The Emerald Youth Foundation will hold its annual dinner, now in its 16th year, to honor a community leader who is making a difference in the lives of city children. The 2024 event will recognize Mary Slack, a lifelong Knoxville resident who has been connected with Emerald Youth for nearly 30 years, including serving as board chair and leading a season of significant growth for the ministry in the early 2000s. She is a mother, grandmother and community leader, who, along with her family, owns Creative Structures, a leading commercial construction company in the Knoxville area. Doors open at 6 p.m. with the dinner and program at 6:30 p.m. Emerald Youth serves young people in center-city Knoxville though a Christian ministry of faith, education and sports programs, conducted in partnership with neighborhood churches and organizations.