St. Louis -- It was the 59th annual Freedom Fund Awards Banquet and a crowd of NAACP members and friends came together at the Renaissance Grand Hotel in St. Louis to be a part of the event.

Several East St. Louis firefighters who make up the Color Guard presented the colors as the event got under way.

This year's theme was "Game Changer."

East St. Louis Mayor Alvin L. Parks Jr. asked the question "Where are we going with changing the game? I am glad the NAACP is leading the way.

"We must carry on and continue to stand for something. We are all leaders." Parks said.

U.S. Rep. Bill Enyart, D-Belleville, briefly touched on the financial mess that's going on in Washington, D.C., saying he was in the east wing of the White House last Thursday with President Barack Obama as multiple members put their heads together to get out of the financial mess that the nation has gotten itself into.

"Our future is very bright, but not without peril. There are assaults upon our rights -- the voting rights act. The Supreme Court has stripped part of that down. We must work to continue to preserve those voting rights," Enyart told the crowd. "Programs that help Americans in need are being cut. There are cuts to the work force. We must work together. We must continue the great work of the NAACP to turn back the forces that would be regressive. We can't afford to regress," Enyart said, firing up the crowd.

The audience was filled with a host of city leaders from East St. Louis and St. Clair County. Besides Parks, there were Centreville Mayor Marius Jackson, St. Clair County Board Chairman Mark Kern whose wife, Erin Kern, is chairman of the NAACP scholarship committee. Also attending were retired St. Clair County Judge Milton S. Wharton, former Superintendent of School District 189 Katie Wright, St. Clair County Sheriff Richard Watson, East St. Louis City Manager Deletra Hudson, East St. Louis Police Chief Michael Floore and many more.

St. Clair County Judge Heinz Rudolf was in the audience. When he was asked what Game Changers means to him, he said "forever vigilant now and in the future."

Watson, who has attended the NAACP banquet for the last 10 years, said Game Changers means "Promoting the health and well-being of everyone."

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Freedom Fund Awards Banquet draws enthusiatic crowd