VALDOSTA – Chad Lee, a seventh grader at J.L. Newbern Middle School, immediately gravitated to the table full of bow ties where his eyes landed on a dark navy Gingham bow tie. 

“I kind of like a tie like that,” Lee said, pointing to it. “Russell Westbrook wears them.”

Lee said he’s never tied a tie, much less a bow tie, but he finds black ties the most fashionable.

The middle-schooler was one of dozens of students who benefited from Newbern’s Dress for Success event Wednesday.

Male students at Newbern had the chance to dress to the nines as they learned how to tie a tie from local leaders. The students dressed in suits to show off their sartorial excellence.

“It’s a great event for all the students to understand that dressing professional doesn’t mean you have to have a professional job,” Newbern Principal Elena Ponder said. “It’s the way your attitude and behavior exhibits itself when you’re in clothes that make you feel good.”

The event, coordinated by Valdosta City Councilwoman Vivian Miller-Cody, was a way to introduce the boys to local leaders and provide examples of male success around the Valdosta community.

Volunteers included local politicians, business owners, teachers and members of four National Pan-Hellenic Council fraternities.

“It means so much to the community to see so many men of outstanding character to come out — to be part of this — to show kids that we have men that are willing to give back,” Miller-Cody said. “We want our kids to see the statue of different nationalities, different businessmen, different types of ventures.” 

Valerie Smith, vice principal at Newbern, said the large event provided students with an example of a male businessman. 

“We realized that when children dress up, it makes them feel better,” she said.  

Out of the kids in the school, Smith guessed between 25-30 students can tie a tie. The school has a little more than 800 students with 400 boys.

“Just to see the men, it’s going to be very exciting,” Smith said, “and as they help them tie the ties and they go home and share it with their parents, it’s going to bring some enlightenment to our community.”