‘We will grow more Robins’: Multimedia center dedicated to Robin Roberts hopes to inspire future generations

PASS CHRISTIAN, Miss. (WLOX) - As Robin Roberts returned home this past weekend to surprise fans with a book signing of her new publication, the Good Morning America production crew had a little surprise of its own.

As part of a special segment to honor the Pass Christian native’s 20 years as co-host of GMA, the show’s producer Barbara Schmitt captured the ribbon-cutting of the new Robin Roberts Multimedia Production Studio at the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Gulf Coast’s Qatar Center.

Schmitt used sisters and long-time members Dominique Howard Jones and Monae Howard to tell how important the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Gulf Coast was to them and how much the support of the Roberts family has meant to their success.

Jones is now a child advocacy counselor at a school in Mobile, and Howard is about to graduate from law school.

“The dedication and (Robin Roberts) creating this program here is one of those other things that just continues to instill within this community that just because you go far away, it doesn’t mean that your roots and where you come front don’t matter,” Jones said.

Her sister agrees.

“She’s such a pillar for our community. Like, her just being able to give back and continuously give back, even when she’s doing great things being the best anchor on Good Morning America,” Howard said.

The multimedia center will provide children with basic training on all phases of video production, podcasting and even commercial work.

Boys & Girls Clubs of the Gulf Coast CEO and executive director Keva Scott said it will be much more.

“What I know will be gained from this production studio is that we will grow more Robins,” she said. “Everybody knows her as the most recognizable face in television and she is right here, from here, with us.”

The multimedia center will be fully operational in about a month, thanks in part to a $50,000 donation from Mississippi Power.

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