Tuesday, March 19, 2024
On March 17, Milwaukee Recreation recognized three award winners during Championship Sunday at the 2024 March of Champions youth basketball tournament!
Distinguished Alumni Award Winner
Manning Shareef (pictured left), a junior at Milwaukee School of Languages, is on pace to graduate in 2025 as an accomplished trilingual scholar with 15 years in Spanish education, as well as another seven years in Japanese. Manning currently carries a 3.1 GPA. On the court, he has played varsity basketball since his freshman season, and averaged 25 points, 10 rebounds, and 3 assists per game during the 2023-24 campaign. On Feb. 10, Manning scored 40 points against the Juneau Pioneers, the eventual champions in the Milwaukee City Conference - Blue Division. After the season, he was named first team all-conference in the Blue Division.
Manning is also a part-time employee for Milwaukee Recreation, refereeing at the elementary and middle school levels for the past year, ensuring the next generation of young people are learning the game of basketball. He has a compassion for those around him and volunteered recently at the Empty Bowls fundraiser, which raised over $70K for the Friedens Food Pantries, a local food center network serving our community. He is an active member of BLMA (Black and Latino Male Achievement) within Milwaukee Public Schools, where he is strives to build the necessary skill set to navigate college, career, and life.
Community Award Winners
As South Division High School graduates, Darlene Gaspie (pictured right) and Emmitt McGee (pictured center) both have deep roots within Milwaukee Public Schools, and have continued to give back to our community with their nearly 90 years of combined service.
Darlene, nicknamed Dar, has spent over 50 years with Milwaukee Recreation, starting at 15 years old on the playground at Forest Home Playfield as a playleader and coach. Known for her passion for all sports, she has been a major presence at countless Milwaukee Recreation’s youth sports events, working as a league director and official for volleyball, basketball, and softball.
Emmitt, known throughout the city as Mr. McGee, has worked with MPS for nearly four full decades. In addition to his time as an assistant teacher at Clarke Street School and Townsend School, he also coached in the 1990s and spent time as a sports coordinator at Clarke Street. Mr. McGee has worked for Milwaukee Recreation for 20 years, including current positions with the department's Twilight Centers and Late Night Leagues programs.