Word of Faith Family Worship Cathedral in Austell; First Baptist Atlanta; Victory of the World Church and Graceview Church of Christ, both in Stone Mountain; and New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Lithonia. Hudson says he enjoys motivating young people. The former Alabama highway patrol trooper launched his Be Someone, Inc. nonprofit organization in 2001 as a way to reach and mentor disadvantaged youths, steering them away from the streets. It was a headline news story out of New York that inspired Hudson to become a mentor. One evening, while watching the news, Hudson learned how two teens had killed five teen employees at a Wendy’s restaurant in Queens, NY execution style for $2,400. The murders were Hudson’s wakeup call and that’s when he decided he had to help re-direct more youths, developing a message targeting them. “I teach them to think it out, don’t shoot it out,” said Hudson. “Our children are at a crossroads. We have to teach them if you listen to the wrong people, you move into the wrong direction. Scripture says it this way: If you walk with a wise man, you’ll be wise, but the companion of fools shall be destroyed.” Hudson said his goal is to teach 1 million children the game of chess. He travels to schools, mentoring programs, conferences and meetings around the world teaching leadership through chess. During last year alone, Hudson visited the Philippines, Tokyo, Vancouver, Los Angeles, San Francisco, New Mexico, Houston, Cleveland, New Jersey, and Philadelphia. Hudson’s Be Someone program has been featured on media outlets across the country such as CNN and the Good Morning America show and is slated to be featured in Essence magazine in June. “A lot of kids are listening to the
wrong people. When you listen to the wrong people you move in the wrong direction,” said Hudson, who says he models his program after Proverbs 22:6, “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” Hudson, who will celebrate his 50th birthday in May, is planning to host his Chess for Charity fundraiser on May 26 at the
Marriott Marquis Hotel in downtown Atlanta. The event will benefit the Be Someone Training Center he founded in Stone Mountain. For more information or to invite Orrin Checkmate Hudson to energize your next event, visit www.besomeone.org or call 770465-6445.
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