded history.
Herring, who spent Saturday morning assisting with cleaning up downtown Forsyth for next month’s Forsythia Festival, stayed around to sign autographs and take photos with several hundred kids and adults at the conclusion of the pep rally.
