John Willoughby:
Greene Publishing, Inc.
On Sunday, Nov. 11, Marvin "Merv" Mattair, founder of Boyz to Kings of Madison and author of three books, posted a video he received of an eight-year-old resident of Africa, who was reading his book "My Royal Swag: Viewing Life in HD." The video has received nearly 600 views. Now, her family and others are seeking approximately 1,500 copies of Mattair's books to help with the empowerment of youth and families in Africa.
According to Mattair, Paula Katy, 8, of Rwanda, Africa, received his book one year ago after tuning in to a radio broadcast of which Mattair was a part. Mattair sent the book to Paula's mother who requested it. Today, Paula's mother, as well as the dean of an African school, is now requesting approximately 1,500 copies of a variety of Mattair's books to put in schools in Africa, as well as the homes of other families.
"They fell in love with [my books]," said Mattair. "All of my books are about royalty; women being queens and men being loyal." Mattair also stated it was an honor to have his books in another country other than the United States.
Over the course of the last decade, Mattair has authored and published three books: "My Royal Swag: Viewing Life in HD," "Word To My Kings and Queens: Achieving a Renewed and Improved Mind" and "Word From My Kings and Queens: Overcoming Seemingly Insurmountable Odds."
"My Royal Swag: Viewing Life in HD" offers the reader 31 "channels" to flip through of uncut reality writing, offering blue-collar parables to bring the clear message of empowerment to youth, families and marriages of today and tomorrow. The book was published in 2014. Additionally, "Word to My Kings and Queens" was published in 2007 and is the documentation of a man's journey of becoming a king from a boy. Using his own life as an example to learn from, he delivers a powerful message to our young people about being responsible and making positive decisions. "Word to My Kings and Queens" was sent to an African village in 2016.
"Word from My Kings and Queens" was published in 2011 and is a compilation of triumphant stories written by 19 different authors who are normal, everyday hardworking people, such as Denise Robinson, David Jonas, Craig Wilson, Edna Haynes-Turner and Mattair himself.
Known county wide as "Merv," he is a motivational speaker and devoted family man, married to Denise Mattair, and the father to Lyric and TJ Mattair. Mattair works at the Madison County Health Department as a Sexual Risk Avoidance Specialist and Health Educator. Mattair is the leader of Boyz to Kings, a grassroots organization where parents and male role models work together as one family to prevent young men from going down the wrong road, but instead, instilling in young men the values and traits of kings. Mattair was honored as Madison County Citizen of the Year in 2015.
Mattair has plans to begin sending 500 copies of "My Royal Swag: Viewing Life in HD" to Rwanda immediately, costing approximately $2,500. The books will ship immediately after being printed. For more information about Mattair or to buy one of his books, log onto kingsqueens.org or amazon.com.