18Aug2018

BIRMINGHAM, AL—On Saturday, Aug. 18, noted youth mentor and anti-violence and peace activist Orrin “Checkmate” Hudson will use a life-size chessboard to share success strategies with students in the Avondale Housing Project at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Park Recreation Center, 529 43rd St. North.

From 1pm until 3pm

At Martin Luther King, Jr. Park Recreation Center

529 43rd St. North. Birmingham, AL 35222

free

Orrin Hudson / orrin@besomeone.org / 404-578-5278

Chess Champion, Air Force Veteran and Former Alabama State Trooper to lead workshop for youths at Avondale Housing Project

BIRMINGHAM, AL—On Saturday, Aug. 18, noted youth mentor and anti-violence and peace activist Orrin “Checkmate” Hudson will use a life-size chessboard to share success strategies with students in the Avondale Housing Project at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Park Recreation Center, 529 43rd St. North. Birmingham AL.

As the new school year kicks off, Hudson will inspire students and parents students to get on the right track and stay on it. The session will outline specific strategies that help students think before they make dangerous moves. In the workshop, Hudson teaches students to have respect for others, to give more than they take and that every move has a consequence. His goal is leadership, to instill achievement, to defy the odds.

Growing up as an inner-city youth in Birmingham, Alabama, Hudson gained an inside perspective on the population he seeks to uplift. As a youth, Hudson was involved in petty crime, gangs and drugs. A chance encounter with a compassionate teacher who taught him the fundamentals of chess changed his life.

Stepping up and out of the inner city, Hudson studied chess and became the first African American to win the Birmingham chess championship. He later went on to serve in the U.S. Air Force as well as an Alabama State Trooper. Upon hearing of a tragic and senseless robbery perpetrated by black youths, Hudson decided to help — as he himself had once been helped — and founded a non-profit organization: Be Someone (www.BeSomeone.org).

Hudson has been awarded the prestigious FBI Director’s Community Leader Award, and since the year 2000, his program has brought 61,000 students the life-affirming message of “Peace, Positivity, and Purpose.”

 Hudson’s life-changing message to urban youth is:
* Get Your Heads Up!
* Get Your Pants Up!
* Get Your Grades Up!
* and Never Give Up!

Hudson says his goal is to reach at least 1 million students with his life-changing messages.

Hudson was dubbed the “pied piper of positivity” by CNN for coaching his students to a statewide chess championship and three citywide chess championships.

At his upcoming workshop, Hudson will teach a new currency to young people called KASH (Knowledge, Attitude, Skills, Habits), and show them how it can change their lives for the better.

 Event Details

When: Saturday, Aug. 18, 1 to 3 p.m.

Where: Martin Luther King Jr. Park Recreation Center, 

529 43rd St. North. Birmingham AL

Tel: 205-591-3716

404-578-5278 Orrin Hudson cell

Visuals: Orrin Hudson will use a life-sized chessboard to teach youths strategies on succeeding.For more information about Orrin C. Hudson or his Be Someone organization, visit www.BeSomeone.org