April 12th, 2018 Edition

‘The community must begin to mobilize’

By Rebecca Rivas Of The

each other?” That is what the Move project is all about. That is what the group’s Resourcing Ground Zero Initiative is all about, along with its conflict de-escalation centers. Clark, who has been doing this work for 30 years, said he is calling on the black community to prepare this upcoming

St. Louisan Ethel Hedgeman Lyle memorialized at Central Regional Conference

St.

American Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. just completed its 84th Central Regional Conference in St. Louis April 5-8. The weekend of activities began with a cleanup of Tandy Park, located across the street from Charles H. Sumner High School in the historic Ville neighborhood. It was followed by lasting honors to the AKA sorority’s principal founder, St. Louis native Ethel Hedgeman Lyle, a 1904 graduate of Sumner. A commemorative program was held in the auditorium of the legendary school, attended by selected students and sorority members and presided by Peggy Lewis LeCompte, program chair. Brief comments were made by Faye B. Bryant, 21st international president; Dorothy

Retrospective of the Assassinations of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy.” King, America’s most iconic civil rights activist, and Kennedy, then a U.S. senator and presidential candidate, were both assassinated in 1968. At the event, Robinson discussed how the legacy of their lives and deaths can still be felt today.

“Dr. King’s resonance, I think

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moderator

“Shattered

the Assassinations of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy” at the Missouri History Museum on April 10.

is

“The

By Sandra Jordan Of The

By Rebecca Rivas Of The St. Louis American

Photo by Wiley Price

Eugene Robinson was interviewed by

Aisha Sultan at

Nation:

50-Year Retrospective of

Angela Clabon

Better Family Life’s “The Move” initiative led a march to end gun violence in North St. Louis on March 25.

Photo by Lois Ingrum

2018 HeALtH SALute

Photo courtesy of Missouri History Museum

Patriots owner visits Meek Mill in prison

According to Espn.com, New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft showed up to visit jailed rapper Meek Mill at a state prison in Pennsylvania. Kraft was there with his friend, entrepreneur Michael Rubin, to advocate for the release of Mill, whose real name is Robert Rihmeek Williams

“He’s an amazing young man,” Kraft said outside the State Correctional InstitutionChester, in a video posted by NBC10 in Philadelphia. “I know how I’d feel if I were in the situation he is. He’s very intelligent. “I’ve had the pleasure, through Michael, [of] getting to know him over the last two to three years -maybe even longer. Every time I see him, I just come away more impressed. It makes it clear to me we have to do something with criminal justice reform.”

Mill was sentenced to two to four years in prison in November 2017 for violating his probation after failing a drug test, traveling out of the region and getting arrested for fighting

and other related offenses.

Mill’s attorneys have reportedly filed motions to release Mill from prison, but the judge overseeing the case has not relented.

Tristan Thompson’s ex takes high road as cheating scandal heats up

Earlier this week, video leaked of Khloe Kardashian’s boyfriend Tristan Thompson cuddled up in the club with another woman while Kardashian is soon to deliver her first child with the Cleveland Cavaliers forward.

Footage obtained by TMZ.com shows Thompson with two different women back in October.

Two years ago, Thompson left his then girlfriend, Jordan Craig, who was nine months pregnant at the time, for Kardashian. Craig has responded to Thompson’s latest cheating scandal – one that many are calling a case of karma.

“If you respect yourself and you respect others, you would never make light of the misfortune of anyone, nor would you feel indemnified when it comes at the expense of others,” Craig posted. “Wishing peace for everyone.”

The woman in the video was allegedly identified as Instagram

model Lani Blair. According to several reports, Thompson and Blair shared several kisses – and the pair was later spotted entering the hotel Tristan and his teammates were staying. And she allegedly left the next day carrying an overnight bag.

Cardi B wanted to keep her baby news on lock

Cardi B “never really wanted” to reveal her pregnancy – and admits she was “freaking out” about having to reveal the news that she is expecting her first child with her fiancé Offset.

“I never really wanted to reveal that I had a baby. I just wanted to hide it,” Cardi B told Jimmy Fallon while appearing on “The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon” on Monday night. “I could have gotten away with it if it wasn’t for the meddling paparazzi.

I was just scared of what people would think and say. I was just freaking out.”

The 25-yearold rapper opted to confirm her pregnancy while

appearing as a musical guest on “Saturday Night Live” because she wanted to present it in a “beautiful, clean way.”

Mariah Carey reveals struggle with bipolar disorder

Singer Mariah Carey has opened up about her mental health challenges and shared with PEOPLE Magazine that she suffers from bipolar II disorder. “Until recently I lived in denial and isolation and in constant fear someone would expose me. It was too heavy a burden to carry, and I simply couldn’t do that anymore. I sought and received treatment, I put positive people around me, and I got back to doing what I love — writing songs and making music.”

“For a long time, I thought I had a severe sleep disorder. But it wasn’t normal insomnia, and I wasn’t lying awake counting sheep. I was working and working and working …I was irritable and in constant fear of letting people down. It turns out that I was experiencing a form of mania. Eventually I would just hit a wall. I guess my depressive episodes were characterized by having very low energy. I would feel so lonely and sad — even guilty that I wasn’t doing what I needed to be doing for my career.”

Sources: TMZ.com, People.com, Espn.com, Instagram.com, NBC. com

Tristan Thompson

SLPS settles with family of suspended student

LSEM gets settlement precedentsetting educational

By Jessica Karins For The St. Louis American

In a first-of-its-kind decision that could have implications for students across Missouri, a parent represented by the organization Legal Services of Eastern Missouri (LSEM) has reached a settlement with the St. Louis Public School District in a case involving their child missing out on education while suspended from school.

In a first for Missouri, the plaintiff received a monetary award and an order for the district to change its policies, something the lead attorney on the case said will set a positive precedent in an area of education access law that disproportionately affects students of color.

justice case

The parent, known as S.W., filed the lawsuit on behalf of L.W., then a 14-year-old freshman at Roosevelt High School. L.W. was suspended from ordinary classes after allegedly being involved in a fight in the school’s cafeteria. He was then enrolled in online classes through the district’s Virtual School Program, which took place in a separate area of the school.

public library, but the library computers had enforced time limits on computer use. Library employees also reported L.W. to a truancy officer, believing he should have been in school. He was also not supervised by a teacher and was in effect expected to teach himself the material for his classes.

education, claiming that what the district called “alternative education placement” was actually discipline which he had been subjected to without due process. LSEM’s attorneys agreed.

Henriquez said the case was an example of the practice of “shadow discipline,” in which schools use alternate names for practices that amount to suspending or expelling their students, failing to provide them with real opportunities to continue their education.

“The learning that could have happened was really limited,” Henriquez said.

suspended students placed on the Visual School Program with supervision and give students additional opportunities to appeal their suspensions.

Henriquez said this case is likely to set a positive precedent for similar lawsuits. These unjust disciplinary practices are common, she said, especially for students of color like L.W., and represent a deep legacy of racial inequality in education.

“Accessing that education is really important for our children and our community,” Henriquez said.

State audit of City of St. Louis underway

By Nicole Galloway Missouri state auditor

My comprehensive audit of the City of St. Louis is underway, and I want to thank both the civic leaders and the concerned citizens who were instrumental in bringing about this thorough look at the city’s finances. Although the formal request for an audit came from the Board of Aldermen, I know there was an active group of St. Louis residents who began a petition drive to require an audit. My staff and I are approaching this as a citizeninitiated audit. This audit will be no small endeavor, as shown by the last comprehensive audit of the city that was completed in 2010. Over a two-year period, the

According to Luz Maria Henriquez, the lead attorney for LSEM on the case, this caused considerable difficulties for L.W. He did not have a computer at home and was expected to complete his courses on a computer at the

On his second day in the Virtual School Program, L.W. and another student allegedly stole Metro bus tickets from a teacher’s desk. This resulted in L.W. being suspended from all physical St. Louis Public Schools (SLPS) campuses for at least the rest of the school year. However, he would maintain access to his online classes, which the district called an “alternative education placement.”

State Auditor’s Office released reports covering 26 separate city offices, agencies and departments, including the Mayor, the Department of Health, the Police Department, the Treasurer, the Recorder of Deeds and every other office in the city.

The State Auditor’s Office stands as Missouri’s fiscal watchdog, bringing fairness, integrity and professionalism to the review process. I promise the citizens of St. Louis that my office will carry out a thorough and independent review of how public resources are managed, and we will hold government accountable to taxpayers. You deserve nothing less.

Ultimately, L.W. was absent from school from 125 days and earned no credits towards high school graduation for the year.

“We had a lot of concern about whether this was in fact an education at all,” Henriquez said.

L.W.’s parent filed a lawsuit alleging that he had been denied the right to an

Already, I have met with elected and appointed officials, community leaders, members of the clergy, and others who are at the forefront of this great city. They understand the recommendations from this audit can help local government become more efficient and effective – and, in turn, make St. Louis a better place in which to live, work and raise a family. Citizens also are going to play a vital role in providing us with information and concerns, and I want to give all residents the opportunity to make their voices heard. We will gather feedback from citizens through meetings in locations throughout the city.

The plaintiff’s lawsuit against SLPS went on for three years. A judge denied SLPS’s motion for summary judgment, finding that there was standing for the parent to sue.

Ultimately, the plaintiff reached a settlement with the district for monetary compensation.

The settlement also requires the district to change its policies.

SLPS will now have to provide

We’ve also set up a special web page, auditor.mo.gov/ STLAudit, to answer questions about the audit process and to provide links for contacting the State Auditor’s Whistleblower Hotline online with information and concerns. Citizens can choose to remain anonymous with the online form or when they call 1-800-347-8597.

Staff from the State Auditor’s Office also have begun their review of the findings from the previous state audit. This initial stage will enable us to see what progress has been made on the recommendations in that audit.

But in many ways, this audit will be a fresh look at how public resources are being spent and how city business is being conducted. Residents should be aware that this will be a substantial undertaking to

Henriquez encouraged parents who feel their children are facing unjust discipline to advocate for them at the school level, but they can also reach out to LSEM’s Education Justice Program, which aims to address the root causes of the school-to-prison pipeline. Prospective clients can contact LSEM at (314) 534-4200 or 1-800-444-0514.

include multiple reports issued over many months. Because of the extensive scope of the audit, it is estimated that the cost to the city will be between $1.25 million and $1.75 million. I encourage St. Louisans who want to become involved in improving their city to go to my website to make their concerns and information known. It will help my auditors in forming a more complete picture of your city government, and help us with the recommendations to make St. Louis better. I look forward to hearing from you. For information on the audit or to contribute anonymous tips, visit auditor.mo.gov/ STLAudit or call 1-800-3478597.

Nicole Galloway, CPA, is Missouri state auditor.

Luz Maria Henriquez, the lead attorney on the case for Legal Services of Eastern Missouri

Columnist Nicole Galloway

Editorial /CommEntary

We must invest in remedying the city’s ‘Depletion Areas’

Better Family Life, Inc.’s renewed strategies for community outreach call to mind an urban legend that continues to haunt North St. Louis. The so-called “Team Four Plan,” many people continue to believe, was a secret development strategy intended to lay waste to majority-black North St. Louis by concentrating public and private investment in developing the diverse Central Corridor and majority-white South Side. The truth is messier than the legend –this so-called “plan” actually was a mash-up of a development memo (crafted by Team Four Architects), an unrelated map of the city, and two unrelated board bills. None of it was secret, and none of it was enacted into law or policy. However, public and private investment have been focused on developing the diverse Central Corridor and majority-white South Side, and much of majority-black North St. Louis is so disinvested that it does look like it was intentionally laid to waste. What Team Four’s Memorandum 6B actually proposed was three types of areas that would receive different strategies for investment: Conservation Areas, which would be maintained in their current state of relative health; Redevelopment Areas that would be targeted for redevelopment; and Depletion Areas, whose poorly chosen name had something to do with the sprouting of an urban legend. So did the fact that these “Depletion Areas” – that is, areas “experiencing severe problems requiring redevelopment but where reinvestment had not yet begun,” as William Albinson of Team Four Architects wrote in The American in 2008 – were heavily concentrated in majority-black North St. Louis. However, Team Four did not recommend merely letting these areas go to ruin and depletion. Rather, as Albinson wrote in this paper, it advised that “spreading scarce redevelopment funds thinly across all depletion areas would not work” and therefore “the city should make commitments to specific locations before turning them into redevelopment areas.” It’s a redevelopment strategy sometimes described with the medical term of “triage,” where the incoming wounded are sorted into categories depending on how urgently they need treatment and how likely immediate treatment would save a life. The “Depletion Areas,” in this metaphor, are the parts of the city in need of so much investment to be saved that a perennially cash-strapped city would be better off investing in other areas of the city that are closer to coming back to life. Though Team Four’s memo was not secret - it was submitted as part of the 1975 St. Louis Draft Comprehensive Plan, a public document - and it was never enacted as policy, St. Louis has been developed - and underdeveloped - very much along these lines. And though Team Four did not take racial equity into account when making its proposal (it would take St. Louis almost a half-century and a suburban uprising before it would start taking racial equity into account), the areas that have been depleted are mostly places where mostly black people live, and many black lives have been ruined right along with their neighborhoods.

In 1975, when the Team Four memo was written, St. Louis’ population had declined to just over 500,000, a decline of 40 percent since mid-

century, and the city’s finances were in shambles. The city’s decline in population and tax base have continued until today, along with a host of other worsening macroeconomic conditions, including departure of company headquarters, loss of highwage manufacturing jobs, flight of downtown retailers with their sales taxes and accessible jobs, and erosion of outdated housing stock, leaving the city’s “Depletion Areas” more depleted than ever.

The city budget submitted last year had to plug a $17 million deficit, due largely to lower-thanexpected sales tax and payroll tax collections.

James Clark, vice president of community outreach for Better Family Life (BFL), knows this history, he is busy standing it on its head, and he needs help – including from the financial powers that invest in development. Rather than allow “Depletion Areas,” considered in human terms, to go to further ruin while concentrating efforts on people and places that would be easier to save, Clark and his team are going right at the heart of urban decay. The name of the effort – the “Resourcing Ground Zero Initiative” – is well chosen; it could just as well be called the “Resourcing Depletion Areas Initiative.” BFL is canvassing eight of St. Louis’ most challenged neighborhoods, with staff drawn from those neighborhoods, bringing social services directly where they are most needed. They also are fighting the opioid crisis by taking resources right to where drug sales take place in open-air drug markets and have organized conflict de-escalation centers where they intervene between individuals at immediate risk of resorting to gun violence.

We commend Clark and the rest of BFL leadership. St. Louis leaders may not have consciously followed a master plan to neglect the neediest areas of our city and let them go to ruin, but that has happened – to disastrous effect. Clark and BFL are now trying exactly the opposite approach. They are diving into the wreck and trying to save those who would appear to be the farthest from salvation. It is incredibly difficult work, and its positive effects may not be immediately evident, but we believe it is a promising approach because it is so different from the approach that has failed and is failing. Clark is calling for the Black Church to join BFL in this work, and clergy and the faithful are desperately needed. Equally needed are the financial powers that neglected these parts of the city and these citizens while focusing development elsewhere. BFL’s outreach efforts have received critical funding from the Missouri Foundation for Health, Civic Progress and the Regional Business Council, but more is needed. Robust macroeconomic growth is what is needed in the St. Louis region, more than anything, incuding the city, but community outreach into our most desperate and dangerous areas like BFL is attempting can only make St. Louis a safer and more attractive place to live and invest.

As Jason Q. Purnell’s landmark study on racial disparities makes it clear, we don’t address the neediest cases merely for their own sake; we do it “For the Sake of All.” We will never have a healthy, safe or equitable St. Louis if we do not remedy the neighborhoods and human beings we left depleted. These remedies will require investment, and it is urgent that these investments be made.

As I See It - A Forum for Community Issues

Lessons for public educators from Dr. King

By Willie (Bill) Kent Jr. Guest columnist

In 1970, arguably one of Flip Wilson’s most popular characters, Geraldine Jones, popularized the catchphrase, “The devil made me do it!” This catchphrase was often the character’s excuse for transgressions. Reflecting on some behaviors witnessed in today’s arenas of public debate, we have allowed our passions to lead us down a narrow and isolated path of insults, dishonesty, anger, and propaganda. This debased behavior seems evident in all areas of public discourse, including that of public education.

History often provides a void, a space calling for moral leadership, courage, and love. During the mid-1950s history created such a void, and educated, passionate, and principled leaders like Dr. King, and others stepped into the breach. Dr. King was not the only leader of his time to challenge America to “be true to what you said on paper;” however, the articulation of his message, mastery of history, and education allowed him to stand prominently and answer the call to service.

Today, history has created another void and is calling for those who have the moral leadership, courage, and

love to pursue an equitable and fair educational system in America. The needs of our children require that we “put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander” and move towards a society in which all children, especially those from underserved communities, have the opportunity to build “intelligence plus character.” According to Dr. King, “That is the goal of true education.” In America, and more specifically in Missouri, we cannot realize this vision for our children through lawsuits over public funding and dishonest feuds between charter public schools and traditional public schools. As a community, we should join forces on the steps and in the halls of the Missouri Capitol building to demand that our children and equity in education become priorities not only in words but also in policy and funding.

We all support child wellbeing; we all want children to succeed – no matter their zip code. Let us step into this moment of history and educate generations of children

McCaskill must discuss issues of concern to the black community

By Walle A Amusa For The St. Louis American

In July 2017, I requested a meeting with U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill to discuss several issues of concern to the St. Louis community. The Coalition of Black Trade Unionists, the NAACP, a representative from The St. Louis American and others agreed to participate in the meeting. For five months, the McCaskill campaign ignored the request. Then her campaign manager, David Kirby, played footsies, scheduling, cancelling, and finally refusing to respond to requests to confirm the meeting for the date and time that he suggested.

I have been involved as an organizer and volunteer in local, state and federal elections since 1976 when Jimmie Carter defeated Gerald Ford to win the presidency. I was there for the 1977 write-in campaign to re-elect Comptroller John Bass, the 1978 campaign to defeat the Right to Work forces in Missouri, the 1982 campaign to save the 1st Congressional District and every campaign thereafter to protect the rights of St. Louis African Americans to effective representation in Washington, D.C.

With Lew Moye and others, I coordinated the election of Alderman Kenneth Jones, the first independent elected to the St. Louis Board of Aldermen.

Along with legendary Gwen Giles, Pearlie Evans and Paula Carter, I worked on numerous campaigns and supported Democrats across Missouri to secure and protect Democratic Party majorities in the state House and Senate and to elect

Democratic governors like Mel Carnahan.

Almost 30 years ago, and long before Elbert Walton Jr. took on St. Louis County electoral systems, I coordinated the campaign that elected Mary Hall as the first AfricanAmerican mayor of Pagedale.

Along with Virvus Jones, Charles Bussey, Jan Trigg, Rev. Ethyl Byndom and Freemen Bosley Jr., we coordinated Jesse Jackson’s 1988 and 1992 campaigns in St. Louis and won the City of St. Louis for Jackson in the 1988 primary.

Working with Tim Person, Lloyd Jordan and others, we elected the first AfricanAmerican mayor of St. Louis.

In 2003, I flew roundtrip on a jet with U.S. Rep. Dick Gephardt, his wife Jane and U.S. Rep. Alan Wheat from Kansas City to Chicago for the Rainbow Coalition National

n As the highest elected official in the Missouri Democratic Party, McCaskill must lead in confronting the scourge of racism and white privilege in the state party.

Convention to secure Jackson’s support for Gephardt’s presidential campaign. I’ve done extensive work on redistricting, campaigned in Iowa for presidential candidates and provided workshops for aspiring candidates.

I worked with the late Gerald Watts, one of the most brilliant campaign organizers in the country, and witnessed how both Watts and Person were marginalized while incompetent white consultants were given leadership positions

Letters to the editor

Still need silver rights movement

to ensure that this nation lives up to its promise of liberty and justice for all.

in Democratic Party campaigns. In 2008 the leaders of the Missouri Democratic Party, especially Gov. Jay Nixon, refused to mobilize the party because a black man, Barack Obama, was at the top of the party ticket. That election was lost statewide by less than 3,000 votes.

I have learned a lot about the science and art of political campaigns. I know what role racism plays in the Democratic Party. I know why Democrats, in less than 10 years, lost the Missouri House, Senate and Governor’s Office. I know the incalculable negative impact these losses have on the lives of Missouri’s working families, especially African Americans. The upcoming November election is so important that it cannot be left in the hands of incompetents.

As the highest elected official in the Missouri Democratic Party, McCaskill must lead in confronting the scourge of racism and white privilege in the state party.

A recent letter circulated to counter state Rep. Bruce Franks Jr.’s demand for McCaskill to show up in black communities to address issues of concern to African Americans is a bad move. African Americans who support such a letter should check themselves before they wreck their political careers. I know there are many good people in the Missouri Democratic Party. But I also know that racism is stronger than religion. And the Missouri Democratic Party is not immune. I renew my request for a meeting with McCaskill or a public explanation as to why she expects me, my family, friends and community to vote for her if she cannot sit down, meet and discuss issues of urgent concern to this community.

Walle A Amusa is an organizer and author in St. Louis.

who “think logically and scientifically.” Our commitment to teaching children to protest should not outpace our calling to develop an educated and literate community. History is calling for leaders who will reignite the vestiges of “the press, the classroom, the platform, and the pulpit” with “objective and unbiased truths.” Properly educated, our children can answer this call.

Dr. King taught us that, “if we are not careful, our colleges will produce a group of closeminded, unscientific, illogical propagandists, consumed with immoral acts. Be careful, ‘brethren!’ Be careful, teachers!”

Dr. King elevated his conscience and thinking to create an inclusive and loving vision for America. Let us remember: “Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that.” Fifty years after his assassination, we must remember the lessons that he taught us; we must not forget how he elevated his thinking and conscience. For the sake of our children, isn’t it time that we catch up?

Willie (Bill) Kent Jr. is president and CEO of The Biome School, a K-2 public charter school that will be adding 3rd grade next year.

At the end of his life, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was pivoting the Civil Rights Movement to a silver rights movement, focusing on the economic well-being of black people. The lack of access to credit, reliable financial institutions, and financial education prevalent 50 years ago are still present today. Looking at average credit scores by zip code, we see that most majority AfricanAmerican zip codes average at 600 or below, making it virtually impossible for those families to invest in their community, start business, or access safe credit. We also see those same communities inundated with predatory lenders that many families find as their only option when they need capital. St. Louis is host to several programs to help these communities improve their credit, savings, and debt situations. With these programs and more policy change, we can move toward the economic equality MLK was working towards 50 years ago.

Abby Buckhouse, St. Louis

Taken from us too soon

Fifty years ago, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was taken from us too soon. His assassination sparked outrage, distress and mourning across the country. Some of us felt like we had lost hope, that with Dr. King’s death his message and movement had died too. However, many of us chose to pick up his fight for civil rights

Dr. King worked to further equality for everyone, no matter their race, gender, creed or class. While we have made progress toward his mission, there is still much work to be done. There are far too many Americans who still don’t make a living wage. They do not have access to basic health care or equal educational opportunities. They cannot vote without obstruction and are

fearful to walk down the street. Although there are many obstacles yet to overcome, I see hope in our future. I believe Dr. King’s dream can and will be achieved. During this sobering anniversary, I urge us as a nation to remember Dr. King by rededicating ourselves to continuing his fight towards equality and justice for all Americans.

U.S. Rep. Elijah E. Cummings Baltimore

Columnist

Walle A. Amusa

Getting on the ‘Bridge’ at UMSL

Kayla Lawrence, Tyler Wright and Ashley McFadden are among the Pattonville students who were accepted into the University of Missouri-St. Louis Bridge Saturday Academy Program. The Bridge Program offers classes in subjects like math, writing skills, career and personal development and college preparation. Other Pattonville students accepted include Alexus Blount, Richard Dunbar, Amiya Holmes, Wynter Johnson, Kevaughna Nelson, Ayiana O’Neal, Jaleya Peebles, McKenna Reece, Nicole Shah, Kathryn Stevens, Cameron Woods, and Courtney Woods.

Library seeks submissions for online poetry compilation

St. Louis County Library is soliciting submission for a new online poetry collection. As part of National Poetry Month 2018, adults are invited to submit an original poem from April 16 – 30 to be included in the library’s first online poetry compilation. The compilation will be part of the library’s SELF-e Indie Missouri collection. All participants must be at least 18-years-old. One poem per person may be submitted, and those submitting must have a St. Louis County Library card. Poetry can be on any topic provided the content is appropriate in language and subject. Details on how to participate can be found at www.slcl.org/celebratingpoetry.

St. Louis County adds 25 acres to Creve Coeur Park

On April 2, St. Louis County Executive Steve Stenger signed an executive order adding approximately 25 acres to Creve Coeur Lake Park. The tract of land overlooking the park was the former home of the Lakeside Center, a residential youth treatment program that closed in 2016; after Lakeside closed, its services were transferred to Marygrove, a non-profit organization located in Florissant that serves youth. County Council Chairman Sam Page previously requested legislation to effect this change in land use; Stenger said his executive order “expedites the process to convert the property to park land.”

‘Black Panther’ and the bigger picture

By Christi Griffin For The St. Louis American

Black America no more view movies with a monolithic lens than we speak with a monolithic voice. Thus a flurry of strong views on the latest blockbuster movie Black Panther has circulated on social media. They broaden our understanding and deepen our strength.

Griffin

This is the Hollywood that just awarded its first Oscar to an AfricanAmerican director, that only now has given a black woman director a $100 million budget, that has yet to pay a black megastar at the height of its pay scale, that restricted Hattie McDaniel to the back of the room when she won the first Oscar presented to an African-American woman in a leading role, that took over 60 years before awarding another, that has yet to significantly increase roles for African Americans, that over its entire 98-year television history has only featured one intact African-American family in a primetime show, that pays an average union actor $52,000 a year and others barely $1,000 a year, while raking in millions of dollars in profits. This is the same Hollywood that we are entrusting with the subliminal messages that tainted our music industry and set many of our children on paths of violence, self-hatred, failure and destruction. It is the same Hollywood that has as many conservatives as liberals and has consistently shown its true colors for decades. That color is seldom black. In a world where at least Julia and the Huxtables were at one time depicted as successful, professional African Americans, we have only a snippet of one such family today. Even in This is Us, the story line follows the struggles of an adopted black father and the tragic life of a crack-addicted mother. In a country that has now codified the taking of our children when a parent is jailed or otherwise absent from their child for more than 22 months, she too has surrendered her parental rights. Another broken family. Another child placed in a system that often shifts them from home to home and generates billions of dollars in the process.

The comparison of white-dominated films replete with violence brings to mind a response that often brought angst as a child when permission was sought to follow the crowd: “If they were jumping off of a bridge, would you jump as well?” Not everything that is good to us is good for us.

That violence is a so-called reflection of reality or is done routinely by others does not alter the impact on the psyche of our children. Desensitization should raise red flags, not equal rights. Indeed, there are numerous incidences where children have been killed or injured imitating such scenes. Countless studies on the influence of violence on children have revealed not only physical harm, but also an increase in aggressive behavior as well. The desire to be entertained by violence, notwithstanding positive messages, is not worth the price paid by parents of the child who dies.

Before we become enthralled with the emergence of black superheroes, we have to be vigilant in seeing the bigger picture. While Hollywood, indeed society, garners billions at our expense, we are negligent in demanding so little in return. Despite the typical lack of representation of blacks on the screen, we patronize them nonetheless.

Until we are the producers, our economic gain is minute. Until black superheroes overpower white villains, the gain is incomplete. Until we make economic gains and end mass enslavement, this latest coup is simply an indication that Hollywood has just discovered a billion-dollar vehicle for further manipulating the minds of Black America.

Christi Griffin, is the founder of The Ethics Project, a non-profit organization addressing the impact of crime, injustice and incarcerations. She is the author of “Incarcerations in Black and White: The Subjugation of Black America.”

Christi

generation to say, “Never again.”

“We believe we cannot move forward and let another generation of African Americans kill each other with no social outcry from the African-American community,” Clark said. “It’s teaching our young children and the unborn a dangerous message – that it’s okay to kill each other. We’ve got to challenge that narrative.”

Clark said he is among the last generation – people 35 to 55 – to see a peaceful, functioning African-American community in St. Louis, where kids could walk out their front door into a nurturing environment.

“The African-American community used to be full of love,” he said. “That ended with crack cocaine. After crack cocaine, we began to kill each other wholesale.”

It’s no longer relevant to say that some people have “slipped through the cracks,” because there is a whole generation that is not just at-risk but “immersed in risk,” Clark said. They have their own way of operating and talking, he said.

BFL has tailored its community outreach efforts to working within this paradigm. Its Neighborhood Alliance

CLABON

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Clabon said. “The response was huge. They were in so much pain.” Under her leadership, CareSTL Health went from providing dental services for children at five Head Start programs to 15 programs now. She led the $1 million renovation of CareSTL’s headquarter clinic on Dr. Martin Luther King Drive and also the opening of a fourth location on Pope Avenue. CareSTL held a Know Your Status basketball game that resulted in more than 80 people being tested for HIV, an idea that has received national attention. The centers are also considered a leader in responding to the opioid crisis.

Program serves eight of St. Louis’ most challenged neighborhoods. Volunteers dressed in cargo pants, black polo shirts and heavy boots go door to door to conduct household assessments, agency referrals and neighborhoodbased case management. This community outreach staff is not comprised of social-work students from a university but people from within the community who know the “verbal and non-verbal” language, he said. As such, they are better equipped to gain access to the proverbially “hard to reach” or “underserved” neediest cases.

“We’re trying to get on the porch and ultimately into the living room,” Clark said.

In 2017, Clark said, his staff visited more than 19,000 homes and completed 715 new household assessments, an average of 14 homes per week. They made more than 10,000 referrals for services, he said. They also started a Senior Registry to help those seniors in these areas with food and home repair and utility assistance.

Working at that level in the community, the organization has found that gun violence and the opioid crisis are the two things that must be focused upon, he said.

“When you talk about opioids, we have a presence in two of the most notorious open-air drug markets in the

On top of all this, Clabon is the only African-American woman currently serving as a CEO at a federally-qualified health center in Missouri. Just this month, the health center changed its name and became CareSTL Health.

“If you think about that and what Angela has done for the health center, she really embodies care,” said Karen Jones, board vice president of CareSTL. “She really cares for the community. She cares about the patients that we serve. And she also cares about the staff.”

Because of that caring and commitment, Clabon will receive the 2018 Stellar Performer in Health Care Award at the 18th Annual Salute to Excellence in Health Care Awards Luncheon at the Frontenac Hilton. Net proceeds from the event support the St.

by Lois Ingrum

service announcements (PSA) saying that if people knew of a conflict that could end in someone being killed, then they could go to one of these four churches or call a hotline for gun violence de-escalation.

“We had to pull the radio PSA off the air because of the volume of calls,” Clark said. By the end of the year, he said, they had de-escalated 25 potentially violent conflicts.

Throughout the city, Clark said, there have been some good moves, including the hiring of new city Police Chief John Hayden and Public Safety Director Jimmie Edwards.

BFL’s outreach efforts have received critical funding from the Missouri Foundation for Health, Civic Progress and the Regional Business Council. But the movement needs more.

“There is a partner in this whose time has come back, and that’s the Black Church,” Clark said.

St. Louis metropolitan area,” he said. These “Ground Zero” locations are Hodiamont Tracks in the Hamilton Heights neighborhood and Grand Avenue at Montgomery in the JeffVanderLou neighborhood.

For more than a year, BFL staff has set up tables several days a week where they provide food and toiletries and do assessments. They have a crisis van that will pick up

Louis American Foundation, which fostered more than $750,000 in community grants and scholarships for area youth in 2017.

At 18, Clabon started out in the health care industry as a temporary registration clerk at People’s Health Center (now Betty Jean Kerr People’s Health Centers), and she was later promoted to building supervisor. She moved on to become the director of accounting at Grace Hill Neighborhood Services and then transitioned as chief financial officer at Hopewell Center, now part of People’s Health Centers.

“I’ve always been an overachiever, so that’s how I ended up on the management side of the health care industry,” Clabon said.

For about seven years, she ran her own nonprofit, JA’s

people who are ready to go into treatment and take them to an in-patient treatment center right then and there.

“We’ve got to fight this opioid crisis at Ground Zero right where the drug sales take place right, where the drug usage takes place, and right where the prostitutes and the drug addicts congregate,” Clark said.

During the inaugural year of the Resourcing Ground Zero

Youth Fitness Club, to provide health and fitness programs to low-income students in St. Louis. She joined Myrtle Hilliard Davis in 2005 as the chief financial officer. She remembers the exact moment she learned she would permanently take the helm of the center on December 18, 2012 at 1:15 p.m. during a board meeting.

“It’s one of my proudest moments,” she said.

When she started on this journey in health care, she had several powerful women role models, including Betty Jean Kerr at People’s, Myrtle Hilliard Davis herself and Amanda Murphy at Hopewell.

Now she strives to mentor young executives to succeed in the health care industry.

“I’m so passionate about making sure that I pull someone along because I had

Initiative, he said, they made about 4,000 “engagements” with addicts and prostitutes and 129 people entered rehab. More than 300 people had the first health screenings in their adult lives, he said. Also a year ago, BFL launched four de-escalation centers in local churches, where they mediate potentially deadly conflicts. And they just opened two more centers in March. They ran public

three aspiring women who were there for me and help me keep that vision strong and alive,” Clabon said. “I want to be that for some young woman. We need women executives in the health care industry, especially AfricanAmerican women.”

Clabon said she responds to the demands of the community.

After she answered the need for behavioral health services during the Ferguson unrest, the centers then transitioned into providing school-based health services. They now serve students in 11 public school systems, including Jennings, Hazelwood and Riverview Gardens.

The center has also partnered with the federal government to provide suboxone to treat opioid dependence.

“We cannot market the program because the demand is so high,” she said. “But we have responded, and we provide services for uninsured and insured individuals.”

She is known for giving people from the community

The African-American community still comes out in biggest numbers for church, and it’s time to put the churches back in a leadership role, he said.

“We are trying to re-engineer neighborhoods and make the church the major focal point once again,” he said. “The African-American community must begin to mobilize.”

job opportunities at the center.

“In the neighborhood that she’s grown up in, she’s hired staff and given us an opportunity to do things that we might not have had an opportunity to do in other companies,” said Jason Ware, director of grants and contracts and program manager of CareSTL Foundation. Clabon plans to continue to empower her community, where she and her family still live.

“They count on me to speak up when it’s time to speak up,” Clabon said. “That’s why I do what I do, because I’m part of this community and my family and friends are in this community. And I love what I do.”

Tickets for the 18th Annual Salute to Excellence in Health Care Awards Luncheon on Friday, April 27 at the Frontenac Hilton are $750 per table for VIP/Corporate seating and $50 each/$500 table for Individual seating. To order tickets, call 314-533-8000 or visit www.stlamerican.com.

James Clark, vice president of community outreach for Better Family Life, Najwa Taylor and her son Naim Gray addressed the crowd on March 25 when BFL organized a silent march to remember victims of gun violence.

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Buckhanan Wilson, current international president; Kathy Walker Steele, central regional president; Norma Solomon White, 25th international president; and Mattelia B. Grays, 18th international president.

“We spent the last three and a half years putting into place commemorations just like this one so that we could document our history, because those who have an accurate portrayal of their history are the ones who document it themselves,” said Bryant. “And we did not want to come here to St. Louis for a regional conference and not have something in honor of our principal founder, Ethel Hedgeman Lyle.”

She said the sorority also launched a campaign with 110,000 signatures requesting that a U.S. postage stamp be named in Lyle’s honor, which is under review by the U.S. Postal Service’s commemoration committee.

Dais guests included Shantel

ROBINSON

Continued from A1 we see it every day, really,” Robinson told The American in an interview before the event.

“In addition to being a leader, he helped make America what it is today.” Kennedy, Robinson said, is a more “mixed bag.” Though Kennedy agreed with many of the goals of the Civil Rights Movement, he was unable to spur his brother John F. Kennedy’s presidential administration, in which he served as attorney general, into action.

One thing the two figures have in common, Robinson said, is that neither has an equivalent in today’s political scene. “I’m not sure that we should expect to find

Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. dedicated a bench at Sumner High School to the sorority’s principal founder, St. Louisan Ethel Hedgeman

Lyle, a 1904 Sumner graduate, on April 5. Front row: Charletta Wilson Jacks, national secretary; Peggy Lewis LeCompte, program chair; Kathy Walker Steele, Central Region president; Dorothy Buckhanan Wilson, current international president; Norma Solomon White, 25th international president; Faye B. Bryant, 21st international president. Back row: Chantal Harris, great-great-granddaughter of Lyle; and Nadine Bonds, 26th Central Region director.

Harris, the great granddaughter of Ethel Hedgeman Lyle, Sumner 9th-10th grade

Principal Christopher McNeil, Sumner 11th-12th grade

Principal Michael Triplett, St. Louis Public Schools

Superintendent Kelvin Adams, 4th Ward Alderman Samuel Moore, 19th Ward Alderwoman Marlene Davis and aldermanic President Lewis Reed.

equivalents in that sense,” Robinson said. Because the AfricanAmerican community is more diverse in factors like economic situation and political viewpoint than they were during the civil rights struggles of the sixties, Robinson said, it is unlikely there will ever again be a leader with the universal influence of King. The political situation is very different too, with an unapologetic sympathizer with white supremacy in the White House.

“This is an era, after the two terms of the first AfricanAmerican president, which is something that was quite literally unimaginable until it happened,” Robinson said.

The Missouri History Museum event was hosted by the museum in partnership with the Jewish Community Relations Council of St.

After the formal program, a wing of the school was named in Hedgeman Lyle’s honor. Sorority members also dedicated and unveiled a granite bench located in the front of Sumner to its distinguished graduate.

Nearly 2,900 AKAs from St. Louis and Cape Girardeau in Missouri, and from Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wisconsin attended the conference in St. Louis, along with sorority leadership from throughout the U.S. Members of the eight-state region conducted sorority business and implemented

Louis. In addition to the 50th anniversary of the King and Kennedy assassinations, the event commemorated the last week of the museum’s “#1 in Civil Rights” exhibit, which examined St. Louis’ history of pioneering civil rights for black Americans.

Robinson praised the exhibit during his speech. “It is truly spectacular and wonderful,” he said.

In his career as a political journalist, Robinson often applies a historical lens to racism and other issues in today’s America. His twiceweekly Washington Post column is syndicated in 262 newspapers nationwide, including The St. Louis American. He also serves as the chief political analyst for the NBC and MSNBC news channels and has written three books.

Recently, many of Robinson’s columns have focused on the Donald Trump presidential administration, both its scandals involving potential ties to the Russian government and its rhetoric and policy on race.

“I have no doubt that racism is much more overt than it has been in recent years,” Robinson said.

Robinson also has the background to look at American racial politics through a longer lens. Born in South Carolina in 1954, he grew up alongside the Civil Rights Movement and was part of only the second integrated class at his high school.

During his speech, he recalled dealing with racism more often from teachers than students, including a geometry teacher who seemed to take pleasure in humiliating the black students

programs focused on educational enrichment, health promotion, family strengthening, environmental ownership and global impact.

At its public meeting on Friday evening, AKAs recognized local organizations whose services are in line with the sorority’s programs of service. Saint Louis Public Schools and HarrisStowe State University were recognized for educational enrichment. The Greater Missouri Chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association was recognized for health promotion. Better Family Life, Inc. and the Lessie Bates Davis Neighborhood House were recognized for family strengthening. The St. Louis Solid Waste Management District was recognized for environmental ownership. The United Nations Association – St. Louis Chapter was recognized for global impact.

Belleville, Illinois resident Kathy A. Walker is at the end her tenure as the AKA central regional president.

“It’s always good to be home, and St. Louis has a prominent place in the history of Alpha

in her class. While not a natural math student, Robinson said he became determined to excel.

“I would study geometry for four or five hours every night, until I knew every theorem and every proof and I would get everything right, ” Robinson said. The teacher had to give him an A plus for the class, but “I know that it stuck in her craw.”

Growing up in a deeply segregated environment, Robinson said the assassinations of King and Kennedy felt like the losses of important figures of hope for the black community.

However, he said, the impact of the civil rights movement was able to endure those losses.

Though Robinson said racism was both more present and more obvious during his own childhood, he said Trump’s presidency is part of

Kappa Alpha,” Walker said. “To have over 2,800 members of the sorority and their guests come to St. Louis to celebrate our regional conference at the place where our founder was from was powerful and impactful.”

On Saturday, Sonya L. Bowen of the Lambda Tau Omega Chapter in Chicago was elected as the Central Region’s next president. She will be installed at the 68th AKA Boule in Houston, Texas, which takes place July 6-12. Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. is the first Greek letter organization for AfricanAmerican women, founded in 1908 on the campus of Howard University in Washington, D.C. According to its website, the AKA sorority “flourished into a globally-impactful organization of nearly 300,000 college-trained members, bound by the bonds of sisterhood and empowered by a commitment to servantleadership that is both domestic and international in its scope.”

For more information about Alpha Kappa Alpha, visit AKA1908.com.

a real change in racial politics that has occurred over the past few years.

“I think the president is both symptom and cause, but he may be more of a symptom,” Robinson said. The causes, he believes, are tied to white people’s anxiety over the decline of the traditional American economy and the changing demographics of a country where non-whites will soon be a majority. And, he said, tactics from the civil rights era can be applied to today’s fights for racial justice.

“Number one, you have to be persistent,” Robinson said. The pace of progress, he said, can be both slow and nonlinear.

“But in the end, 15, 20 years later, we look and we see,” Robinson said, “well, we did make some progress.”

Photo by Wiley Price

Louis University nursing students are on clinical rotation

received its largest gift in its 90-year history, an $8.4 million bequest from Mary K. Hoppe that will create the Dr. and Mrs. Robert C. Hoppe Endowed Scholarship, offering need-based scholarships to nursing students.

Life-changing gift for SLU nursing students

$8.4M endowed scholarship will support students with financial need

By Sandra Jordan Of The St. Louis American

The Saint Louis University School of Nursing has received $8.4 million from the estate of one of its alumnae, the late Mary K. Hoppe – the largest gift in the nursing school’s 90-year history. It will fund the Dr. and Mrs. Robert C. Hoppe Endowed Scholarship, a financial need-based scholarship that will assist multiple students in every program offered at the school, which offers bachelor’s, master’s, a post-master’s nurse practitioner certificate, and doctoral programs.

“If you multiply that by the number of patients that each student will touch in their

Living

n “You can’t even count the number of lives she is going to touch.”

– Teri Murray, dean of the SLU School of Nursing, on the late Mary K. Hoppe

career, that is just awesome,” said Teri Murray, dean of the SLU School of Nursing.

“It’s innumerable. You can’t even count the

number of lives she is going to touch. Her desire to help others – that will be manifested with each life that we can serve through her generosity.”

Murray said tuition for the 12-month BSN accelerated nursing program is approximately $60,000, and the traditional four-year program is $40,000 per year. The Hoppe scholarships will allow students to focus on studies, rather than working, and will keep some students from dropping out altogether due to financial pressures.

“It eases their educational debt so they can fully concentrate on their studies,” Murray said. “Some people have to withdraw for a

By Denise Hooks-Anderson, M.D. Of The St. Louis American

The question is not “Will you die?” The question is “When will you die and how?” No one knows the answer to that latter question but that fact alone should not deter responsible adults from planning for the inevitable. And contrary to popular belief, particularly in minority communities, end-oflife preparation will not hasten your demise. Every adult should routinely have a yearly physical examination. This important visit to the doctor involves not only the review of past medical and surgical histories, a complete check-up, a discussion regarding preventive testing recommendations, but also direct conversation about living wills (an advanced directive) and maybe even hospice, depending on your current health status.

n Contrary to popular belief, particularly in minority communities, end-of-life preparation will not hasten your demise.

A living will is defined as a written statement detailing a person’s desires regarding their medical treatment in situations in which they are no longer able to express informed consent. These documents are generally discussed with other family members, typed up and shared with the person’s healthcare provider. The living will guides the physician regarding your wishes as it relates to resuscitation, desired quality of life, and treatments you do not want to receive. Living will templates can easily be downloaded from the internet, or you can consult with an attorney who could prepare the documents for you. An additional point to remember is that your health status is not static. It changes over time. Therefore, living wills change as well. Resuscitation may look quite differently when comparing a young, healthy person against a 90-year-old with multiple health problems.

As mentioned earlier, culture plays a huge part in advance directives. Research has shown that racial and ethnic minorities experience a lower quality of service and are less likely to receive routine medical procedures than are white Americans. Therefore, it is imperative that providers ensure patients that they will not be

kidney donation is an alternative to dialysis

Blacks three times as likely as whites to develop kidney failure

National Kidney Foundation

April is National Donate Life Month and National Minority Health Month, providing an occasion to remember that African Americans are at least three times more likely than whites to develop end-stage renal disease, most commonly known as kidney failure, and to need a kidney donation. This lingering health crisis, its urgency, and the need to solve the problem through living kidney donations are the focal points of a new 60-second video public service announcement produced by the National Kidney Foundation. The PSA features two prominent African-American women dedicated to fighting kidney disease: kidney

n “African Americans should be encouraged to pursue becoming a candidate for a kidney transplant.”

– Velma Scantlebury-White, M.D.

transplant surgeon Velma Scantlebury-White, M.D., America’s first African American female transplant surgeon; and New York business executive Tracy McKibben, who donated a kidney to her mother.

See KIDNEY, A11

Velma Scantlebury-White, M.D. (far left), is America’s first African-American female transplant surgeon. “African Americans with kidney disease should know that they don’t have to be on dialysis for the rest of their lives,” she said.

New York business executive Tracy McKibben (left) donated a kidney to her mother. “My mother was on dialysis for several years, and we just didn’t know that it was an option to be able to donate a kidney,” she said.

Saint

in this 2016 photo. SLU’s School of Nursing recently

Denise HooksAnderson, MD

Photo provided by SLU School of Nursing

Face the health consequences of the game

By Juan Tabb

For The St. Louis American

Believe it or not, college football spring games are already among us. When these games kick off, sportscasters will analyze, fans will tailgate, and thousands of football players will proudly take to the field. There is something that few may talk about though, and that is the health consequences of the game –consequences that many former players live with today. I played college football at Missouri Southern State University (MSSU) from 1998 to 2002. MSSU is a small school, but the hits we took hardly were. We were challenged physically and mentally in practices and games. Our coaches taught us to lead with our heads when tackling opponents and, in the off-season, we would “joust” with padded sticks to prove how tough we were. Many of us were injured during these drills, especially from blows to the head.

n One year, I received a concussion so severe that it resulted in memory loss and missed class time.

Even worse, we were discouraged from reporting our injuries, with the consequences being the loss of our roster spots, or worse, our scholarships. When we did ask for help after particularly bad hits, we would often be labeled as soft, lazy, or dramatic. Sometimes we would see a doctor after a big hit, but if that person was not immediately available, our head injuries would simply go untreated. That happened often. The health consequences of concussive and sub-concussive hits are real. After my first concussion, I became depressed and experienced a poverty of thought. One year, I received a concussion so severe that it resulted in memory loss and missed class time. Yet, the coaches and training staff cleared me to play the next week. That should never have been allowed. Ultimately, I sustained at least 50 to 60 bad

head hits that led to cognitive issues later in my life, such as depression, short- and longterm memory issues, difficulty focusing, and incoherence.

There are many other former college players who are experiencing similar symptoms, but they may not understand the cause. They certainly do not have the help they need to address these health issues because the NCAA has failed its players. Sadly, college football players today cannot expect much different. The NCAA, which regulates college football, does little to protect or educate the players under its care about the risks of traumatic brain injuries. In fact, the organization has been outright irresponsible. It only cares about one thing: making money. It will do whatever it takes to keep its billions in revenue, even if that means depriving its athletes – children who will likely never play and receive compensation in the professional ranks – a healthy future.

This is why more than a hundred former college football

Monsanto Fund partners with Africare to improve nutrition in Kenya

Monsanto Fund, in partnership with Africare, has pledged $5 million over a five-year period to improve nutrition and access to healthy food for women and young children in Turkana County, Kenya.

Africare, based in Washington, D.C., works in partnership with African people to build sustainable, healthy and productive communities. With support from the Monsanto Fund, the new Improved Approach to Community-based Nutrition in Turkana (IMPACT) Project will provide increased access and availability of diverse and nutrient-rich food to pregnant women, new mothers, infants and young children.

below the poverty level compared to 45 percent nationally. Record malnutrition rates, erratic climate and a disruption of traditional food sources have led the World Health Organization to designate Turkana County as an Acute Food and Livelihood Crisis area.

The IMPACT project is expected to reach 27,000 children who reside within the county’s 7,800 households.

The initiative, which is aligned with the Kenyan government’s Big 4 Agenda to address food insecurity, will also improve access to quality health services while sharing information about the prevention and treatment of malnutrition.

Turkana County is located more than 450 miles north of Nairobi, Kenya. According to a report released last month by the Kenya National Bureau Statistics Office, Turkana County is the poorest among the nation’s 47 counties; 88 percent live

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lack of finances, so this also will help keep more nurses in the workforce.”

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“Every family should have access to a balanced meal,” said Al Mitchell, Monsanto Fund president. “However, such access becomes difficult when there is limited availability to healthy and nutritious food options.”

In 2016, the Monsanto Fund introduced a new strategic platform aimed at partnering with specific organizations to address global malnutrition and food insecurity. The first investments were for programs launched in St. Louis and in Petrolina, Brazil. The IMPACT program in Turkana County, Kenya, is the third site. For more information, visit www.MonsantoFund.org and review Monsanto Company’s 2017 Sustainability Report at monsanto. com/investors/reports/sustainabilityreports/.

“Our enrollment is there, our pass rates are exceptional, our State Board of Nursing pass rate is 94 percent, our certification pass rates for our nurse practitioners are 90 percent and above,” Murray said. “So our students do really well, and they excel and go on to be leaders in the community.”

players have filed a lawsuit against the NCAA. Former players are living with the terrifying consequences of the NCAA’s negligence on traumatic brain injuries. This lawsuit is about more than just us though. For the sake of the kids playing today and in the future, the NCAA must make amends and finally enact real protections and education for its student-athletes. If given all the risks of the game, I never would have played. Most former players still love football and want to see the game get safer for current and future players. But for the game to thrive, it must change.

Juan Tabb played at Missouri Southern State University from 1998 to 2002. Tabb currently lives in suburban St. Louis, MO with his wife and three children. Hundreds of former college football players have filed a national class-action lawsuit against the NCAA for its negligence and failure to protect and educate college football players on the risks associated with traumatic brain injury.

Giving in memory of Brendon

Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation honors departed youth at Hope Gala

The late Brendon Ogunnaike

The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation will host its 2018 Hope Gala on Saturday, April 14 at Ballpark Village, 601 Clark St., in memory of Brendon Ogunnaike, who suddenly passed January 7, 2017 at age 19 from complications from juvenile diabetes. The foundation has committed to raising over $200,000 in his name. Type 1 or juvenile onset diabetes is a rare form of diabetes affecting only five to 10 percent of all diabetics and prevalent in eight percent of African Americans. Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease—T cells infiltrate the pancreas, eventually destroying the insulin producing B-islet cells. As a result, the pancreas stops producing the hormone insulin, which is used to convert/store glucose for energy in the body.

To donate to the foundation in honor of Brendon, visit https://jdrf-stl.ejoinme. org/136063?mode=1. To learn more about JDRF, visit jdrf.org or follow the local chapter @jdrfGMOSIL.

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“The impact on our community is greater,” said McKibben, founder and CEO of MAC Energy Advisors LLC, a global investment and consultant company; a Harvard Law School graduate; and former National Security Council official in The White House.

“Having gone to a dialysis center and seeing that the majority of the people there were AfricanAmerican, I was able to immediately see the impact, but I don’t know if many people realize that. My mother was on dialysis for several years, and we just didn’t know that it was an option to be able to donate a kidney. My mother was able to have the last nine years that she had because I donated a kidney to her. I was able to give her a different life.”

The foundation hosts “The Big Ask: The Big Give” platform, which provides nationwide outreach, to increase kidney transplantation through training and tools that help patients and families find a living donor. It includes direct patient and caregiver support through a toll free help line 855-NKF-CARES (653-2273), peer mentoring from a fellow kidney patient or a living donor, online communities, an advocacy campaign to remove barriers to donation, and a multi-media public awareness campaign. All of these resources are free and designed to teach kidney patients, or their advocates, how to make a “big ask” to their friends, loved ones, or community to consider making a “big give,” a living organ donation.

n “My mother was able to have the last nine years that she had because I donated a kidney to her. I was able to give her a different life.”

– Tracy McKibben

“One of the things we battle with is getting African Americans to get checked every year, because if they were aware of chronic kidney disease progressing to endstage kidney disease, there’s that possibility that they could get a living donor and avoid dialysis altogether,” said Dr. ScantleburyWhite, associate director of Renal Transplant, Christiana Hospital, Newark, Delaware. “African Americans with kidney disease should know that they don’t have to be on dialysis for the rest of their lives. They should be encouraged to pursue becoming a candidate for a kidney transplant.”

Dr. Scantlebury-White said various fears beset the process. “Many people are afraid to let their family know they need a kidney or even their friends,” she said, “but they also fear that if they use their loved one they might be taking advantage of them.”

Kevin Longino, CEO of the National Kidney Foundation and a kidney transplant recipient for more than 13 years, said the initial results from the initiative are encouraging.

“We’re seeing success stories come in from people who have just gone through the program,” he said. “Participants are stepping forward to tell us they’ve found potential living donors or a living donor who is a match.”

Thirty million American adults are estimated to have chronic kidney disease—and most aren’t aware of it. One in 3 American adults are at risk for chronic kidney disease. Risk factors for kidney disease include diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, obesity and family history of kidney failure. People of African-American, Hispanic, Native American, Asian or Pacific Islander descent are at increased risk for developing the disease. African Americans are three times more likely than whites, and Hispanics are nearly 1.5 times more likely than non-Hispanics, to develop endstage renal disease (kidney failure).

To view a nearly 4-minute video featuring McKibben and Dr. Scantlebury-White, visit https:// www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJZ-kleYz40&t=26s. For more information, visit www.kidney.org. “The Big Ask: The Big Give” is at https://www. kidney.org/transplantation/livingdonors.

Both Mary K. and her husband, Dr. Robert C. Hoppe,

The nursing school has nearly 1,200 students, and Murray said its graduates go on to productive high-demand careers. abandoned or receive substandard care if they elect to have an advanced directive. Another taboo discussion within minority communities is hospice care. Hospice care focuses on the physical and spiritual needs of a terminally ill patient. This care also provides support for the family during this transitioning process. Eleven to 18 percent of families, however, report that they were referred to late. Hospice is not just for patients with cancer. Congestive heart failure,

were 1951 graduates from Saint Louis University. She graduated from the School of Nursing, and he graduated from the School of Medicine. After graduation, the couple married and returned to their hometown of Houston and they had no children. Dr. Hoppe died in 2002, and Mrs. Hoppe eventually moved to Charlotte, North Carolina to live with her niece. She died in July 2017.

“Mary Katherine Hoppe clearly had a dream in mind when she designated this truly life-changing bequest,” said Mary Smiley Johnston, her niece. “Her favorite song was ‘Somewhere Over the Rainbow,’ an iconic song of hopes realized and dreams come true. May this gift to the Saint Louis University School of Nursing be that realized hope and that dream come true

chronic obstructive lung disease and dementia are all appropriate conditions for hospice care as well. In fact, those diseases account for 56 percent of hospice admissions. There are many misconceptions about hospice. For instance, many people, including doctors, believe that you will be penalized if the patient lives past six months while on hospice. There is no longer a penalty for an incorrect prognosis if the disease runs its natural course. Another misconception is that a patient must be designated as “DNR,” do not resuscitate. The only requirement of hospice is that the patient is seeking palliative treatment only not

for the future nurses studying there.”

SLU President Fred P. Pestello said, “Through the extraordinary generosity of alumni like Mrs. Hoppe, bright young people will have access to the rigorous, character-building educational experience that our Jesuit university is uniquely positioned to offer. This posthumous gift will benefit students for generations to come. It is greatly appreciated.”

The school plans to honor Dr. and Mrs. Hoppe during its 90th anniversary celebration this fall.

For information on the school, visit www.slu.edu/ nursing; the web site has a tab for “Scholarships.”

curative. A third misconception of hospice care is that referrals can only come from physicians. Nurses, family members, social workers and essentially anyone can refer patients to hospice. To sum up, healthcare should be viewed as a continuum. Newborn care, well-child visits, adult care and end-of-life care are all part of the process. Each stage requires preparation and should receive equal attention. End-of-life decisions can be difficult when made under duress. Don’t wait. Plan now for end of life. Denise Hooks-Anderson, M.D., is assistant professor at SLUCare Family Medicine. Email yourhealthmatters@ stlamerican.com.

Juan Tabb

Al Mitchell

Healthy Kids Kids

> Decide you’re going to switch from soda to water.

Perhaps you’ve decided to eat healthier. Don’t think of these healthy changes as “going on a diet.” Instead, think of these smart choices as a new, healthier lifestyle. You can do this by forming new habits. For example, if you decide to eliminate sugary drinks completely, it only takes a few weeks until this becomes what you’re used to. Here are the steps to making a healthy permanent change. We‘ll use the sugary drink change as an example.

> Start by substituting one drink per day to water.

> Every few days increase the amount of water and decrease your soda intake.

> After 3-4 weeks, this change will become a habit.

When you automatically reach for water instead of soda, it has now become a lifestyle change!

Learning Standards:

HPE 1, HPE 2, HPE 5, NH 1, NH 5

Where do you

I am the

and CEO of Kid Friendly Network and director of youth programs for

Where did you go to

I attended Tucson

Magnet

Exercise Game

Let’s make a game out of exercise! First, locate either a deck of cards or two dice. Next you’ll need to make a list of different types of exercise: jumping jacks, sit-ups, lunges, etc. Write each exercise item on a small

Tech-Neck

piece of paper or index card and fold into a small square. Put these squares into a bowl.

Take turns rolling the dice (or drawing a card) and selecting an exercise from the bowl. The total number on the dice or card tells you how many of the

How much time do you spend each day looking down at a phone, laptop or video game?

Chiropractors around the country see young patients every day suffering from back, neck and head-aches resulting from the extra strain you put on your body when you look down for long periods of time.

A couple of quick tips that will reduce that strain on your neck are:

1. Most importantly — take breaks! Have a goal of a 3 minute break every 15-20 minutes. Move around, stretch your neck and relax, without looking down!

2. Set your tech device in a holder to keep it at eye level, reducing the need to look down.

Learning Standards: HPE 1, HPE 2, NH 1, NH 5

exercise you must do. Face cards (king, queen or jack) should all count as the number 10. Aces are “wild” and you can do as many as you want! To really challenge yourself, have one person roll the dice and the second can select the exercise. See who can complete the exercise challenge first!

Learning Standards:

HPE 2, HPE 4, HPE 5, NH 1

apple juice and combine all of the ingredients. Roll into bite-size balls and refrigerate until ready to eat. (Store leftovers in the refrigerator.)

in Tucson, Arizona, Seoul American High School in Seoul, Korea, and Central High School in Grand Forks, North Dakota. I then earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology with a minor in African American & Asian studies from the University of Pennsylvania and a master’s in education from Johns Hopkins University.

What are some things you do? I am currently working on putting together several summer camps for 200 youth, including a performing arts camp that will help keep kids active and healthy during the summer. Recently, I started an organization that provides support for 24 local community gardens so that students can grow their own healthy foods and have the choice to eat nutritiously.

Why did you choose this career? I’ve always had a passion to pay it forward! It is my goal to expose as many underserved youth as I can – to careers, enrichment activities and cultures they would not have otherwise considered. For example, do you know what an industrial psychologist does?

What is your favorite part of the job you have?

My favorite part is being a servant-leader. I know that every day, what I do is making an impact on many people’s lives. It feels good, to do good!

Learning Standards: HPE6, NH3

“Questions or comments? Contact Cathy Sewell csewell@stlamerican.com

Our summer programs offer something for every budget, schedule and interest. From our ever-popular summer camps to programs tailored for little ones, adults and the whole family, we have the adventure for you. Mail-in and online registration options are open now!

Visit stlzoo.org/education for the complete list of summer programs and detailed registration information.

Questions? Please contact the Zoo’s Education Department at (314) 646-4544, option #6.

Desiree Tyus, Founder, CEO, Director

CLASSROOM SPOTLIGHT

Mrs. Ellis’ 4th Grade Class Confluence Academy

At Confluence Academy - Old North Campus, 4th grade teacher Mrs. Deitre Ellis shows students Darrien Johnson, Rhianna Mack, Makayla Squalls and Eric Criss how to find STEM projects using the

SCIENCE CORNER

SCIENCE STARS

GENETICIST AND WELLNESS EXPERT— Mary Styles Harris

G

rowing up with a doctor for a father, Mary Styles Harris was naturally interested in science and medicine. Her background inspired her to become one of the most important women in science, educating minorities about health concerns.

What Is A Geneticist?

Genetics is the study of genes.

Genes are passed from parents to their children, determining everything from physical appearance, personality, and overall health. A person who studies genetics is called a geneticist.

Geneticists must stay current on the latest scientific advances. Therefore, research is critical. They must read scientific journals, conduct research, and analyze results. In addition to a background in science and technology, reading and writing are equally important. Where do geneticists work? Many geneticists work in labs, researching inherited diseases (a disease you get from your genes) and developing products to treat them. Geneticists may also choose a career in education, medicine, journalism, etc. Their knowledge is very important.

Discuss: What is a gene? What are genetics? What is a geneticist? Why is the study of genetics important?

Learning Standards: I can read a nonfiction text to find the main idea. I can make text-to-world connections.

DNA-

Deoxyribonucleic acid

Think of DNA as the letters that are used to write the chapters, or genes, in the book of information that defines a living organism, or genome.

DNA letters are: A, C, G and T. The genes of every living thing are written with a combination of these four chemical letters.

Although Harris was born in Nashville, Tennessee, in 1949, she later moved to Miami. With hard work, she graduated 12th in her class of 350 students. After high school, Harris attended Lincoln University and earned the Ford Foundation Doctoral Fellowship Scholarship. In 1975, she earned her doctoral degree in genetics from Cornell University.

After graduation, Harris was a professor at Morehouse College in Atlanta, served as the executive director of the Sickle Cell Foundation of Georgia, and was an active member of the March of Dimes in Atlanta.

In an effort to reach AfricanAmerican woman, she produced a documentary titled, “To My Sisters…A Gift for Life.” Harris currently serves as president and genetic consultant of her company Harris and Associates, Ltd., and hosts a radio show called “Journey to Wellness.”

SCIENCE INVESTIGATION

Grow Your Own Bacteria

Bacteria can grow anywhere and is responsible for many diseases. In this experiment, you will observe bacteria as it grows. Make careful observations, take notes, and draw conclusions about bacteria.

Materials Needed: Petri dish, agar (sticky substance sold with science supplies), cotton swabs, newspaper

Directions:

q Prepare the petri dish with agar.

w Rub the cotton swab in a corner of the classroom or under a desk.

t Prepare a second petri dish with agar and repeat the experiment. This time, you will rub the cotton swab under your fingertips.

Discuss: What was Harris’ inspiration to study science and medicine? How has she used her knowledge to help others?

y Place the petri dish in a warm area and observe it for 2-3 days. How does this growth compare to the growth of bacteria from the classroom?

Want to know more about AfricanAmerican women in science? Read “Sisters in Science” by Diann Jordan.

Learning Standards: I can read a biography to learn key ideas. I can use specific details to support my answer.

e Gently, rub the cotton swab against the agar and place the lid on the petri dish.

r Place the petri dish in a warm area and observe it for 2-3 days. What changes do you see?

u Wrap petri dishes in newspaper and discard.

Reflect: What conclusions can you draw after observing the two samples? Do you agree with the statement that bacteria is everywhere? Were you surprised with the growth of bacteria from your fingertips? Why?

Want to know more about germs? Check out: http://kidshealth.org/kid/talk/qa/germs.html

Learning Standards: I can follow step-by-step instructions to complete an experiment. I can draw conclusions based on observations.

Use the newspaper to find an article related to health.

q What is the topic? What facts were presented? Were there any suggestions for the reader?

MATH CONNECTION

By the Numbers

Want to play a fun computer game that uses math to stop the spread of germs? Go to: https://homeschoolingintheburbs.info/cool-math-gamesand-activities-xgerms/

Use your math skills to solve these problems.

q Germs and bacteria are everywhere, especially on your hands. Your hands come in contact with many surfaces throughout the day. Estimate how long you spend washing your hands.

w Next, have a partner time you. How accurate was your estimate? Experts suggest scrubbing for at least 20 seconds to clean the germs from your hands. Did you meet that

limit? Use the rule of 20 seconds to solve these problems.

e How many students are in your classroom? If there were only two sinks in the bathroom and each student washed their hands for 20 seconds, how many minutes would it take for the class to wash their hands?

How many times per day do you wash your hands? Keep track of this number for one day. Compare the number of minutes you spend washing your hands with your classmates. How do you compare? What is the average amount of minutes?

Learning Standards: I can add, subtract, multiply and divide to solve a word problem.

Summarize the article with a main idea and three supporting details.

DID YOU KNOW?

w Editorials are written to persuade readers. An effective editorial must contain facts, as well as opinions, in order to persuade the readers. Editorials are published in newspapers in the form of editorial cartoons, columns, or letters to the editor. Choose one of the three formats and create an editorial that is health related. Who is your audience? What are you trying to persuade them to do?

Learning Standards: I can use a newspaper to locate information. I can write for a specific audience and purpose.

Photo by Wiley Price

St. Louis Mayor Lyda Krewson – who has won a circuit court judgment to wrest control of parking revenues from St. Louis Treasurer Tishaura O. Jones – should remain mindful of two truisms. Be careful what you wish for. And actions have consequences. Without question, it’s an unusual arrangement for an independently elected treasurer to administer city parking services and revenues, and it’s not unreasonable for a mayor to try to disrupt that system to empower the city’s central government (such that it is) to control this revenue. But, whatever we make of the city’s filing, or the ruling by Circuit Judge Mike Stelzer, in terms of the law and good government, the notion that the case was brought merely out of respect for the law and good government should be mocked mercilessly. Start by mocking the Post-Dispatch editorial board, which opined, “Jones’ supporters should not interpret the ruling as a personal attack on her. This is solely about the office and the treasurer’s duties under the state Constitution.” That’s pretty hilarious coming from an editorial board that made “personal attacks” on Jones for the entirety of the mayoral race that she nearly won. The EYE can understand why Krewson would “attack” Jones, as she certainly did with this filing. Krewson only beat Jones by 888 votes, and over two-thirds of voters chose a black candidate in the mayoral race. If Jones maintains control of city parking revenues, she remains empowered to come up with the creative, progressive public programs that Krewson has, thus far, utterly failed to put in place. If Jones has less money to work with, she can effect less public good, and

do less to make up that 888vote margin that kept her from defeating Krewson and nearly an entire basketball lineup of black male competitors. Let’s not forget that the suit was filed by Alderman Jeffrey Boyd, a repeated electoral loser to Jones and instant ally of anyone who wants to bring her down, and James Wilson (a former city attorney). The city only joined the case after Krewson’s election – so much for no “personal attack.” In Stelzer’s ruling, he makes the same political arguments that establishment Democrats (and their tool, Boyd) have been making against Jones since she took office. Stelzer ruled that state statutes passed in 1990 governing the St. Louis Parking Division are unconstitutional because they compelled the St. Louis comptroller, Boyd, and the director of the city Streets Department to sit on the St. Louis Parking Commission. Essentially, the city counselor argued against city officials sitting on the commission that sets parking policy for St. Louis, saying it was a “municipal burden.” The city argued that the treasurer is unaccountable and the state can’t tell city office holders to make her accountable. What the hell does that mean? And who are the other citywide office holders accountable to? It’s pretty obvious: city voters. That’s the second piece of utter nonsense in the Post editorial about Stelzer’s ruling, which claims that the treasurer’s office “is minimally accountable to the city.” Huh? The treasurer holds an elected office, exactly like the mayor, and is precisely as accountable to the city as the mayor. Far less accountable is Boyd, elected by voters in only one of the city’s 28 wards, and repeatedly defeated for

she asked for an extension to respond by the end of the week. By some strange twist of fate, the judge mysteriously ruled in the city’s favor just before the weekend. Coincidence, or nah?

This wasn’t the only time Jones extended the olive branch to try to help the city, by the way. Remember the Scottrade renovations? She offered to cover the city’s portion of debt payments to the tune of $40 million until the city could afford to take over in several years. All she wanted in exchange was a community benefits agreement and for the mayor’s office to drop the lawsuit pending against her office.

citywide offices by none other than Jones.

Readers may enjoy a conspiratorial back story, for what it’s worth.

Sources close to the Treasurer’s Office say that Krewson and Jones met to discuss a potential settlement to what was then the pending lawsuit filed by Wilson and Boyd. Jones offered to give the city more of her office’s revenues annually, including a one-time financial shot of $6 million, which would have cut the city’s current budget gap of $14 million nearly in half. But the EYE suspects the mayor never intended to settle with the treasurer and couldn’t wait to double-cross her. You can make a case that the good old boy’s network was already in play. The parking revenue case was on the docket of Stelzer, who used to be a city attorney under Mike Garvin. They worked together for over 20 years.

In February, Jones worked with state Rep. Shamed Dogan (R-Ballwin) and state Senator Jamilah Nasheed (D-St. Louis) to file a bill to add financial empowerment as an official duty of her office. Since Jones’ office is a county office, any changes to her office require changes to state law. At both the state House and Senate hearings, the only person testifying against the bills was Garvin, who was sent by the mayor and her lobbyist team of Jeff Aboussie and Tom Dempsey. In March, there were rumors that Garvin was walking around with his chest out, bragging that the city was going to win the lawsuit. How would he know that, unless he knew the judge? Conspiracy, or nah?

Then, just before Easter, Krewson and Jones sat down to hash out a potential agreement. Krewson was supposed to respond by early the following week. On the day after Easter,

What Krewson doesn’t appear understand is that actions have consequences. In her quest to control parking revenues and – more immediately – to undermine the lingering political threat in Jones, she threw several other state boards and commissions into a state of mass confusion. The city based its argument on a line in the Missouri Constitution that says that the state can’t tell the city what to do. However, the Parking Commission isn’t the only body where the mayor, comptroller, and sometimes other municipal elected officials are compelled to participate. This opens the door for other boards and commissions operating on the basis of the same language to sue the State of Missouri on the same grounds, with waves of ensuing turmoil hitting a city that is not short on turmoil as things stand. Here’s another consequence, and it may be good for Krewson and Boyd only in the short term. If this ruling isn’t reversed, one of the city’s only consistently creative and proactive elected officials is disempowered. All of the anti-poverty and financial empowerment programs Jones started will be undone, and

she won’t have the revenue to start news ones like those. The outreach she has been doing in low-income and black communities, helping people fix their credit for free, partnering with banks and credit unions to give people access to checking and savings accounts – gone. The savings program that has over 10,000 public school children saving for college – one of the few recommendations by the Ferguson Commission already in place when the commission released its report – gone. If those programs will be replaced by the creative, progressive programs that Krewson and Boyd have started with the revenues their offices currently control, please list existing creative, progressive programs that Krewson or Boyd have put in place. The EYE is waiting … no, sorry; don’t have that much time. To date, Krewson has done nothing but sock it to city voters to raise salaries for police and firefighters and go along with revenue schemes to benefit private developers of sporting arenas. Voters should remember that Krewson also dumped the other city official who had put in place reforms called for by the Ferguson Commission before it issued its report, and she also did this as political payback against Jones. Gordon Schweitzer

Krewson and Boyd, they should remember that actions also have consequences in elections. See you at the polls.

Photo by Wiley Price

Business

‘Customer service is not dead’

Michelle McGruder is manager of visitor services at the St. Louis Science Center.

Michelle McGruder manages visitor services at the St. Louis Science Center

By Tashan Reed For The St. Louis American

One afternoon a middle-aged white woman from a rural community brought her three children to the Saint Louis Science Center. The woman had traveled to St. Louis solely for one of her children to receive physical therapy for an ongoing issue at St. Louis Children’s Hospital. Her kids had grown bored, and so naturally it was up to her to find something to do. She had never been to St. Louis and wasn’t familiar with city life, but someone suggested the Science Center as a place to check out. She approached Michelle McGruder, a Science Center staffer, confused and unsure of what to do. Once she realized that she couldn’t afford the things that her children wanted to do, she prepared to leave. McGruder, however,

n “I saw women of color in management roles, so that did give me some type of nod that there’s opportunity for growth here.”

–

Michelle McGruder, manager of visitor services at the St. Louis Science Center F

stopped her and offered to allow her to use her membership to cover the cost.

The woman began crying uncontrollably before hugging and thanking McGruder. She later wrote her a letter, expressing her gratitude once again and stating that her children would

never forget the kind gesture.

“That, for me, was really the reason that I stayed and continued to do what I do,” McGruder said. “People need to know that customer service is not dead and that as human beings we’re here to help each other.”

McGruder, now the manager of visitor services at the Science Center, has been working in the world of customer service for her entire life. Her first job was at Baskin-Robbins, where she quickly noticed the joy that interacting with people and making them smile brought her. She went on to work at Six Flags and YMCA in similar roles.

“It became second nature,” McGruder said. “So I knew that it was something I could thrive in.” She got her start at the Science Center in

See McGRUDER, B6

St. Louis Chapter of The Links, Inc. celebrates 70 Years

Newly elected chapter

President Rochelle Calhoun will preside over celebration April 15

American staff

The St. Louis Chapter of the Links, Incorporated is celebrating 70 years of friendship and service to the St. Louis community. Presently, the chapter consists of 57 active, eight alumnae and four platinum members. It will celebrate its 70th anniversary on April 15 and renew its dedication to friendship and service, with newly elected chapter President Rochelle Calhoun presiding at the event.

The Links, Inc. is one of the nation’s oldest and largest volunteer service organizations of African-American women committed to enriching, sustaining and ensuring the culture and economic prosperity of African Americans

See LINKS, B2

Robert Smith was featured on the cover of Forbes’ 2018 Special Edition “The World’s Richest People.” With a net worth of $4.4 billion, he is the nation’s richest African American. He is CEO of Vista Equity Partners, a private equity firm with $31 billion under management; chairman of Carnegie Hall and the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights organization; and the first black American to sign the Giving Pledge, committing to contribute half of his net worth to philanthropic causes during his lifetime.

Anaja “AJ” Sander joined Explore St. Louis as director of Community Engagement. She will serve as a community liaison for Explore St. Louis and the lead development representative for the St. Louis Civic Pride Foundation. She will also guide several committees, as well as maintain and develop relationships with stakeholders throughout the region.

Clayton Evans was promoted to senior vice president of Community Banking and CRA officer at Reliance Bank. He previously was a regional business manager at Freddie Mac and president of Evans Consulting Group, LLC. At Reliance, he is responsible for shaping the community development strategies and decisions that support the bank’s CRA and Fair Lending Plan.

Mikayla Bridges was selected as a recipient of the KMOX/Southeast Missouri State University Student of Achievement Award. The award recognizes 30 students throughout St. Louis who have demonstrated outstanding achievements in academics, athletics, arts, community service and leadership. She is a junior at Pattonville High School.

Rod Jennings was appointed director of and mediator at Better Family Life’s North St. Louis County Gun Violence De-Escalation Center. The projects works to find possible solutions between individuals where there is a threat of gun violence. Jennings, who has represented Ward Three on the City Council in University City since 2014, will not run for re-election next month.

The St. Louis Chapter of the Links, Incorporated, which is celebrating 70 years of friendship and service to the St. Louis community, consists of 57 active, eight alumnae and four platinum members.

Vera Jones was named a 2018 Tribute to Success honoree by Connections to Success. She is a career counselor with the ESLC Metro East Accelerated Training & Career Hub. Tribute to Success is an annual fundraiser and community-wide celebration of achievements that recognizes individuals who have inspired others through stories of passion, hope, collaboration and leadership.

Clayton Evans

Vera Jones

Rod Jennings

Anaja “AJ” Sander

Mikayla Bridges

Photo by Wiley Price

Three of Fortune’s

‘Best’ in St. Louis

St. Louis touts three headquarters that are among the top places to work in the U.S., according to Fortune Magazine’s list of “100 Best Companies to Work For.”

The list, created by Fortune and Great Place to Work, is the result of employee surveys that examine such things as compensation, perks and programs, diversity and paid time off.

For the nineteenth time, Edward Jones made the list, coming in at No. 5 for the second consecutive year. It offers its employees flexible schedules, telecommute or work-from-home options, and several amenities, including event tickets, memberships, smoking cessation, weight loss programs and onsite health screenings.

World Wide Technology is in its seventh year on the list, ranking No. 45 this year. It ranked 40 last year. Among its many perks, WWT has an onsite family health center, a wellness program, treaddesk workstations, an extra paid day off to do charitable work, telecommuting, flexible schedules and a woman’s

LINKS

continued from page B1 and other persons of African ancestry. The membership consists of 15,000 professional women of color in 285 chapters located in 41 states, the District of Columbia, and the Commonwealth of the Bahamas.

In April 1948, the St. Louis Chapter became the first Links, Inc. chapter west of the Mississippi River in an induction ceremony conducted by Frances Vashon Atkinson, a charter member of the mother

Edward Jones is ranked No. 5 on Fortune Magazine’s list of “100 Best Companies to Work For.”

leadership forum.

Teddy bear retailer Build A-Bear Workshop ranked No. 55, moving up from 76 last year. It has been on the list for a decade. Among the many perks, Build-A-Bear offers a flexible work schedule, job sharing and compressed workweeks; every day is “bring your child” or “bring your dog” to work day; and other amenities, including concierge services and dog grooming.

Over 90 percent of

Philadelphia Chapter and sister of St. Louis’ Blanche Vashon Sinkler. The eight St. Louis Chapter chartered members are Joy Blache, Ollie Carpenter, Mary Evans, Charlotte Ford, Alice Hardings, Anna Lee Scott, Blanche Vashon Sinkler and Melba Sweets. Scott established the Phyllis Wheatley Branch of the YWCA and the first camp for black girls in Missouri, Camp Derricotte. Vashon Sinkler was the granddaughter of George B. Vashon, the St. Louis educator for whom Vashon High School was named. Sweets was a columnist for The St. Louis American whose husband,

employees surveyed from each of the St. Louis companies describe their environment as great workplaces.

If you are wondering, Salesforce is No.1 and grocer Wegmans Food Markets ranked No.2. The full review of each of the top 100 companies, including company data, tips on how to get hired and future hiring prospects can be found at greatplacetowork.com.

Nathaniel Sweets, co-owned the paper with Judge N. B. Young.

National, local and international members of The Links, Inc. give back to their communities through contributing their time, energy and finances to individual and community causes as well as to charitable organizations whose goals parallel that of the Links, Inc.

In St. Louis, Links, Inc. started My Sister’s Keeper: Pipeline to College in 2009 to support the academic success of underserved students from 6th grade through college graduation. The students are

Booker T. Shaw signed the ceremonial pledge on behalf of Thompson Coburn LLP for the 2018 Hon. Richard B. Teitelman Memorial St. Louis Pro Bono Challenge.

Bar Association sponsors Pro Bono Challenge

The Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis (BAMSL) is sponsoring its 2018 Hon. Richard B. Teitelman Memorial St. Louis Pro Bono Challenge. Participating firms pledge to actively encourage pro bono legal work and strive to perform a total of 10 hours of pro bono work on average per year per

coached in college and career readiness skills, teamwork, interpersonal relationships, self-motivated responsibility, personal finance, community service and knowledge of diverse cultures. The St. Louis Chapter has given over $40,000 in scholarships to local girls who are first-generation college students within the past five years. Currently the chapter supports seven first-generation and/or underserved students financially, mentally, and emotionally.

In 2012, the St. Louis Chapter began Mentoring Village, a math-mentoring program that uses KhanAcademy.org to provide STEM education and mentorship to students at Cool Valley and Vogt elementary schools in the Ferguson-Florissant School District. Members mentor students in the use of the internet, encourage self-esteem, and provide school supplies, healthy snacks and bookmarks with wisdom quotes that are used to generate discussion.

In 2014, the chapter donated 10 Nexus-7 tablets to the Ferguson Municipal Library

attorney located in St. Louis. For example, a firm of 50 local attorneys would commit to an annual total of 500 hours.

In 2017, BAMSL partnered with Legal Services of Eastern Missouri to implement this program. Thanks to the efforts of the 19 firms participating in the 2017 Challenge, 32,054 hours of pro bono legal work was provided to the St. Louis community. Each participating firm exceeded the goal of providing 10 hours per attorney of pro bono

an

of

BAMSL President Ed Dowd said.

and five tablets to Cool Valley Elementary School to facilitate teachers’ ability to monitor the KhanAcademy. org practice of students in real-time. The timing of the gift of gift before the 2014 Ferguson unrest enhanced the library’s ability to extend safe haven to local students and to access KhanAcademy.org after school hours and over the summer.

Since 2014, the chapter has donated 150 Aqua Tablets and over 500 black tennis shoes for students in schools in Grand Goave, Haiti.

In 2014 and 2016, the chapter held two successful “Celebration of Mother’s” fundraising luncheons” around Mother’s Day to honor women who have made significant contributions to our region and to raise money to fund college scholarships and other community projects.

In 2018, the chapter donated 25 Dell Laptops to Vogt Elementary School to facilitate student access to KhanAcademy.org.

In cooperation with Ally Financial (formerly

GMAC), members of the St. Louis Chapter have presented workshops on financial literacy, budgeting and the importance of good credit monitoring to students at various high schools, including Vashon High School. Through its dental health workshop, the chapter has presented “Lessons in a Lunch Box” to 300 second and third graders at various schools around the region.

The chapter presents Celebrating Sheroes, an awareness program that raises awareness and appreciation of women in the military.

The chapter plays an important role in the annual Walk To End Alzheimer’s Disease, which raises knowledge and awareness of the disease and supports research and support systems available to caregivers in St. Louis. In conjunction with the National Minority Donor Awareness Day, the chapter embarked on a national campaign to make churches aware of the need for organ, eye and tissue donors from blacks.

n “Where there is no God, there is chaos. Odell has removed God from his life.”

star Odell Beckham, Jr.

Sports

Wizards wobbly as playoffs approach; Tatum on trade block this summer?

~ See ‘Sports Eye’ page B4 ~

STL American Boys Fab Five

Here is a capsule look at the members of the St. Louis American “Fab Five” All-Star First Team:

Carte’are Gordon 6’8” (Sr.) Webster

Groves: The Saint Louis University signee enjoyed another dominant season in helping lead the Statesmen to the Class 5 state championship for the second consecutive season. Gordon averaged 18.8 points, 8.3 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 2.9 blocks. He enjoyed his best game of the season in the state semifinals against Liberty when he scored a career-high 40 points in the Statesmen’s 81-61 victory. Gordon was a member of the Fab Five First Team last season.

Jericole Hellems 6’7” (Sr.) Chaminade: The North Carolina State-bound forward led the Red Devils to a runner-up finish in the Class 5 state tournament. The versatile Hellems did it all on the offensive end as he averaged 23.2 points, 8.4 rebounds and 3.3 assists while shooting 51 percent from the field, 43 percent from 3-point range and 75 percent from the free throw line. He was dominant in the Final Four, where he topped the 30-point mark in both the semifinals and state championship game.

E.J. Liddell 6’7” (Jr.) Belleville West: The talented forward led the Maroons to the Illinois Class 4A state championship, which was the first in the school’s history. He was a dominant player on both ends of the court. As a junior, Liddell averaged 20.8 points and 8.2 rebounds while shooting 57 percent from the field and 78 percent from the free throw line. Liddell was equally dominant on the defensive end, where he recorded an incredible 200 blocked shots, which was nearly six per game. He was also named the Player of the Year in the state of Illinois.

Courtney Ramey 6’4” (Sr.) Webster Groves: The super-talented point guard concluded a spectacular career by leading the Statesmen to its second consecutive Class

For much of the season, the winner of the 2019 NBA MVP Award has been a foregone conclusion. Last season, the Houston Rockets’ James Harden put together one of the greatest non-MVP seasons in NBA history when he averaged 29.1 points, 11.2 assists and 8.1 rebounds per game. Despite his brilliance, Harden was outshined by Oklahoma City’s Russell Westbrook, who was the first man since Oscar Robertson (1961-62) to average a triple-double.

the squad, Harden has been the man in Houston. He has always been almost unguardable off the dribble. He has also continually improved as a three-point threat.

This season, Harden took the reins in the MVP race from the jump. Despite adding another ball-dominant player in nine-time All-Star and future Hall of Famer Chris Paul Harden hasn’t missed a beat. This season, Harden has averaged 30.4 points, 8.8 assists and 5.4 rebounds per game. He dropped his turnovers from an absurd 5.7 per game last season down to 4.4. Even with Paul’s addition to

This season Harden is shooting nearly 37 percent on ten longrange attempts per game. His 265 made three-pointers this season are the ninth-most in a single season. If he plays in the Rockets’ regular-season finale, he could pass Dennis Scott (267), Klay Thompson (276) and Ray Allen (269) to jump up into the No. 6 spot. Though injuries have played a factor, this season Harden will unseat Stephen Curry as the three-point king for the first-time since 2012. Harden’s defense is also much-improved. His post-defense has been downright impressive. According to the Houston Chronicle, opponents have scored just 26.2 percent of the time against Harden

in the low post. He has only allowed 0.51 points per possession.

— Former NFL Star Ray Lewis, on NY Giants

Earl Austin Jr.

Ishmael H. Sistrunk

Photo by Wiley Price

Courtney Ramey concluded a spectacular career by leading the Webster Groves Statesmen to its second consecutive Class 5 state championship. Ramey was named The St. Louis American co-Player of the Year.

SportS EyE

With Alvin A. Reid

Wizards wobbly as playoffs approach; Tatum on trade block this summer?

After blowing a fourth-quarter 17-point lead to the Cleveland Cavaliers and losing 119-115, then dropping a home game to the lowly Atlanta Hawks 103-97, the Washington Wizards’ regular season is ending with a thud.

When the new year began, the Wizards seemed destined to host a first-round playoff series in the Eastern Conference. They now are most likely headed to an eighth seed and a matchup against the Toronto Raptors – the team with the conference’s best record.

After reviewing film of the disastrous losses that left the team at 42-38, St. Louisan Bradley Beal said, “The team we were watching on film wasn’t us.”

“Looking at the things we were doing over the course of the year, over the course of the last couple games. Just seeing our demeanor and our approach and seeing two different teams,” said Beal, an all-star guard in the midst of his best NBA season.

“Just our intensity, our focus, our grit and grind, attention for detail for everything was a lot better (last year.) So, that’s who we need to be.”

The Wizards faced visiting Boston, who has lost Kyrie Irving for the season, on Tuesday and traveled to Orlando on Wednesday. There is still a chance the Wizards can finish as a seventh seed and face the depleted Celtics in the first round.

Beal told the Washington Post the team still backs coach Scott Brooks and has not tuned him out.

“If coach has to get us ready for a game, then there’s something wrong,” Beal said. “As a man and as a player, this is something that we do. This is our career. This is

something that – we should be ready for a game.”

Tatum to New Orleans?

Some trade rumors surfaced

last week, one that included Chaminade product and Boston Celtics rookie Jayson Tatum According to Andrew Sharp of Sports Illustrated, the Celtics are willing to part with their outstanding rookie in a deal that would bring Anthony Davis of the New Orleans Pelicans to Boston.

Sharp writes that the San Antonio Spurs will seek suitors for disgruntled forward Kawhi Leonard this summer and a deal with Boston would have to include Tatum. He said the Celtics would not make that trade but would be willing to include Tatum in a deal for Davis, one of the NBA’s best players.

Celtics’ free-agent acquisition Gordon Hayward was lost for the season on opening night and now Irving’s knee surgery has ended his year.

Tatum has been forced to play more minutes and become more of an offensive factor.

The former Duke Blue Devil is averaging 18.2 points, 4.0 rebounds, 2.4 assists, and 1.6 steals. This includes him hitting a solid 47.4 percent of his shots from three-point range and 47.2 percent of his attempts from the floor.

While he scored just eight points in last Wednesday’s 96-78 loss to the Toronto Raptors, Tatum passed Hall of Famer Bob Cousy to reach No. 8 on the Celtics’ all-time rookie scoring list with 1,081 points.

In a 106-102 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers the previous night, Tatum hit his 102nd

three-point shot of the season, which broke the franchise’s previous rookie record.

Tatum had played in every Celtics game this season but coach Brad Sevens decided to sit him last Friday against Chicago after the Celtics had secured the second seed in the East.

“(Coach Stevens) called me Thursday and he told me he was thinking about not playing me on Friday,” Tatum told MassLive.com.

“He saw somewhere that I had mentioned something about wanting to play every game. He just wanted to talk to me first to see if I was okay with it. I see the bigger picture.”

When asked if he was disappointed to not play in all 81 games, Tatum responded “Yeah and no.”

“Maybe next year. I mean you don’t get an award or anything. An extra check? It’s fine.”

If Tatum continues his stellar play in the postseason, the Celtics could make a surprise run without Hayward and Irving.

It would also increase his value in a trade – but let’s pray he does not end up in New Orleans.

Of course, if an NBA franchise ended up in St. Louis, it would most likely be New Orleans – and Tatum could have a roundabout homecoming.

Some trade rumors surfaced last week, one that included Chaminade product and Boston Celtics rookie Jayson Tatum.

Brandeis saw no evil?

Brandeis University fired men’s basketball coach Brian Meehan last week after allegations of “preferential and discriminatory treatment, unprofessional behavior and racially biased harassment.”

Complaints about Meehan’s racist behavior have followed the school’s all-time winningest coach for more than a year. It makes you wonder if his 7-18 record last season was the real reason he was let go. The racist acts Meehan allegedly perpetrated on team members include making three black players pose as the monkeys in the “See No Evil, Speak No Evil, Hear No Evil,” depiction and telling black players if they didn’t cooperate with him fully he would “send them back to Africa.”

The Division III school made the announcement last Thursday but was somehow compelled to not to mention the coach’s name in the release announcing his termination. The statement says complaints began last year. After an investigation “unspecified disciplinary action was taken.” Brandeis said a new complaint surfaced, and a review of previous incidents led to Meehan’s firing. In other words, he was allowed to keep his job for at least one season after the university knew of his racist antics.

“I am deeply disturbed by these complaints,” University president Ron Leibowitz said in the statement.

“I want to be absolutely clear: At Brandeis, there is zero tolerance for discriminating against any student, staff member, faculty member, or visitor because of their race, sex, religion, sexual orientation, gender or any other aspect of their identity.” Leibowitz and Brandeis might have “zero tolerance” now, but he and the school tolerated Meehan far longer than they should have.

Alvin A. Reid was honored as the 2017 “Best Sports Columnist – Weeklies” in the Missouri Press Association’s Better Newspaper Contest. He is a panelist on the Nine Network program, Donnybrook, is a weekly contributor to “The Charlie Tuna Show” on KFNS and can also be heard on Frank Cusumano’s “The Press Box.” His Twitter handle is @aareid1.

Alvin A. Reid

CLUTCH

Continued from B3

would’ve been laughed out of the building, off the internet and probably subjected to a “random” drug test from my boss. Until recently, the idea that anybody else could be named MVP was preposterous. Then people started to notice LeBron James. Remember him? He’s the guy who has been the best player in the league for the past decade or so. In his 15th season, James is putting together one of his most impressive statistical seasons ever. James has averaged 27.7 points, 9.2 assists and 8.7 rebounds per game. At 33-years-old, James’ assist and rebounding totals are both career highs.

PREP

Continued from B3 5 state championship. As a senior, Ramey averaged 21.8 points, 6.7 rebounds, 6.5 assists and 1.4 steals. He was also a lock-down defender as well. He ends his career as the school’s career leader in points and assists. Ramey has been listed among the top guards in the country in his class since his grade school days.

Torrence Watson 6’4” (Sr.) Whitfield: The University of Missouri-bound guard was the most prolific scorer in the Show-Me State this season. As a senior, Watson averaged 31 points a game to lead the St. Louis metro area. He topped the 40-point mark nine times and the 50-point mark on three occasions, including a career-high of 58 points against DeSmet in January. In his final game, Watson scored 51 points in the Class 3 state quarterfinals against Charleston. He finished his career with more than 2,500 points.

St. Louis American Fab Five All-Star Teams

First Team Carte’are Gordon 6’8” (Jr.)

Webster Groves

Jericole Hellems 6’7” (Sr.)

Chaminade

E.J. Liddell 6’7” (Jr.)

Belleville West

Courtney Ramey 6’4” (Sr.) Webster Groves

Torrence Watson 6’4” (Sr.)

Whitfield

Second Team

Yuri Collins 5’11” (Jr.) St. Mary’s

Mario McKinney 6’1” (Jr.)

Vashon

Cameron Williams 6’4”

The King’s 18 triple doubles are second in the league, only behind Westbrook’s 25. For the first time in his career, James averaged a triple double for an entire month during February.

James’ incredible season has been noticed by meme-creators, who put together graphics pointing out that James bests Harden in total points scored, rebounds, assists, field goal percentage, three-point percentage, minutes, games played and triple doubles. Some of those totals are skewed by the fact that James appears poised to play in all 82 games this season while Harden missed at least 10 games due to injury and rest. The question, however, is whether James’ moderate statistical advantages in certain categories makes up for the Cavs’ deficiency in wins. Though Cleveland entered

(Sr.) Hazelwood Central Shaun Williams 6’3” (Sr.) Hazelwood Central Kyle Younge, Jr. 5’10” (Sr.) Jennings

Third Team

Deandre Campbell 6’0” (Sr.) Parkway Central Kale Catchings 6’6” (Sr.)

Wentzville Liberty Brandon Frederick 5’9” (Sr.) Confluence Academy Terrance Hargrove 6’6” (Jr.) East St. Louis Jamarr Williams 6’7” (Sr.) Northwest Academy

Fourth Team

E.J. Bellinger 6’4” (Jr.) Fort Zumwalt South

Daylan Dalton 5’6” (Jr.)

Francis Howell Damien Loyd 5’10” (Jr.)

the season as the clearcut favorite in the Eastern Conference, the Cavs will finish as the third or fourth seed at the end of the regular season. They’re behind the Toronto Raptors, Boston Celtics and possibly the Philadelphia 76ers. James has been the Cavs driving force all season, however, his team has been through some major ups and downs along the way.

Harden’s Rockets put the pedal to the metal at the start of the season and never looked back. As odd as it is to write, Cleveland’s team had a much better chance to land a No. 4 seed in the ‘Leastern’ conference without James than Houston had to land the No. 1 seed in the West without Harden.

For that reason, Harden must be the NBA MVP.

The fact that James has willed himself into the con-

Kirkwood

Malachi Smith 6’3” (Sr.)

Belleville West

Jaron Thames 6’4” (Jr.)

Trinity

Austin Achievement Awards

Players of the Year: Courtney Ramey (Webster Groves) and E.J. Liddell (Belleville West)

Freshman of the Year: Mario Fleming (Cardinal Ritter)

Sophomore of the Year: Caleb Love (CBC)

Junior of the Year: E.J. Liddell (Belleville

PreP AThLeTe of The Week

Leslie Ballard Valley Park – Girls Soccer

The sophomore standout has been racking up the goals in a couple of wins last week. Ballard scored two goals in a 3-0 victory over Metro and added one goal and two assists in a 3-1 victory over University City. She recorded a hat-trick

with three goals in Valley Park’s 4-1 victory over Bayless. For the season, Ballard has scored 13 goals and added three assists in eight games to lead the team. As a freshman, Ballard scored a team-high 23 goals and also had six assists.

versation once again is a testament to his greatness. However, the difference in wins is simply too great to overcome.

Some James fans will point out that the MVP award is an individual award, not a team one. Those same individuals will ignore the fact that Westbrook only narrowly missed averaging a triple-double for the second consecutive season with averages of 25.6 points, 10.1 assists and 9.9 rebounds per game. Despite his gaudy stats, Westbrook has received almost no MVP buzz. Why? The Thunder will finish the season with 47 or 48 wins. James’ Cavs will finish with either 50 or 51 wins.

This season’s hardware belongs to the beard.

Follow Ishmael and In the Clutch on Twitter @ IshmaelSistrunk

West)

Senior of the Year: Courtney Ramey (Webster Groves)

Breakthrough Player: Brandon Frederick (Confluence Academy)

Most Improved Player: Cameron Williams (Hazelwood Central)

Defensive Player o f the Year: E.J. Liddell (Belleville West)

Team of the Year: Webster Groves

St. Louis Majestics win Adidas Invitational 17U title

Congratulations to the St. Louis Majestics 17U boys basketball team on winning the championship at the Adidas Invitational Tournament at the Center of St. Louis Sports in Affton last weekend. The Majestics completed a successful weekend by defeating the Gateway Basketball Club in the championship game on Sunday. The members of the team include (in alphabetical order): Kaileb Bryant (Fort Zumwalt West), Atavian Butler (McCluer North), Dareon Graham (McCluer), Ari

The ST. LouiS AmericAn AreA coLLege AThLeTeS of The Week

Martinus Mitchell

SIU-Edwardsville – Men’s Track

The senior thrower from Collinsville, Illinois turned in an excellent performance at the Billiken Invitational at Saint Louis University last weekend. Mitchell finished first in the discus and second in the shot put on the day. His winning throw in the discus was 162 feet 8 ¼ inches.

He had a heave of 51 feet 2 ¼ inches in the shot put to place second. Mitchell has been a consistent performer in the throws throughout his career at SIUE. As a junior, he was the champion in the discus at the Ohio Valley Conference Outdoor Championships. He was fourth in the OVC Indoor Meet in the shot put as well.

Tsitsi Mahachi

McKendree University – Women’s Track

The sophomore standout from Harare, Zimbabwe had a productive weekend at two different meets for the Bearcats. Mahachi finished first in the triple jump and third in the 200-meter dash at the Billiken Invitational at Saint Louis University on Saturday. Her winning effort in the triple jump was

37 feet 11 inches. At the Bellarmine Invitational in Louisville, Kentucky the previous day, Tsitsi finished second in the triple jump and second in the 400-meter dash. Her effort in the triple jump of 39 feet 2 inches was also a NCAA provisional qualifying mark.

Jackson (CBC), Kent Lawson (Wentzville Liberty), Steve Lee (McCluer North), Brent Roberson (DeSmet), Mekai Ray (McCluer North), Eric Simmons (McCluer North), Nicholaus Smith (CBC), AJ Traylor (McCluer North), Josh Willenbrink (St. Dominic).

Legislation would bring back taxation by citation in Missouri

By Eric Schmitt Missouri State Treasurer

In the wake of the unrest in Ferguson, I spent time meeting with and listening to people in the community who overwhelmingly expressed an utter lack of trust with their local governments. Excessive fines and fees, speed traps and a system of taxation by citation had broken down the trust citizens put in their governments and their courts.

n These proposals would reinvigorate an abusive system of taxation by citation that preys on the poor and treats people like ATMs.

I also heard from law enforcement officers

who said they wanted to spend more time building relationships with their communities instead of writing traffic tickets all day long to meet a quota. As individuals made their way to our municipal courts, they were exploited because of their poverty and, in some cases, thrown into modern day debtors’ prisons. More and more, our state’s municipal court system acted as a safe haven for overgrown local governments that chose to extract money

from citizens through fees and fines instead of trimming their budgets. This abuse is summed up in a memo penned by the mayor of Edmundson in 2014 to his police chief where he reminded him and his department that the tickets they write “add to the revenue on which the [police department’s] budget is established” and that it would “directly affect pay adjustments at budget time.”

It was clear that justice was not being served. Change was needed.

As a state senator, I sponsored Senate Bill 5 in 2015 and Senate Bill 572 in 2016 to effectively put an end to taxation-by-citation

schemes. The legislation capped the amount of fines for traffic violations that could be imposed per person, allowed for an alternative to payment of fees through community service, and limited the total amount of money cities could make off of traffic violations. Moreover, the legislation was supported by clergy, conservative activists, the ACLU and law enforcement. In an age of division and mistrust, that kind of broad support is rare. The opposition was mostly limited to bureaucrats and politicians in profiteering cities who were preying on their own citizens. Despite their best efforts, the legislation

passed with large, bi-partisan majorities. The changes we made in Missouri have worked and they have served as an example for other communities seeking to reform local government and their municipal courts.

After all the important improvements that we made, legislation has been introduced and is now up for debate that would reverse much of that meaningful progress.

These bills would remove the limits on the amount of fees cities could generate through traffic citations, eliminate the possibility of community service alternatives, and remove an accountability measure that requires cities to submit a report to the State Auditor’s Office outlining the amount of money they take in

through citations. These proposals would reinvigorate an abusive system of taxation by citation that preys on the poor and treats people like ATMs. Local governments do not exist to create new and innovative schemes to extract more money from the people they govern.

I share in Martin Luther King Jr.’s belief that the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice. Passing any legislation that adversely affects our municipal reforms we have fought so hard for would be a shameful revival of elaborate extortion schemes aimed at everyday citizens.

is Missouri state treasurer.

Hubert H. Hoosman Jr. scholarship foundation to host fundraisers May 17-18

The Hubert H. Hoosman Jr. Circle of Excellence Scholarship Foundation will host its first fundraisers May 17-18 to raise funds to assist youth in East St. Louis, Illinois, Hoosman’s hometown.

The foundation was started by his wife Andreal Hoosman, family and friends after his sudden death last year. The foundation’s goal is to assist students in their quest for

McGRUDER

continued from page B1

2004 during summer break following her junior year at

obtaining licenses, certifications and degrees through institutions of higher education. People knowing Hoosman’s passion for education already have been donating unsolicited to the foundation.

The civic and business leader was killed in an early-morning head-on collision in Spanish Lake on July 3 at age 60. For 19 years, Hoosman served as president/CEO of

Lincoln University in Jefferson City. She originally wanted to work in the food service department, but was notified that all of their positions were filled and introduced to the

Vantage Credit Union, which is Missouri’s fourth largest credit union with current assets exceeding $700 million.

He also established the African American Credit Union Coalition (AACUC). Through AACUC he traveled to Africa to establish credit unions. With his wife, he founded Haywood

current manager of visitor services instead. Following an impromptu interview, McGruder was hired on as a part-time greeter. After she graduated from Lincoln with her B.S. in

Hoosman Realty and H&H Brokerage Group, a minority-owned business headquartered in Old Town Ferguson, to provide African Americans with homeownership opportunities and access to financial literacy. The foundation will host the “Circle of Excellence Reception” 6- 9 p.m.

Psychology in 2005, she came back to the Science Center and became a cashier. She continued to rise up the ranks, eventually making her way to management.

She had no doubts that reaching such a level would be possible from the moment she arrived at the Science Center.

“I saw women of color in management roles, so that did give me some type of nod that there’s opportunity for growth here,” McGruder said. “As far as what I provided to the staff and the company, and what my managers saw in me, they knew that I was management material.”

From a very early age, McGruder had been steered in the right direction. She grew up in North St. Louis near Natural Bridge and Kingshighway. It wasn’t the safest area, but her parents kept her guarded and stable by sending her to Catholic school. She attended Bishop Healy Catholic School from preschool to eighth grade before moving on to Cardinal Ritter College Prep High School.

On top of that, McGruder’s parents taught her how to carry herself in the professional field. “I saw them working every single day, so the only thing I knew was to have a job and work and provide for the family,” she said. “It just kind of set the stage for my future.”

McGruder’s coworkers have

Thursday, May 17 at Lowes Café 8911 Natural Bridge; St Louis Missouri 63121. The admission is $25 per person.

The foundation golf tournament will be held Friday, May 18 at Florissant Golf Club, 50 Country Club Ln. 63033; shotgun start at noon. The cost is $200 per golfer; sponsorships and golf packages are available by visiting www. hhhcoesfoundation.org

For more information, contact the event chairperson Andreal Hoosman at 314-853-6889 or email hhhcoesfoundation@ gmail.com. Tickets and sponsorship details are available at https://www.eventbrite. com/e/hubert-h-hoosman-jrfirst-annual-golf-tournamenttickets-43316836825

described her as someone with an infectious laugh who serves their guests while having a tremendous dedication to her craft. Her demeanor has been unbreakable, even in the face of adversity.

The Michael Brown and Jason Stockley protests in 2014 and 2017, respectively, led to St. Louis being labeled as dangerous and unstable. This perception significantly impacted tourism and businesses like the Science Center which are centrally located in the city.

“It was difficult around that time for people to be able to trust, but by seeing us smile and seeing us happy, knowing that they’re welcome and we’re approachable, I think that even if they had that initial feeling, once they stepped into the door all of those thoughts went away,” McGruder said.

“They knew they were safe. They felt welcome and it put

them in a different perspective. It changed their mind of what they were thinking before they arrived and not lumping everyone into a stereotype.”

McGruder prepares her staff on a daily basis to be ready for such events and takes pride in doing so. “Every day is a highlight,” she said when asked what her favorite part of her job was. “Whatever I do, whether it’s on the floor or with my staff, I enjoy any time I can personally feel that I’ve done my job.” She listed off leaving visitors with a smile, knowing that her service is appreciated and setting up her staff for greater opportunities as some of her daily goals. “Those are my little awards and rewards,” she said, “every day.”

This is the second in a series of profiles of hospitality professionals that Tashan Reed is reporting for The American.

Eric Schmitt (R-Glendale)

Eric Schmitt

Hubert H. Hoosman Jr.

Michelle McGruder, manager of visitor services at the St. Louis Science Center, got her start there in 2004 during summer break following her junior year at Lincoln University in Jefferson City.

Photo by Wiley Price

Tish HaynesKeys rises on ‘The Voice’

Hip-hop meets American History

By Kenya Vaughn Of The St. Louis American

Tish Haynes-Keys is the last local talent standing on the televised national singing competition circuit that kicked off when “The Voice” and “American Idol” made their way back to the small screen this season. Though Gabbii Jones of St. Louis and Christina Jones (no relation to Gabbii) had a nice run on the ABC reboot of the hit singing show that made stars of Jennifer Hudson, Fantasia, Carrie Underwood, Jordin Sparks, to name a few. You may also see a familiar face in Diet Dr. Pepper’s “Lil Sweet,” who is actually season one runner up Justin Guarini – but this show is about ‘Idol’s’ latest St. Louis connection, so I will get back to that. Gabbii and Christina made it to Hollywood -and ultimately the top 50, but their respective runs on “Idol” came to an end last week. It was another famous “Idol” alum that paved the way for Keys keep pushing through from one round to the next on “Idol” format and time slot competition – NBC’s “The Voice.” “Idol” season one winner Kelly Clarkson scooped HaynesKeys up when Adam Levine let her go early

See 314, C4

By Kenya Vaughn Of The St. Louis American

It’s here. After nearly a year of anticipation from when it was announced that the national tour of “Hamilton” would be a part of this season’s U.S. Bank Broadway Series, the show landed at the Fox Theatre Tuesday night for a three-week run.

Much like the Broadway presentation, the musical turned cultural phenomenon is the hottest ticket in town. The entire St. Louis run of the production is essentially sold out – aside from a few dozen online lottery $10 tickets each night and scattered seats at price points that would give New York City theater patrons pause.

The Hamilton “fandemonium” was in full swing as guests crowded around the big brass doors of the Fox last Wednesday night – and filled the venue to capacity. As the audience settled into every seat, the question was not, “will ‘Hamilton’ live up to its hype?” but rather, “is it possible for said show to be as magnificent as everyone has made it out to be?” or, “what are the odds that it can be that good?”

Well, the tens of thousands who gambled on

From cancer survivor to prom fairy godmother

Operation Prom Nite gifts gowns, tuxedos and accessories to students in need

By Kenya Vaughn Of The St. Louis American

As she was going through chemotherapy for breast cancer, Tammy Dunn asked God to reveal his purpose for her life.

“Prom dresses kept coming to me, but I didn’t know what that meant,” Dunn said. “I had one daughter who was way too old for prom, and another who was way too young.”

As she continued to pray, the vision became clear. She would start an organization that blessed young people in need with formalwear for prom.

“God was revealing to me that there was a

need to do this,” Dunn said. She started in 2016 with 50 dresses available to give away. Now they have more than 500 to give away for the 2018 prom season, according to Operation Prom Nite board member Jeanita Williams.

“Tammy has overcome a lot of obstacles –especially with breast cancer – and she wanted to give back to the community,” Williams said.

“I’m just so thrilled for her, and happy to help in any way I can.”

On Saturdays April 14 and on May 5, Operation Prom Nite will set up shop at the Ferguson Youth Initiative from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. to give away dresses, accessories and gift

‘Hamilton’ exceeds the hype for Fox Theatre stop

the rave reviews from the media and word of mouth as “Hamilton” made it’s St. Louis debut will learn soon enough that they hit the jackpot.

Lin Manuel Miranda’s musical homage to an often-unsung hero among America’s founding fathers– inspired by the epic Ron Chernow biography– is an absolute masterpiece.

certificates from Savvi Formalwear for young men to get tuxedos while supplies last. Guests can also enter to win a full glam makeover (hair and makeup) as well as a free photography package.

“Hamilton” is the hip-hop generation’s interpretation of the chapter of American history that highlights our nation’s battle for independence and building the framework of the new country’s government. The show center’s around Alexander Hamilton and his friendship-turnedbitter-rivalry with former Vice President Aaron Burr. A trusted aide of General George Washington during the Revolutionary War, Hamilton’s working relationship with Washington continued when he became the nation’s first president. Hamilton served as the inaugural secretary of the Treasury. He established the nation’s financial system – and many of the business practices still exist more than two centuries later, including modern credit card processing. He created the U.S. Coast Guard. He founded the New York Post newspaper. The major contributions and influences during his relatively short life are made more compelling by his humble beginnings. Hamilton’s story is the American dream personified. He started from the bottom – an orphaned, penniless teen born out of wedlock in an island on the West Indies now known as

“You should see how happy they are to get their attire,” Dunn said. “It’s new prom attire –we have 80 percent donated from Macy’s, JC Penny and Dillard’s. Just to see them and their faces say ‘Hey, I can look as good as the next person when I go to the prom – I won’t look any different.’”

In the two short years that Operation Prom Nite has been in existence, Dunn already sees the impact.

“We’ve had a lot of young people pick out their gowns and cry,” Williams said. “You don’t realize that a lot of these young people are in dire need for various reasons.” Dunn shared an Operation Prom Nite story about a student from Lift For Life Academy. The young woman’s mother had paid all her senior dues, but suffered a stroke in early spring. The mother was left unable to work, and the entire family was forced to uproot and relocate to East

Alicia Graf Mack to helm Julliard Dance program

Operation Prom Nite, an organization created by cancer survivor Tammy Dunn, will hold two dress and accessory giveaways (Sat., April 14 & Sat., May 5) at The Ferguson Youth Initiative.

The Hamilton “fandemonium” was in full swing as guests crowded around the big brass doors of the Fox last Wednesday night – and filled the venue to capacity.

Tish Haynes Keys

How to place a calendar listing

1. Email your listing to calendar@stlamerican. com OR

2. Visit the calendar section on stlamerican.com and place your listing

Calendar listings are free of charge, are edited for space and run on a space-available basis.

concerts

Fri., Apr. 13, 8:30 p.m., Sheldon Concert Hall presents Ramsey Lewis Plays the Beatles. 3648 Washington Blvd., 63108. For more information, visit www. sheldonconcerthall.org.

Sat., Apr. 14, 8 p.m., Abdulla Ibrahim & Ekaya. The story of The Jazz Epistles, one of South Africa’s most acclaimed and influential jazz ensembles, and crusaders for the antiapartheid. Sheldon Concert Hall, 3648 Washington Blvd., 63108.

Sun., Apr. 15, 4 p.m., National Blues Museum presents Soulful Sunday with Carolyn Mason. 615 Washington Ave., 63101. For more information, visit www. nationabluesmuseum.org.

Mon., Apr. 16, 7 p.m., Sheldon Concert Hall presents Mandy Gonzalez 3648 Washington Blvd., 63108.

Sun., Apr. 22, 3 p.m., Ethical Society of St. Louis presents From Bach to Bernstein with Marlissa Hudson 9001 Clayton Rd., 63117. For more information, visit wwwbachsociety.org.

local gigs

Fri., Apr. 20, 7 p.m., Center Stage Showcase 5: Peace, Love and Sauce feat. Murphy Lee. The Ready Room, 4195 Manchester Ave., 63110. For more information, visit www. facebook.com.

Wed., Apr. 25, 7 p.m., Monthly Music Series: Sean Coray & Friends. World Chess Hall of Fame, 4652 Maryland Ave., 63108. For more information, visit www. worldchesshof.org.

Sat., Apr. 28, 7 p.m., Lumiere Place Casino &

Hotels presents the Fabulous Motown Revue. 999 N. 2 nd St., 63102. For more information, visit www. ticketmaster.com.

special events

Fri., Apr. 13, 5 p.m., National Blues Museum Honors: Kim Massie & Jim McClaren. Performances by Marsha Evans & The Coalition. 615 Washington Ave., 63101. For more information, visit www. nationalbluesmuseum.org.

Apr. 8 – 15, Missouri History Museum presents A Celebration of Civil Rights Commemorate the closing of the #1 in Civil Rights Exhibit with a weeklong celebration including special events and performances. 5700 Lindell Blvd., 63112. For more information, visit www. mohistory.org.

Fri., Apr. 13, 5 p.m., National Blues Museum Honors: Kim Massie & Jim McClaren. Performances by Marsha Evans & The Coalition. 615 Washington Ave., 63101. For more information, visit www. nationalbluesmuseum.org.

Apr. 13 – 15, Washington University presents ThurtenE Carnival. Enjoy a weekend filled with rides, games, student booths, food, and more. 1 Brookings Dr., 63130. For more information, visit www.thurtene.org.

Sat., Apr. 14, 8 a.m., MakeA-Wish Foundation invites you to their Walk for Wishes. Help raise money to grant wishes for children with critical illnesses, and enjoy bounce houses, music and more. Forest Park- Upper Muny Lot, 63021. For more information, visit www. walkforwishesstl.com.

Kenya Vaughn recommends

Whitaker Jazz Speaks Series hosts Harlem’s Renaissance feat. speaker Dr. Gerald Early. For more information, see LECTURES AND WORKSHOPS.

Sat., Apr. 14, 8:30 a.m., A Run for Hope. A 5K race/1 mile walk to generates funds to support Annie’s Hope. Health screenings, child ID cards, and more. Route 66 State Park, 97 N. Outer Rd., 63025. For more information, visit www.register.chronotrack. com/r/37196.

Sat., Apr. 14, 9 a.m., St. Louis Alumnae, St. Louis Metropolitan, and Alpha Omega Chapters of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., present Community Forum IMPACT Day. JC Penney Building, UMSL, 1 University Blvd., 63121.

Sat., Apr. 14, 9 a.m., Third Annual Walk the Cause for Needy Paws. Compete in a 5K or 1-mile fun run, compete in a pet costume contest, visit vendors, and more. Tremayne Shelter, Creve Couer Park, 13725 Marine Ave., 63146. For more information, visit www.needypaws.org.

Sat., Apr. 14, 3 p.m., Dancing Still in the Twilight Years Senior Prom. Calling all senior citizens 65 and older for dancing, fun, and crowning the king and queen. Truelight Baptist Church, 1535 Tudor Ave., East St. Louis, IL 62207. For more information, visit www.truelight-estl.com.

Sat., Apr. 14, 6 p.m., Dignity Period Spring Gala. The mission is to keep adolescent Ethiopian girls in school by ensuring that they have access to quality menstrual hygiene products. Marriott St. Louis West, 660 Maryville Centre Dr., 63141. For more information visit www. dignityperiod.org.

Sun., Apr. 15, 2 p.m., Swap til you Drop Spring Event. Enjoy networking, swap out old fashion pieces and shop trendy items for less, win givea-ways, and more. CIC@CET, 20 S. Sarah St., 63108. For more information, visit www. thebrowncloset.com.

Sun., Apr. 15, 5 p.m., Made Moguls 4th Annual Black Tie Charity Dinner. Highlighting individuals and organizations that are helping to uplift and empower the community. Holiday Inn-Downtown, 811 N 9th St., 63101. For more information, visit www. mmblacktiedinner.com.

Tues., Apr. 17, 6 p.m., Eve’s Bloom presents Let’s Talk Motherhood. A community talk with mothers discussing motherhood. Lewis & Clark Branch, St. Louis County Library, 9909 Lewis and Clark Blvd., 63136. For more information, visit www. eventbrite.com.

Tues., Apr. 17, 7 p.m., A Public Event In Recognition Of The 50th Anniversary Of The Death Of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Graham Chapel, Washington University, One Brookings Dr., 63130. For more information, visit www.rap.wustl.edu.

Wed., Apr. 19, 5:30 p.m., United 4 Children Lighting the Way At The Races Gala. Donations support safe after school places, healthy meals, and more. Windows on Washington, 1601 Washington Ave., 63103. For more information, visit www. united4children.org.

Fri., Apr. 20, 6 p.m., Voices for Children St. Louis presents the 2018 Foster the Future Annual Gala Chase Park Plaza, 212 N. Kingshighway Blvd., 63108. For more information, visit www.voices-stl.ejoinme.org.

Fri., Apr. 20, 6:30 p.m., Rainbow Village’s 22nd Annual Somewhere Over the Rainbow Gala. Help raise funds to provide safe, quality homes for individuals with disabilities. Four Seasons Hotel, 999 North 2nd St., 63102. For more information, visit www.rbvstl.org.

Apr. 20 – 22, Consuming Kinetics Dance Company presents The Scenic Route The Marcelle Theater, 3310 Samuel Shepard Dr., 63103. For more information, visit www.metrotix.com.

Sat., Apr. 21, 9 a.m., Deaconess Foundation “Children at the Center” Community Fair. We will have a photo booth, carnival games, basketball, and more. 1000 North Vandeventer Ave., 63113. For more information, visit www.deaconess.org.

Sun., Apr. 22, 2 p.m., Food Outreach presents the 30th Annual A Tasteful Affair Chefs from more than 25+ local kitchens will have tastes and treats ready to sample plus live and silent auctions. Four Seasons Hotel, 999 N 2nd St., 63102. For more information, visit www.foodoutreach.org.

Sun., Apr. 22, 4:30 p.m., Changing Your Idea of Beauty Fashion Show. Featuring CrispinMulatto. Busch Student Center, St. Louis University, 20 N. Grand Blvd., 63103. For more information, visit www. facebook.com.

Sun., Apr. 22, 5 p.m., O’Fallon Tech Class of ‘83 Alumni Committee presents a Comedy, Spoken Word, and Jazz Explosion. II Bar & Restaurant, 10466 W. Florissant Ave., 63136. For more information, call (314) 307-9114.

Fri., Apr. 28, 6 p.m., The Kids in the Middle Broadcasting Live! Gala 2018. Auctions, entertainment, and raise funds for families experiencing divorce. River City Casino & Hotel, 777 River City Casino Blvd., 63125. For more information, visit www.kidsinthemiddle. org.

Sat., Apr. 28, 8 p.m., Variety Children’s Charity presents their 22nd Annual Dinner With The Stars featuring John Legend. The Peabody Opera House. For more information, For more information, visit https:// varietystl.org/charity-events-stlouis/dinner-with-the-stars.

Sat., Apr. 29, 8 a.m., Annie

Malone’s Kids on the Run Against Child Abuse & Neglect. 5K Run/Walk, vendors, children’s activities, raffles, and more. Forest Park (Upper Muny Parking Lot), 63112. For more information, visit www.anniemalone.com.

literary

Thurs., Apr. 12. 7 p.m., The St. Louis County Library Foundation will present authors Stephanie Dray and Laura Kamoie for a discussion and signing of their historical novel “My Dear Hamilton. Library Headquarters, 1640 S. Lindbergh. For more information, visit www.slcl. org.

Sat., Apr. 14, 7 p.m., Bullets Into Bells: Poets & Citizens Respond to Gun Violence. Feat. Aaron Coleman, Cheeraz Gormon, Mary Jo Bang, Dr. Laurie Punch, Rep. Stacy Newman, and more. The Stage at KDHX, 3524 Washington Ave., 63103. For more information, visit www.leftbank.com.

Sat., Apr. 14, 8 p.m., The Monocle presents Dani Skye. St. Louis native, spokenword artist and author. 4510 Manchester Ave., 63110. For more information, visit www. eventbrite.com.

Tues., Apr. 17, 7 p.m., Sarah Kendzior discusses The View From Flyover Country: Dispatches from the Forgotten America. A critique of the gentrification, racism, and more that gave rise to Trump. Left Bank Books, 399 N. Euclid Ave., 63108. For more information, visit www.leftbank.com.

Thur., Apr. 19, 7 p.m., Left Bank Books hosts author Jewell Parker Rhodes, author of Ghost Boys. Jerome is shot by an officer who mistakes his toy gun for a real threat. As a ghost, he observes the devastation that’s been unleashed on his family and community. 399 N. Euclid Ave., 63108.

Sat Apr. 21, 4 p.m., The Emerging Artists Showcase. An open mic showcase for Normandy Senior High School’s graduating Poetry and Drama Club members and other artists. Legacy Books, 5249 Delmar Blvd., 63106. For more information, call (314) 261-6365.

Wed., Apr. 26, 7 p.m., Left Bank Books hosts author Richard Rothstein, author of The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America. Julia Davis Branch, St. Louis Public Library, 4415 Natural Bridge Ave., 63115. Mon., May 7, 7 p.m., Maryville Women & Leadership hosts author Areva Martin, author of Make It Rain. Learn the power of media appearances to revolutionize a business. Maryville University Auditorium, 650 Maryville University Dr., 63141. For more information, visit www. left-bank.com.

Fri., Apr. 13, Kevin Hart Irresponsible Tour, Scottrade Center. For more information, visit livenation.com.

Sat., Apr. 14, 6 p.m., St. Louis Love Hour + Comedy Show featuring Kev on Stage

and East St. Louis’ own Tahir Moore. The Equation Church, 4032 N. 22nd St., 63107. For more information, visit www.eventbrite.com.

Apr. 19 – 22, Funny Bone presents Jordan Rock 614 W. Port Plaza Dr., 63146.

Sat., Apr. 21, 7 p.m., Open Mic and R.J.A.L.R. present Life and Laugh Comedy Show. Feat. Andre Helm, Reneice P., Poet Lightning, Princeton Dew, and Jaylee Thomas. Legacy Books and Café, 5239 Delmar Blvd., 63108. For more information, call (314) 337-4830.

Thur., Apr. 27, 8 p.m., University of Missouri St. Louis Program Board presents Leslie Jones with Lenny Marcus. Touhill Performing Arts Center, 1 University Blvd., 63121. For more information, visit www. touhill.org.

Thurs., May 3, The Lit AF Tour starring Martin Lawrence and featuring Rickey Smiley, JB Smoove, DeRay Davis and Benji Brown. Chaifetz Arena. For more information, visit www. ticketmaster.com.

theatre

Fri., Apr. 13, 6 p.m.,

Unfinished Business: The Great Migration to Black Lives Matter. A musical documenting oral histories of African American elders from historic Black churches. Brown School, WashU, 1 Brookings Dr., 63130. For more information, visit www. facebook.com.

Fri., Apr. 13- Apr. 29, The Black Rep closes its 41st season with the world premiere of Nikkole Salter’s Torn Asunder. Washington University’s Edison Theater. For more information, call (314) 534-3807 or visit www. theblackrep.org.

Sun., Apr. 15, 3 p.m., Je’Caryous Johnson presents

Set It Off. Peabody Opera House, 1400 Market St., 63103. For more information, visit www.ticketmaster.com.

Sat., Apr. 21, 3 p.m., Gitana Productions will present We the People of the Planet at the St. Louis Earth Day Festival The performance will be held on the grounds of the Muny in Forest Park at the St. Louis Earth Day Festival’s Peace Garden. For more information, visit www.gitana-inc.org or contact Gitana Productions at (314) 721-6556.

Through Apr. 21, Sheldon Concert Hall and Art Galleries presents School Focus: Cardinal Ritter College Prep Student Exhibit. 3648 Washington Blvd., 63108. For more information, visit www.thesheldon.org/ upcomingexhibits.

Through June 24, From Caricature to Celebration: A Brief History of AfricanAmerican Dolls. From the early days of African through the years of assimilation and early acceptance. Field House Museum, 634 S. Broadway, 63102. For more information, visit www.fieldhousemuseum. org.

lectures and workshops

Thur., Apr. 12, 5:30 p.m., Eighteenth Annual Atlas Week Signature Symposium – Sons of Lwala: Honoring the Dreams of Our Parents feat. Drs. Milton and Fred Ochieng’. Busch Student Center, SLU, 20 N. Grand Blvd., 63103. For more information, visit www. facebook.com.

Sun., Apr. 15, 2 p.m., What is Fake News?: Information Literacy in a World of Viral News. Kirkwood Public Library, 140 E. Jefferson

Kenya Vaughn recommends

Bullets Into Bells: Poets & Citizens Respond to Gun Violence. Featuring Aaron Coleman, Cheeraz Gormon (above), Mary Jo Bang, Dr. Laurie Punch, Rep. Stacy Newman, and more. See LITERARY for details.

Ave., 63122. For more information, visit www. kirkwoodpubliclibrary.org.

Mon., Apr. 16, 12:30 p.m., St. Louis Office of Financial Empowerment presents Public Service Student Loan Forgiveness. City Hall, 1200 Market St., 63103. For more information, call (314) 6224700 or visit www.stlofe.org.

Tues., Apr. 17, 11:30 a.m., Coin a Better Future: Reaching Out to Financially Vulnerable Families. Brown Hall, Washington University, 1 Brookings Dr., 63130. For more information, visit www. eventbrite.com.

Wed., Apr. 18, 7:30 p.m., Whitaker Jazz Speaks Series

covering various legal topics. St. Louis County Council Campus, 41 S. Central, 63105. For more information, call (866) 366-0270 or visit www.missourilawyershelp. org/mini-law-school.

Thur., Apr. 26, 8:30 a.m., Handling Sexual Assault in the Media. Hear firsthand from Harvey Weinstein accuser, actress Katherine Kendall. Missouri Baptist University, 1 College Park Dr., 63141. For more information, visit www. prsastlouis.org.

Sun., Apr. 29, 11 a.m., Shades of Beauty Bridal Workshop Series. The Dollhouse Studios, 1428 Washington Ave., 63103. For more information, visit www. shadesofbeauty.eventcreate. com.

Sundays, Through Dec. 30, 2 p.m., Center for Divine Love Church presents Finally Understand Race in America. A portrayal of the African-American experience. Discussion will follow. 3617 Wyoming St., 63116. For more information, visit www.facebook.com.

health

hosts Harlem’s Renaissance feat. speaker Dr. Gerald Early. There will be a lecture followed by a performance. Jazz St. Louis, 3536 Washington Ave., 63103. For more information, visit www. tickets.jazzstl.org.

Sat., Apr. 21, 10 a.m., Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., St. Louis Alumnae Chapter presents Career Readiness Extravaganza. William J. Harrison Educational Center, 3140 Cass Ave., 63106. For more information, visit www. dst-sla.org.

Wednesdays, 7 p.m., Through Apr. 25, The Missouri Bar Association invites you to the Spring 2018 Mini Law School for the Public. Six-week series

Sun., Apr. 15, 9:30 a.m., StoneBridge Senior Living presents Effective Communication Strategies for Alzheimer’s. Parkway United Church, 2841 N. Ballas Rd., 63131. For more information, visit www. facebook.com.

Sat., Apr. 21, 10 a.m., Alzheimer’s Association Caregiver Support Group, Friendly Temple Missionary Baptist Church Campus Friendly Village, 5545 Wells Ave., 63112. For more information, call 314-4395799

Fri., Apr. 27, 11 a.m., The St. Louis American Foundation’s 18th Annual Salute to Excellence in Health Care Awards

Luncheon, Frontenac Hilton. To order tickets, call 314533-8000 or visit www. stlamerican.com

May 19, 10 a.m., Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis Guild Annual Health Fair, O’Fallon Rec Plex, 4343 West Florissant.

Sat., Apr. 14, 2 p.m., A Conversation with Our Daughters: A Tea & Interactive Event. A girlsonly event for all generations. Attire: bring a mirror and dress as your authentic self. St. John AME Church, 1908 N. Kingshighway Blvd., 63113. For more information, visit www.facebook.com.

Sun., Apr. 15, 10 a.m., The Rev. & Mrs. Spencer LaMar Booker and The Hospitality Ministry Of St. Paul AME Church Annual Family & Friends Day, St. Paul A.M.E. Church, 1260 Hamilton Ave. 63112. For more information, call (314) 305-8900.

Sun., Apr. 29, 10 a.m., Chancel Choir 40th Anniversary Reunion Service. Special guest Dr. Leo Davis of Mississippi Boulevard Christian Church. New Sunny Mount Missionary Baptist Church, 4700 W. Florissant, 63115. For more information, call (314) 389-4510.

Fri., Apr. 13, Rampage starring Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Naomie Harris opens in theatres nationwide

Thur., Apr. 26, 6 p.m., Movie Night: Teach Us All – Segregation for a New Generation. A panel will discuss the correlation between education inequity and racial disparity. Morrissey Hall, 3700 Lindell Blvd., 63108. For more information, visit www.eventbrite.com.

on. And while Clarkson went with another contestant in the knockout round, she was quick to pull out her “save” clause to keep Haynes-Keys on her team. But not before Levine tried to steal Haynes back. HaynesKeys stuck with Clarkson and will be back to battle for the crown next week on NBC.

Alicia Graf Mack to lead Julliard dance program.

While she’s not a native St. Louisan, Alicia Graf Mack has some serious connections to town that make her new appointment noteworthy to the city. First off, she’s a St. Louis daughter-in-law because of her marriage to native son Kirby Mack. But even before then, she was the closest of friends with fellow Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater alums Antonio Douthit-Boyd and his husband Kirven DouthitBoyd. She spent time here in St. Louis earning a master’s at Washington University and as a faculty member of COCA and Webster University. Anybody who met Alicia during her time here is beyond the moon with excitement for her taking the helm at one of the most prestigious performing arts colleges in the world. If the way her besties the Douthit-Boyds have approached their shared role as co-directors of the dance program at COCA, then Julliard can prepare to be amazed.

Mykal Kilgore making his Muny return. I spent all summer of last year feeling sick because I didn’t have a chance to catch singer/actor Mykal Kilgore’s Muny debut as a part of their production of “Jesus Christ Superstar.” I know some of you are thinking “who is Mykal Kilgore?” Well, he is a phenomenal contralto/first tenor who made a name for himself as part of Scott Bradlee’s Postmodern Jukebox, a rotating crop of talented singers and musicians who turn contemporary songs

on their head with throwback versions. Sidenote: Kilgore’s lead performance in a doo wop reimagination of “Theme from Titanic (My Heart Will Go On)” will change your life. Check it out on YouTube, you won’t be sorry. Anyway, he’ll be back in town to take the stage as the “mean ole” lion in The Muny’s 100th Anniversary production of “The Wiz” this summer. When I first heard he would be cast as the lion, I thought he would be better suited for the title character considering the big booming voice the lion’s role. But then,

I thought to myself that Mykal can probably sing anything in any way and will give me chills – and with him as the lion, I’ll get to see him in both acts. And Grammy winner Nathan Lee Graham as The Wiz, will work for me. Also, I haven’t heard a peep about who will play Dorothy. She may be a little young, but I think the Muny creative staff should consider Kennedy Holmes. I really think she proved herself up for it when she blew folks away as a 10-year-old in their 2015 production of “Hairspray.”

Catering Chef of the Year in Ferg-Flor

Susan Smith, a chef in the Ferguson-Florissant School District,

the Southwest Foodservice Excellence

Catering

year SFE, the district’s Arizona-based food vendor, presents awards for exceptional performance throughout the company. Smith has catered events for numerous SFE accounts and has been commended for her originality, attention to detail and flavorful dishes. She was recognized at the district’s March Board of Education meeting by Superintendent Joseph Davis and Board of Education Vice President Dr. Courtney Graves.

PROM

Continued from C1

St. Louis. Prom didn’t seem to be an option.

Operation Prom Nite stepped in.

“She got the hair, the makeup, the gown – everything we had,” Dunn said.

Dunn and her daughter even provided transportation for the young lady, personally picking her up and dropping her off before and after her senior prom.

They had another parent who called Dunn and explained that she lost her job.

“Everybody thinks that we

have money because we live over here in St. Charles, but I don’t have any money for my son’s prom,” the parent said, according to Dunn. Dunn used her Savvi formalwear connection. They sized him up and gifted the young man a tuxedo for his big night.

“The stories are heartwarming and touching in that we get to make such an impact, and I really enjoy helping young people,” Dunn said. “I know it’s hard out there, and I don’t mind doing my part.

Dunn says that walking in her purpose has resulted in a tremendous change in her life.

“I really didn’t think that

there were so many people who couldn’t afford prom attire,” Dunn said. “I can’t even begin to tell you what reaching and touching people in this way has meant for me. I hope it makes as much of a difference in their lives as it has made in mine.” Operation Prom Nite will hold two dress and accessory giveaways at the Ferguson Youth Initiative (106 Church St, Ferguson, MO 63135) on Saturday, April 14 and Saturday, May 5 from 11 a.m. – 3 p.m. Students are asked to bring a valid student I.D. Students under 18 are required to bring a parent or guardian. For more information, visit www.operationpromnite.org.

has been named

(SFE)

Chef of the Year. Each

Alicia Graf Mack

HAMILTON

Continued from C1

St. Kitts. He came to this country thanks to the kindness of strangers who saw his potential. Despite his challenged past, he rose to have a hand in shaping the United States into a world leader. Miranda’s take on Hamilton is stunning. The show carries on with the same relentless pace and fervor as when his subject was helping shape the nation – and reveals the parallels between Hamilton’s life and those of the young people in the process of creating hiphop a generation ago. He was an immigrant from the Caribbean finding his way in New York City with limited resources, but endless passion and drive – and the vision that what he was beginning could have a global impact. Miranda brilliantly merged the story with the music so that Hamilton’s life is given the quintessential rap album treatment. “Hamilton” relies on the elements of rap to tell the story – the remix, the battle rap, the diss track, the rap-sung collaboration. But like hip-hop, other musical genres are seamlessly blended. There is no dialogue other than what comes in the verses and flow. The pace is unforgiving, both for the performers and the audience.

A quick glance at the playbill may come at the expense of a major plot twist. The multi-talented ensemble is up for the challenge. They leap between crooning ballads and nailing elaborate rhymes with cadence and charisma to give the most adept of rap stars a run for their money. And they do it without so much as a moment to catch their breath for the next scene sequence.

Austin Scott delivers a career-defining performance in the title role for the St. Louis leg of the tour. Nicholas Christopher assumes the role

n Each of the performers shine when the spotlight hits them – whether its through song, rap, dance.

of Aaron Burr after portraying George Washington on Broadway. The principal cast is rounded out with Julia K. Harriman as Eliza Hamilton, Sabrina Sloan as Angelica Schuyler, Chris De’Sean Lee as Marquis de Lafayette and Thomas Jefferson, Carvens Lissaint as George Washington, Chaundre Broomfield-Hall as Hercules Mulligan and James

Madison and Ruben J. Carbajal as John Laurens and Philip Hamilton.

Collectively and individually the entire ensemble is gifted beyond measure and pulls off the unique demands of the show with ease. Scott carries the show with grace and dexterity. Christopher may suffer the curse of vocal comparisons to role originator Leslie Odom Jr. on the singing side, but he puts in work to even the score with the swagger and delivery on the hip-hop side of his Burr duties.

Julia K. Harriman’s voice, equally angelic and soulful, adds a tender balance – and blends magnificently with stage sister Sloan. Each of the performers shine when the spotlight hits them – whether its through song, rap, dance – and authentically tap into the spectrum of experiences of “Hamilton,” particularly grief and ambition.

“Hamilton” delivers the ultimate mic drop for critics of hip-hop who question its universal relevance and legitimacy as an art form. Meanwhile, Hamilton’s incredible ascension (which mirrors that of a rap mogul), and tragic demise proved to be the perfect subject matter.

“Hamilton” will continue its through April 22 at The Fox Theatre. For tickets and additional information, visit https:// www.fabulousfox.com/events/ detail/hamilton.

HEALTHY SMILE

BY: DWIGHT E. MCLEOD, DDS, MS, DEAN, ATSU-MOSDOH

Everyone is welcome for affordable care at the St. Louis Dental Center, located at 1500 ParkAve. in Lafayette Square. We are a 79,000-square-foot facility with 93 dental chairs, the latest dental technology and a kidfriendly environment.

The St. Louis Dental Center provides high quality services for patients of all

ages in a clinical training environment. We emphasize the importance of oral health to overall health and well-being. We understand that a child cannot learn in school and an adult cannot perform at work if experiencing untreated dental pain.

We are the only university-affiliated dental center in the region, and our care is provided through a partnership ofA.T. Still University-Missouri School of Dentistry & Oral Health (ATSUMOSDOH) faculty/students and Affinia Healthcare dentists/staff.

This one-of-a-kind, accredited program was founded to help people who have not had access to dental care and people who need reduced and affordable fees. Since 2015, we have provided care for 10,197 patients, and there have been 42,315 patient visits. We are equipped to care for veterans, children, seniors, and individuals with disabilities and special needs. Weekday walk-ins are accepted for emergency dental care; or schedule an appointment soon for your entire family. Learn more at stldentalcenter. org

“Hamilton” will continue its through April 22 at The Fox Theatre.

Birthdays

Celebrations

Reunions

All reunion announcements can be viewed online!

Beaumont Class of 1968 will celebrate its 50-year reunion June 8-10,2018. Yes, Class ‘68 will begin Milestone celebration 6th month on 8th day. Our 2018 meetings in preparation will be held at STL County library located 7606 Natural Bridge at 1:00 p.m.. Dates are (Saturdays) February 17, March 17, April 21, May 19 and June 2. For more information call (314) 869-8312 or email bhsco1968@att.net. Pass the

word and lets celebrate!

Beaumont Class of 1973 will celebrate its 45th reunion, Aug-10-12, 2018! Banquet is Aug. 10 at Orlando’s, 2050 Dorsett Village Plaza, picnic at January Wabash Park. $100 per person includes entire weekend. Deadline is June 15! To register, contact Dr. Liz Franklin at mychoice2succeed@yahoo. com or (636)293-9553. Also, checkout BHS Class of 73 Facebook page.

Homer G. Phillips and St. Louis Municipal School of Nursing is planning an all class reunion in June 2018. Please send your name, address and telephone number to: Homer G. Phillips Nurses Alumni, Inc., P.O. Box 8033 St. Louis, Missouri 63156. McKinley Class of 1978

will celebrate its 40-year reunion July 27-29, 2018 at the Embassy Suites-Airport. For more information please contact Barbara Lindsey, Barbara_Lindsey@icloud.com or Marvin Woods, mwoods@ projectcontrolsgroup.com , (314) 647-0707.

Northwest High Class of 1978 is planning its 40-year reunion for next year. If you have any questions please contact Sly at (314) 397-0311 or email us at northwestbluedevils@78gmail. com. Check us out on Facebook Northwest High School-Class of 1978.

Northwest Class of 1979 is planning on cruising for our 40th class reunion and would love for you to join us. Date to sail is July 20, 2019. Contact Duane Daniels at 314-568-2057 or Howard Day at 414-698-4261 for further

Flovida Woodruff celebrated her 70th birthday on April 11! She loves having parties, going out with the girls, traveling, spending time with her family and grandchildren and helping out wherever she’s needed.

Happy 13th Birthday to my granddaughter, A’Raria “Beep” Clark, on April 16! May God richly bless you forever. Love, Grandma (Gloria Lloyd Clark)

Pastoral Installation

New Pastor

Mercy Seat M.B.C. is celebrating the installation of their 12th pastor, the Reverend Robert Earl Houston. The first day of celebration will be the “Welcome to Saint Louis Day” on Sunday, April 15, 2018, with special guest speakers at the 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. services. On April 29, 2018 at 3 p.m. there will be the formal Service of Installation. For full details, call the Church at (314) 531-3759.

information. Please don’t miss the boat!

Soldan Class of 1978 is planning their 40th class reunion. The dates are June 1, 2 and 3. For more information: call (314) 413-9088.

Sumner Alumni Association hosts its 15th Annual Membership Round-Up Sunday, February 25, 2018, 1-4 pm at Sumner High School with Theme “Showcase Your Talent”. Contact B. Louis at (314) 385-9843 or email: sumneralumniassn@yahoo. com or to Showcase Your Talent (provide contact info and your talent). J. House, Chairperson (314) 420-3442.

Sumner High School Class of 1973 will have its 45th year class reunion the weekend of June 7-June 9, 2018. More info to follow

FREE

OF

CHARGE

Do you have a celebration you’re proud of? If so we would like to share your good news with our readers. Whether it’s a birth, wedding, engagement announcement, anniversary, retirement or birthday, send your photos and a brief announcement (50 words or less) to us and we may include it in our paper and website – AT NO COST – as space is available Photos will not be returned. Send your announcements to: kdaniel@stlamerican. com or mail to:

St. Louis American Celebrations c/o Kate Daniel 2315 Pine St. St. Louis, MO 63103

outlining the details. If you did not receive a newsletter in January, please contact Marsha Joseph-Williams (314-6068701) or Dorris SimmonsMcGhaw(314-541-2462) or you can inbox Sid S. Shurn or Dorris on Facebook.

University City Class of 1978 will hold its 40th reunion May 25-27, 2018. For more information please email ucityhs1978@gmail.com

Vashon Classes of 1974, 1975 and 1976 present: Three Classes Under One Roof! Saturday, April 7, 2018, 7 p.m. until 12 a.m. at the Polish Heritage Center, 1413 North 20th St., St. Louis, MO 63106. For tickets or additional information, call: Jordan Perry ‘74 (314) 724-4563, Elvis Hopson ‘75 (314) 660-1784 or Anthony Arnold ‘76 (314) 677-5667.

Reunion notices are free of charge and based on space availability. We prefer that notices be emailed to us! However, notices may also be sent by mail to: Kate Daniel, 2315 Pine St., St. Louis, MO 63103

Deadline is 10 a.m. on Friday. If you’d like your class to be featured in a reunion profile, email or mail photos to us. Our email address is: reunions@ stlamerican.com

Elnora Suggs (center), mother of St. Louis American publisher

Donald M. Suggs (left) will celebrate her 105th birthday on April 16! She lives in South Holland, IL, near her daughter and son-in-law, Loretta (right) and John Johnson. She is a longstanding member of Faith Temple Church of God in Christ.

Flovida Woodruff

A’Raria “Beep” Clark

Rev. Traci Blackmon honored for Spirituality Leadership

North County Churches

appreciate youth with

annual dinner

America staff

The Center for Spirituality and Sustainability will honor the Rev. Traci Blackmon and Sheila Voss at its 15th annual Leadership Awards Dinner on Saturday, April 14, at 7 p.m. in the LeClaire Room on the N. O. Nelson Campus of Lewis and Clark Community College in Edwardsville.

The center annually bestows awards for Spirituality Leadership and Leadership in Sustainability. These awards reflect the center’s mission to “promote humanity’s sacred connection to the Earth and each other.”

Blackmon, executive minister of Justice and Local Church Ministries of The United Church of Christ and senior pastor of Christ The King United Church of Christ in Florissant, will receive the Spirituality Leadership Award. Initially ordained in the African Methodist Episcopal Church, Rev. Blackmon’s communal leadership and work in the aftermath of the death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, received both national and international recognition, and earned audiences from the White House to the Carter Center to the Vatican. She was appointed to the Ferguson Commission by Governor Jay Nixon and to the

Rev. Traci Blackmon prayed with Gov. Jay Nixon at her church, Christ the King United Church of Christ in Florissant, on August 14, 2014, the day he first declared a State of Emergency in Ferguson. The Center for Spirituality and Sustainability will honor Blackmon with its Spirituality Leadership Award on Saturday, April 14.

President’s Advisory Council on Faith-Based Neighborhood Partnerships for the White House by President Barack Obama.

“I am a called person of faith person who believes in justice, in fighting for justice in every way possible. You can’t just fight from the White House or any infrastructure, but you also can’t leave those opportunities out,” Blackmon told The American at the time of her White House appointment.

“It’s not more important than the street, it’s not less important. You have to do all of it. It’s a long way from Pennsylvania Avenue to West Florissant, but

somebody has to be the link to what’s really happening.”

Voss, vice president of education at the Missouri Botanical Garden, will accept the Sustainability Leadership Award. She helps engage, educate, and inspire current and future generations of citizens to transition to a more sustainable world. She leads a team of diverse professionals, including environmental science educators, early childhood specialists, curriculum developers, teen program coordinators, public engagement strategists, exhibit designers and community outreach staff based at the

Garden, Shaw Nature Reserve and the Sophia M. Sachs Butterfly House. The Center for Spirituality and Sustainability is a non-profit, multi-faith home for spirituality and sustainability efforts housed in the Buckminster Fuller dome on the Southern Illinois University Edwardsville campus. For reservations, contact Juli Jacobson at 618-650-3246 or juljaco@siue.edu. Tickets are $55 and partially tax deductible.

North County Churches appreciate youth North County Churches Uniting for Racial Harmony and Justice (NCCU) will host its Annual Youth Appreciation Dinner 4 p.m. Sunday, April 15 in the Paul F. Detrick Atrium Building at Christian Hospital NE. The keynote speaker will be Nettie Collins-Hart, superintendent of Hazelwood School District. Pastor Monica Jefferson of St. Andrews UMC will emcee, and music will be provided by Gwendolyn Wesley (a well-known member of a choir in the St. Louis area).

NCCU will once again be recognizing 15 outstanding students in the areas of Education, Community Service, Citizenship, Artistic achievement, and Athletics from Hazelwood, FergusonFlorissant, and Jennings school districts. Everyone is welcomed to attend. Tickets are $20 each and may be obtained by contacting Rance Thomas, at 314 238-6828 or Barbara Thompson, at 314 7804464.

The Message Blindsided by kisses

A televangelist, whose name I can’t remember, once reminded me of the real powerful nature of words that sometimes strike at your very heart. He said, “In order for someone to really hurt you, he or she has to be close enough to you to kiss you.” Whoa! Beyond the biblical reference about Jesus and Judas, this is a pretty dynamic point of which people of faith should take note. Real pain comes from people and circumstances and issues that you really, really care about.

Life does not always encourage you to live with your guard down. But each of us has done just that when we feel safe with those around us. It is that vulnerability that gives the kiss of death the power to crush your very being. There is no pain like unexpected pain deliberately aimed at you when you’re not looking.

I find it ironic that as Christians we are supposed to reveal to the external world our internal souls. Those who see us should indeed see who we are and whose we are. It’s a very public declaration. Then, by how we live our lives, the world should know we belong to the body of Christ. Irony might not be the best word to describe my example, but remember the ultimate kiss is the kiss of betrayal. The difference between you, me and Christ, however, is that Christ knew it was coming. As a matter of fact, not only did He know it was coming, Christ needed it to fulfill His divine mission. It was a kiss that was part of a plan that saved the world.

We are the ones who are blindsided by kisses we wish we could have seen coming. Think back for a minute about that devastating kiss in your own life, and I’ll bet you today that it gives you reason to have particular insight and perspective about this thing called testimony. Maybe your kiss was part of a plan intended to save you. This may be difficult to hear because of the pain it caused you, but if you can possibly reconcile the effect it had on you with the life God planned for you, then perhaps the best is yet to come.

Because of past betrayal, I’ve learned that I cannot live a guarded life and expect God to heal my heart. Been there, done that. It doesn’t work. A closed heart can neither give nor receive and that includes love from and love of the Lord.

I want to believe I can see Judas coming these days and, as Christ did, accept his effort as but another failed attempt to destroy my joy. Been there, bless that! Those closest to me today know this and my heart is open to them as well as to you, should we ever meet. Everybody else can simply keep their lips to themselves.

Columnist James Washington

Photo by Lawrence Bryant

TEACHER’S/TEACHER’S AIDE

Creative Kids Child Development Center is hiring Preschool Teacher’s/Preschool Teacher’s Aides. We are seeking full time teachers to join our team. Experience working in licensed child care faciliy. Creating educational lesson plans. 314-367-6343

MORNING BUS DRIVERS

Creative Kids Child Development Center is currently seeking Morning Bus Drivers. This position requires at

US Probation Officer, Eastern District of Missouri. Generous retirement/benefits package. For additional information including how to apply, see our website at www.moep.uscourts.gov. Vacancy Announcement 2018-10. Equal Opportunity Employer.

FULL TIME JOB ACCOUNTANT/PROJECT ASSISTANT (JA/PA)

S. M. Wilson & Co. is one of the largest full-service construction management, design/build and general contracting firms with headquarters in the St. Louis area. We are currently seeking a full time Job Accountant/Project Assistant (JA/ PA). A JA/PA manages all accounting and administrative functions on construction projects. They are responsible for providing a high level of coordination and organizational project support for the project team. The ideal candidate will have 3+ years accounting and administration experience; construction experience and an Associate’s degree in Accounting preferred. For more information or to apply for this position, visit www.smwilson.com. Equal Opportunity Employer, including disabled and veterans.

VICE PRESIDENT CORPORATE COMPLIANCE

Under the direction of the Senior Vice President and General Counsel: Responsible for overall Company corporate regulatory compliance coordination for all lines of business, including responsibility for implementation of procedural and/or policy form changes resulting from regulatory, legislative or judicial action, and oversight of regulatory and legislative actions impacting Company’s underwriting, actuarial, claims, finance, loss control and general business practices. To apply, please visit: www.safetynational.com and click on the Careers tab.

Responsible for assisting Claims Department personnel with medical related issues on their claims. To apply, please visit: www.safetynational.com and click on the Careers tab.

Responsible for handling assigned claims from initial assignment to closure as well as provide assistance in various administrative functions associated with the Excess WC LOB. To apply, please visit: www.safetynational.com and click on the Careers tab.

ADVERTISE YOUR JOBS, WORKSHOPS, BID NOTICES, SERVICES HOMES FOR SALE & RENTALS

THE CITY OF JENNINGS IS ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS

THE MUNY ANNOUNCES Auditions for Bass (acoustic/electric)

The Muny will hold auditions for a bass position on May 4, 2018 at 11am (acoustic/electric bass). A bass amp will be provided. If you are hired by The Muny you must be/or become a member in good standing of M.A.S.L. Local 2-197.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS AND SKILLS

• Professional experience in Musical Theater

• Excellent Musical training/studies

• Solid technical and artistic skills in the musical field

• Excellent level of musical interpretation

• Versatility, ability to interpret a large variety of musical styles

• Ability to work as part of a team

• Ability to play fretless electric bass when called for in a book

Audition repertoire will be furnished via e-mail after receipt of your audition request. Applicants will need to bring both acoustic and electric bass. An amp will be provided, please bring your own cord. Sight reading excerpts will be provided at the audition.

To schedule an audition time or other questions, please contact James Prifti via e-mail by April 20, 2018. jprifti@muny.org

The Muny Orchestra is covered by a collective bargaining agreement with the Musicians’ Association of St. Louis Local 2-197, AFM.

The Muny is an equal opportunity employer.

CURATOR OF DOMESTIC LIFE

The Missouri Historical Society seeks a Curator of Domestic Life. Visit www.mohistory.org for position details and to apply. An Equal Opportunity Employer

The City of Jennings is accepting applications for positions in the Recreation, Finance, Public Works, & Corrections Departments. Please see the full Job descriptions online at www.cityofjennings.org

Application available at Jennings City Hall or online at www.cityofjennings.org. NO RESUMES ACCEPTED WITHOUT COMPLETION OF OUR APPLICATION! Completed applications may be delivered to City Hall, mailed, emailed to jobs@cityofjennings.org or faxed to 314-388-3999. Applications accepted until filled.

DRUG ANALYSIS TECHNICIAN

Drug Analysis Technicians, Eastern District of Missouri. Generous retirement/benefits package. For additional information including how to apply, see our website at www.moep.uscourts.gov.

Vacancy Announcement 2018-11.

Equal Opportunity Employer.

US PROBATION RECEPTIONIST

U.S. Probation Receptionist, Eastern District of Missouri. Generous retirement/benefits package. For additional information including how to apply, see our website at www.moep.uscourts.gov. Vacancy Announcement 2018-12. Equal Opportunity Employer.

FULL TIME

Electronic Banking Processor Seeking Candidate with Electronic Banking Experience. Full-Time, Benefits, Competitive Pay, Vacation, Holiday &

Days, Evenings, and Overnights Please send your resume to recruiting@thegatesworth.com.

THE MUNY ANNOUNCES Auditions for Harp

The Muny will hold auditions for a harp position on May 3, 2018 starting at 11am. If you are hired by The Muny you must be/or become a member in good standing of M.A.S.L. Local 2-197.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS AND SKILLS

• Professional experience in Musical Theater

• Excellent Musical training/studies

• Solid technical and artistic skills in the musical field

• Excellent level of musical interpretation

• Versatility, ability to interpret a large variety of musical styles

• Ability to work as part of a team

Audition repertoire will be furnished via e-mail after receipt of your audition request. Sight reading excerpts will be provided at the audition.

To schedule an audition time or other questions, please contact James Prifti via e-mail by April 20, 2018. jprifti@muny.org

The Muny Orchestra is covered by a collective bargaining agreement with the Musicians’ Association of St. Louis Local 2-197, AFM.

The Muny is an equal opportunity employer.

MEMBERSHIP COORDINATOR

The Missouri Historical Society seeks a Membership Coordinator. Visit www.mohistory.org for position details and to apply. An Equal Opportunity Employer

DEVELOPER

Responsible for the design, development, implementation and maintenance of VBA within actuarial models. Also responsible for general maintenance and enhancements to excel-based models. To apply, please visit: www.safetynational.com and click on the Careers tab.

Public Notice of Single Source Procurement

Notice is hereby given that the Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District is proposing to procure: SCUM CONCENTRATOR REBUILD.

The District is proposing single source procurement for this equipment because EVOQUA WATER TECHNOLOGIES LLC is the only known available source for the equipment. Any inquiries should be sent to gjamison@stlmsd.com.

Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

ST. LOUIS COMMUNITY COLLEGE

E-bids for St. Louis Community College

Invitation for Bid No. B0003696 for Tools, Supplies and Equipment for Composites Repair and Drilling, will be received until 11:00 a.m. (local time) on April 30, 2018 at ktorrence6@stlcc.edu, and immediately thereafter opened and read. Bid documents can be accessed on our website at www.stlcc.edu/purchasing or call (314) 539-5226. EOE/AA Employer.

Public Notice of Single Source Procurement

Notice is hereby given that the Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District is proposing to procure temporary help services from Jupiter Consulting Services in an effort to support the IT Technology Plan. The District is proposing single source procurement for this service because it does not have the internal expertise to fulfill this Information Technology role. Any inquiries should be sent to strenz@stlmsd.com. Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

LETTING #8663

IMPROVEMENTS TO THE O’FALLON BOATHOUSE

No refunds will be made. A PRE-BID CONFERENCE for all contractors bidding on this project will be held on April 17, 2018 onsite at the O’Fallon Park Boathouse at 3:00 p.m.

Bidders shall comply with all applicable City, State and Federal laws (including MBE/WBE policies).

All bidders must regard Federal Executive Order 11246, “Notice of Requirement for Affirmative Action to Ensure Equal Employment Opportunity”, the “Equal Opportunity Clause” and the “Standard Federal Equal Employment Specifications” set forth within and referenced at www. stl-bps.org (Announcements).

LOUIS

OF ST.

CITY

ST. LOUIS LAMBERT INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT

Solicitation For Bids (SFB) for Customer Survey Services

Bids Wanted

Bid documents may be obtained at St. Louis Lambert International Airport, Airport Properties Division, Monday through Friday between 8:30 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., or by calling (314) 426-8184. This SFB may also be obtained by visiting our website at www.flystl.com/business/ contact-opportunites.

Robert Salarano Airport Properties Division Manager

REQUEST FOR BIDS

Sealed proposals for the IMPROVEMENTS OF ATWATER AVENUE, NORTH DELLWOOD AVENUE, AND NORTH FLORIDALE AVENUE will be received by the CITY OF DELLWOOD, St. Louis County Missouri, at the office of the City Clerk, City of Dellwood, 1415 Chambers Road, Dellwood, MO 63135 until 11:00 A.M. on Thursday, April 19, 2018, at which time they will be publicly opened and read aloud. Bids received after said time will be returned unopened. All bids shall be submitted in TRIPLICATE in an envelope marked “CITY OF DELLWOOD – IMPROVEMENTS OF ATWATER AVENUE, NORTH DELLWOOD AVENUE, NORTH FLORIDALE AVENUE”.

The proposed work includes the furnishing of materials, tools, equipment and labor necessary for the reconstruction of approximately 1.0 miles of asphaltic overlay, replacing the carriage walks, curbing, driveway aprons and storm sewer improvements in accordance with the plans and specifications and other items identified in the contract documents. The contractor is responsible for all items of work necessary to complete the project.

Copies (Printed and/or Digital) of the plans and specifications may be obtained starting on Friday, April 6, 2018 from WEIS DESIGN GROUP upon completion of a Bid Document Request Form and a non-refundable fee of Seventy- Five Dollars ($75.00) per set (payable to Weis Design Group). Contact Weis Design Group as follows:

Weis Design Group Phone: 636-207-0832 16296 Westwoods Business Park Drive Email: wdg@weisdesigngroup.com Ellisville, MO 63021

Each bid must be accompanied by a cashier’s check or certified check, or a Bid Bond executed by the BIDDER and an approved surety company and payable to the CITY, in an amount not less than five percent (5%) of the sum total of the base bid.

Not less than the prevailing hourly rates of wages that the higher of State or Federal Wage Rates shall prevail, or determined by court on appeal, shall be paid to all workers performing work under this Contract.

The DBE goal for this letting is a minimum 15% of the total contract amount.

All BIDDERS must meet the MoDOT requirements as a CONTRACTOR prior to bid opening in accordance with the Missouri Standard Specification Book for Highway Construction.

A Performance Bond and Payment and Materials Bond are required.

No trainee hours are required under this contract.

The City of Dellwood hereby notifies all bidders that it will affirmatively ensure that in any contract entered into pursuant to this advertisement, businesses owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals will be afforded full opportunity to submit bids in response to this invitation and will not be discriminated against on the grounds of race, color, religion, creed, sex, age, ancestry, or national origin in consideration for an award.” color, or national origin in consideration for an award.

In accordance with the Davis-Bacon Act, and the Missouri Prevailing Wage Law, the Contractor will be required to comply with the wage and labor requirements and to pay minimum wages in accordance with the schedule of wage rates established by the United States Department of Labor and the Missouri Division of Labor Standards, respectively. The highest rate between the two (Federal and State) for each job classification shall be considered the prevailing wage.

No bid may be withdrawn within thirty (30) days after the scheduled closing time for receipt of bids. The City will only concur with awarding the contract to the “lowest, responsive, responsible bidder”.

The bidder, having examined and being familiar with the local conditions affecting the work, and with the contract, contract documents, including the current version of the Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission’s “Missouri Standard Specifications for Highway Construction,” and “Missouri Standard Plans for Highway Construction”, their revisions, and “Standard Construction Specifications for Sewers and Drainage Facilities Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District, 2009” for all storm water control and the request for bid, including appendices, the special provisions and plans, hereby proposes to furnish all labor, materials, equipment, services, etc., required for the performance and completion of the work. All references are to the Missouri Standard Specifications for Highway Construction, as revised, unless otherwise noted. Bidders are informed that pursuant to Section 285.530, RSMo, as a condition of the award of any contract in excess of five thousand dollars ($5,000.00), the successful bidder shall, by sworn affidavit and provision of documentation, affirm its enrollment and participation in a federal work authorization program with respect to the employees working in connection to the contracted services. Successful bidders shall also sign an affidavit affirming that it does not knowingly employ any person who is an unauthorized alien in connection to the contracted services (E-Verify).

Missouri law, 292.675 RSMo, requires the Contractor and its subcontractor(s) to provide a ten-hour occupational safety and health administration (OSHA) construction safety program (or a similar program approved by the Missouri Department of Labor and Industrial Relations as a qualified substitute) for their on-site employees (laborers, workmen, drivers, equipment operators and craftsmen) who have not previously completed such a program and are directly engaged in actual construction of the improvement (or working at a nearby or adjacent facility used for construction of the improvement). The Contractor and its subcontractor(s) shall require all such employees to complete this ten-hour program, pursuant to 292.675 RSMo, unless they hold documentation on their

CITY OF ST. LOUIS BOARD OF PUBLIC SERVICE

REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS for RETRO-COMMISSIONING ASSESSMENT STUDIES AND DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION SERVICES OF ENERGY EFFICIENCY MEASURE PROJECTS AT FOUR CITY BUILDINGS, ST. LOUIS, MO. Statements of Qualifications due by 5:00 PM CT, THURSDAY, APRIL 26, 2018 at Board of Public Service, 1200 Market, Room 301 City Hall, St. Louis, MO 63103. RFQ may be obtained from website www.stl-bps.org under On Line Plan Room, Professional Services, or call Helen Bryant at 314-589-6600. 25% MBE and 5% WBE participation goals.

KELLER

CONSTRUCTION INC.

Requests subcontractor and or material supplier quotations from Illinois Department of Transportation Certified subcontractors, suppliers and Disadvantaged Business Enterprises for the letting to be held April 27, 2018. Interested parties should contact Keller Construction at (618) 656-0033. All quotations must be submitted by 4:30 PM Thursday April 26, 2018. Keller Construction is an equal opportunity employer.

NOTICE TO CONTRACTORS

Lincoln University of Missouri is accepting sealed bids for Anthony Hall Window Replacement located at 825 Chestnut Street on the campus of Lincoln University. Bids will be received Tuesday, May 1, 2018 at 2:00 p.m. Plans can be secured by emailing huffer@lincolnu.edu A full copy of the bid notice is available at https://bluetigerportal.lincolnu. edu/web/design-and-construction/ notice-to-contractors

BIDS

Great Rivers Greenway is soliciting bids for demolition of three residential properties. Check https:// greatriversgreenway.org/ jobs-bids/ and submit by April 23, 2018.

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS FOR PLANNING, TRAINING & EXERCISE SERVICES

East-West Gateway Council of Governments is seeking a qualified consultant for a regional training, exercise, and planning project. Funding for this project will be provided by the U.S. Dept. of Homeland Security / FEMA. Proposals due 4:00 p.m. May 2, 2018. Late proposals will be returned. Details can be obtained at www.ewgateway.org or by calling 314-421-4220 ext. 208.

Public Notice of Single Source Procurement

Notice is hereby given that the Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District is proposing to procure temporary help services from Adaptive Solutions Group in an effort to support the IT Technology Plan. The District is proposing single source procurement for this service because it does not have the internal expertise to fulfill this Information Technology role. Any inquiries should be sent to strenz@stlmsd.com.

Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

MEETING & SITE INSPECTION:

On 4/9/2018 at 9:00AM in The

ameyer@ stlmsd.com. Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

SEWER

Notice is hereby given that the Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District will receive RFQ’s in the Purchasing Division, 2350 Market Street, St. Louis, Missouri 63103-2555 until 10:00 a.m. on April 24th, 2018 to contract with a company for: AED INSPECTION & FIRST AID TRAINING SERVICES. Specifications and bid forms may be obtained from www.stlmsd.com, click on the “MSD AT WORK” link, (bid opportunities). The bid document will be identified as 9333 RFQ. If you do not have access to the internet, call 314.768.6269 to request a copy of this bid. Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

NOTICE TO CONTRACTORS

Bids will be publicly opened and read aloud at the office of the Manager of Engineering and Design, 300 South Broadway (Room 423, Fourth Floor). Specifications and bid forms may be obtained from the Manager’s office at the above address, or by calling (314) 5395015.

VOLUNTARY WALKTHROUGH: April 2, 2018 (1:00 p.m.) 5464 Highland Park Drive

An Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action Employer

Advertised

PUBLISHER’S NOTICE:

BIDS

Collaborative that no person shall, on the basis of race, ethnicity, socio-economic status, gender, age, sexual orientation, religion, or disability, be subject to discrimination in employment or activity in the District. All inquiries pertaining to this project shall be directed to: Angela Rodriguez TR,i

Swag Snap of the Week

Down home blues in the Lou. The Annual Bluesfest show returned to St. Louis Friday night, and whether y’all liked it or not, I’m talking about it. I got my life as usual, because bluesmen were the first swag masters when it comes to music. Some of y’all think that the blues shows are simply for the elderly. You are dead wrong. For every great uncle or grandpa in a pants suit or leather patched sweater and slacks with matching hat and gators, there was a significant young tender population scouting for a sugar daddy (or two) at Chaifetz Arena Friday night. That terrible accident on 70 East wouldn’t let my punctuality be great, so I got up in there just as Lattimore was belting “Let’s Straighten It Out,” in a muscle shirt with a silver fox hi-top fade and porkchop sideburns. I was so scared I had missed Bobby Rush, because he likes to go on early in the evening. He was next in the lineup, and gave life more abundantly. That jheri curl was jet black and supple, and he’s the only man on the planet that can get away with a peach suit, magenta undershirt and white shoes. As per usual he accused everybody of stealing from him. Considering he started out with Muddy Waters almost 70 years ago, there is plenty of truth to that. Mr. Bobby always has to go and do the most. This time, he started singing about his plus sized woman and pulled out a pair of panties that stretched across the whole stage. When he stepped foot in them, I thought I was going to need a breathing treatment. As he went on declaring his love for big women, he made note that he doesn’t deal with the elderly ladies – with his 85-year-old self. If you could have seen the sea of silver sneaker side eyes that came his way when he said, “old hens smell like snuff juice and liniment.” Blues Fest II: Leaders of the New School. The second half of the show was for the younger acts. I would say that it was because it was past the bedtime of the veterans, but Bobby Rush was in the lobby taking pictures and shaking hands until the lights came on inside the arena. Calvin Richardson – who was known mostly as a neo soul act until he did his Grammy Award nominated Bobby Womack tribute album – was the first of the young folks. I had never seen him live before Friday. He got it in – and sang through the crowd for half of his set. I was hoping to hear more of his throwback original material, but I can’t say that I was mad. I wasn’t mad at Sir Charles Jones either, until he started getting too nasty with his little…well I can’t call them innuendos, because he made it plain. His bass player was fine as all get out! Was giving me a hint of NFL star Richard Sherman, but even cuter. I’m going to tell you what was not cute, that Pokey Bear closing out the show singing to tracks when everybody else had a live band. I get that folks get a kick out of him bouncing around like the Energizer Bunny, but I honestly don’t see what all the fuss is about. Oh, and now that I have worn y’all out by talking about the blues show, let me give a shout out to our contest winner Elisabeth Bradley, who was given the VIP treatment with limo service and seats so close she felt the breeze of those big panties from Bobby Rush’s bag of props. Y’all need to stay logged on to stlamerican.com and our social media channels, because we have giveaways on the regular.

Ice Cold welcome for the AKAs. After easing out of the Chaifetz, I made my way to the Polish Heritage Center – where the ice cold brothers of Alpha Phi Alpha rolled out the black and gold carpet for their AKA sorors coming to town for their Central Regional Conference. Some of y’all who came through around 11 or so may have been confused because there were more Deltas getting their stroll on the dancefloor than there were AKAs in the building. That’s because the AKAs were in the middle of their own step show down at America’s Center – and it was a serious matter! They got it in – and in true AKA form, kept it cute while they were stomping the stage down. After the step show ended, plenty of the AKAs came through to show love to their frat.

Pretty boys for pretty girls. Kappa Alpha Psi also made a night of welcoming the AKAs who converged on the city with a special set at The Marquee Friday night. I saw more than a few Nupe movers and shakers. Larry Blue, Keith Harris and attorney Richard Gray – who was getting it in on the dance floor – were just a few. Speaking of getting it in, who was that man of a certain age that looked to be repping the founding 1911 line? Age ain’t nothin’ but a number when it comes to the turn up, but I wasn’t quite ready. I also ran into Mocha Latte, Deerra Nikol and AKA soror Makeda Blackett – who stopped through with hubby Teddy “B. Free” Blackett.

Lookin’ nice at Niche. Since I’m already talking pretty and B. Free, I might as well jump right into the latest installment of Niche, which went down at Dos Salas Saturday night presented by B. Free and Shift 58. The quantity wasn’t typical – I was expecting for it to be wall to wall up in there – but Niche was true to form as far as the quality. Some of the most stylish of the club and tastemaker scene stopped through. Who was that fly gentleman in the Euro-tailored plum suit with free form fade? I was expecting Andre Leon Talley to pop up out of the ground in one of his custom Tom Ford moo moos and say, “this is a look, honey!” A proper tribute for Pharrell. I was reminded of how Pharrell Williams was the king of the banging tracks when I stopped by James Biko’s tribute to him Saturday night at Blank Space. That 702 jam “I Still Love” you goes down as one of my all-time favorites, but Skateboard P had some heat. You could tell by how folks were working up a sweat on the Blank Space dancefloor! He owned the charts in the early 2000s by cranking out hits for everyone from N’Sync to Snoop Dogg. Biko spun some straight magic as he mixed his favorite Pharrell classics in a manner perfectly curated for us to cut a rug nonstop.

ArtCultureKing and Jayvnize collaborated for the PITCH BLK art exhibition Thursday @Treffpunkt

Michael and Vanessa started their week off laughing with LUENELL Sunday night @ Helium

The Obar was on 15 (out of ten) just because, and Tiara, Tyler and Rika were on the scene celebrating another Friday

Shawn, Kalambayi, Makeda, Tip Maisha and FoFeet were at Aromas dropping knowledge during WORD UP Open Mic Tuesday night

Tamika and Lakita held it down for the AKAs @ The Alpha Party Friday night @ The Polish Heritage Center

Pierre Lamour and Kiora Bruno having a mission impossible flashback @ PITCH BLK art exhibition Thursday @Treffpunkt

Pieza Vibes was like a family reunion as Unspoken, Ackurate, Paridisecity and Tee Parks chatted about the old and new Friday night @ Master Pieza

Tiffany, Nicholas and Kya fit right in with the stylish crowd of Shift 58 and BFree’s Niche Saturday night @ Dos Salas

Susan and Barbara slid through Friday @ The Marquee as the men of Kappa Alpha Psi hosted their Pink Party

After laughing their faces off, Ilia and JaReem hung around after the show to grab a pic with veteran comedienne Luenell. The funny woman and actress was wrapping up her two-night special engagement at Helium Sunday night.

Photos by V. Lang

Von Kody and D Long chopped it up with featured poet bennysummerhill Tuesday @ Aromas

Consider using your tax refund to do this

By Melissa M. Humphrey, MSF* Executive Financial Group

Did you receive a tax refund this year? If so, you may want to consider using your tax refund to focus on your financial goals such as building up an emergency fund, purchasing life insurance, or contributing to a retirement account.

Building up an emergency fund

Keep in mind, the goal of an emergency fund is to deal with an unexpected event that requires an immediate response. Ideally, your household should maintain a cash cushion equivalent to 3-6 months of salary. You might want to consider depositing your tax refund into your savings account in order to help build an adequate emergency fund.

Contributing to a retirement account

A retirement account isn’t just a

typical account. There are many ways to contribute, and you should utilize as many as possible. If your company offers a 401(k) or other employer sponsored retirement plans, consider signing up. If not, consider an IRA, profit sharing or stock options. Find a sound investment with a reasonable return suitable for your

risk tolerance for accumulated funds, so you can put your money to work for you.

Purchasing life insurance

Life insurance is an essential and important factor in your family’s security.

Unforeseen circumstances can quickly and drastically change the financial stability of your family. Consider purchasing a life insurance policy or upgrading a current policy. Generally, the earlier you buy life insurance coverage, the cheaper the premiums will be; lock in a good rate while you can.

We’re here to help

A financial services professional can help you determine an approach to asset building and retirement strategies based on your age, economic status and goals.

*Registered Representative of and securities offered through OneAmerica Securities, Inc., a Registered Investment Advisor, Member FINRA, SIPC. Executive Financial Group is not an affiliate of OneAmerica Securities and is not a broker dealer or Registered Investment Advisor. Provided content is for overview and informational purposes only and is not intended and should not be relied upon as individualized tax, legal, fiduciary, or investment advice. Investing involves risk which includes potential loss of principal.

MONEY SMART 2018

Pursuing the American dream of homeownership

More Americans are pursuing the dream of homeownership. The national rate is 64.2 percent, according to the latest numbers from the U.S. Census Bureau—up from 63.7 percent the previous year.

Housing experts credit millennials for the rise in homeownership rates who, in years past, were cautious in taking the purchasing plunge—focusing instead on paying off student loans.

“Whether you’re a millennial just starting out or a Generation X-er tired of renting, it’s important to choose the housing option that’s best suited for your current lifestyle and financial situation,” says Bill Keppner, Vice President & Mortgage Originator for Busey Home Mortgage in Creve Coeur. “Take the time to talk with your banker and research your housing options.”

Also, consider these five factors before

“Take the time to talk with your banker and research your housing options.”

purchasing a home:

1) Time. How long do you plan to stay?

Experts recommend at least three years if you plan to purchase a home. The longer you stay, the greater the benefit of buying over renting.

2) Finances. Consider how much you can afford and how much you have saved. We recommend saving at least 20 percent of the home’s purchase price.

3) Mortgage rates. Review rates and consider your options. Crunch the numbers and get prequalified so you can shop with a price in mind.

4) Risk. Are you financially secure to weather a drop in home prices?

5) Your heart. If you are longing to make your house a home, now might be the right time for homeownership.

Here’s what to do next:

Check your credit score. Better credit may mean mortgage opportunities with lower rates. Every consumer is entitled to one free copy of their credit report annually through the Federal Trade Commission. Learn more at www.ftc.gov

or speak to an associate at your bank. Find the lender that’s right for you. It can be stressful to purchase a home. Finding the right lender, who can offer you a personalized experience can help— making the process timely and stress free. Pre-qualification. Your lender will walk you through the process. Many lenders offer free pre-qualifications, which allow you to search for your home knowing all your options.

Consider how much home you can afford. Consider your gross monthly income, housing expenses and any longterm debt. To do the math, check out our ‘How Much Home Can I Afford?’ calculator on busey.com. Take advantage of special loan programs. From first-time homebuyers to military benefits, many lenders participate in a variety of special programs to help you achieve your dream of homeownership—including loans that require low or no down payment.

MONEY SMART 2018 •

Life insurance is your best defense against family struggles should you experience an untimely death

Angela Pinex Community Development Professional

“Offense sells tickets, but defense wins championships”, a sports reference made by Bear Bryant, but I liken it to our financial independence. As we take advantage of the valuable information received during Money Smart Month and grow our savings, investments and other assets (offense), we mustn’t forget our defensive strategy and protect those assets. In a nutshell, insurance provides protection from financial loss. For most things we insure, we may never experience that particular loss or file a claim against that policy. Life insurance, however, is the one policy we will surely use. There are many products to choose from, but whichever you choose, temporary or permanent, it’s usually not as expensive as you believe. Your cost is not dollar-for-dollar on the payout. Insurance companies are able to price most policies at affordable rates because they make money by investing what you pay in premiums.

Permanent insurance offers lifetime coverage. It pays a death benefit to your beneficiary regardless of when you die, as long as the policy is in force. It also has a savings component; the policy builds cash that you can borrow against. Two of the most popular types of permanent insurance are whole life and universal life.

Temporary (more commonly called term), on the other hand, is a type of life insurance that provides a death benefit for a fixed period of time; commonly 5, 10, 15, 20, or 30 years. After the end of the term, the policy no longer provides a death benefit. The other common characteristic of term life is there is no cash accumulation or savings, which helps keep the cost relatively low. Term is often characterized as temporary insurance because once expired, it is up to the policy owner to renew or to let the coverage end. Additionally, term insurance is evolving to include products that allow you to draw a portion of your policy if you become terminally or critically ill; mostly referred to as a living benefits policy.

Both have their drawbacks. Dave Ramsey, Suze Orman and other financial gurus usually preach against whole life or permanent products, because, as a rule, they contend life insurance companies don’t invest your money well. They believe you should pay the lower premium for a term product and invest your own money. On the other hand, if you purchase a 20-year term policy and after 20 years decide to extend your coverage, you may need to undergo proof of insurability and could be denied additional coverage or made to renew at a significantly higher

premium. A life insurance professional will help you decide what’s best for your particular situation.

How much do you need? I’m glad you asked. Dave Ramsey says at least 10x your salary but, I’ve also heard 5x plus one more for each child. There’s also the DIME (debt, income, mortgage, education) method where you’d answer the following questions: how much outstanding debt must be paid if I passed away, how many years of income is required to help my family maintain their standard of living until they can adjust without it, what do I owe on the mortgage and how much money will it cost to provide my children with higher education? The goal is to consider the needs of your family and then determine what’s most affordable; some life insurance is better than none.

Do you have a work policy? Your work policy is usually not enough to achieve the goals you have for your family. You don’t own that policy and it will expire when you leave your place of employment. There are some companies that allow you to transfer that policy and take ownership; however, it is usually very expensive and cost prohibitive.

A friend of mine was divorced and laidoff from her job within months of each other. Both policies went away immediately, not because she canceled or didn’t pay the premium, but because someone else controlled the future she’d planned for her son and daughter. She found herself with two small children and NO life insurance. Life happens, so when it happens to you, have the best defenses in place. Let’s recap…

1. Life insurance is less expensive than you think

2. Life insurance is cheapest when you’re young and healthy

3. Some life insurance is better than none

4. Stay-at-home parents need life insurance too

Do you have enough? No one really wants to think about it, but if someone depends on you, it’s a conversation you shouldn’t avoid. You being gone is hard enough, don’t take the dreams you have for your family with you or leave your loved ones with financial burdens. Contact your life insurance professional today and review your policy. If you don’t already have a guy (or gal), contact a life insurance professional, who can find the best product that meets your needs and also, your budget.

MONEY SMART 2018

8 Essential steps to building business credit for your business

By Porscha Anderson, Founder and CEO of New Direction Financial Solutions, LLC

Obtaining business credit is essential for your business. Without it, it may be difficult to expand and scale your business. The following list will provide actionable items to follow to move you towards your business credit goals.

1. Incorporate the business (Limited Liability Company). Forming an LLC legally separates you from your business. It is the best way to ensure that you will not be held personally liable if you get sued or if your business goes bankrupt. Research the different types of business structures to see what best fits your business needs.

2. Obtain an EIN Number (Employer Identification Number). Contact the IRS at www.irs.gov to obtain a unique 9-digit federal identification number which will be used for tax filings and licensing for your business.

3. Establish a business checking account- Having a business checking account is an essential part of growing your business and obtaining business credit. It is important to separate your personal account from your business account.

4. Get a website, email, and virtual address for your business- Having a website and a business email is important for your business because it shows that your company is established and credible to clients and lenders. When establishing

business credit, lenders will check to see if you have all of these in place to learn about your business and determine if they want to do business with you.

5. Get a business phone number- When

applying for business credit, lenders will check to see if you have a business phone number. Get a 1-800 for your business and a local business number. Do not use your personal phone number when applying for business credit. Make sure you list your business with the 411 directory.

6. Open a business credit file- Get a DUNS Number (Data Universal Numbering System) to create a business credit profile. Dun and Bradstreet collects and disseminates information about your business to creditors and lenders. Supplier and creditors use this system to measure the creditworthiness of a company.

7. Establish vendor tradelines - You want to establish at minimum 5 lines of credit with vendors or creditors to build credit for your business. It is important to make sure they report to Dun and Bradstreet and the other business credit reporting agencies.

8. Pay your bills on or before time- Just like with personal credit, you must pay your bills on time for your business. This is a very important part in building your business credit profile. As you pay your financial obligations on or before time on a consistent basis, your business credit limits will grow.

Who wants to be a millionaire?

Dr. Terrence D. Duncan Author, Visionary, Consultant, Leader, J.I. Enterprises

Most of us dream of reaching millionaire status. When I conduct seminars or mentor in the community, I often ask this question. Obviously, everyone will raise their hands; and of course, we want to reach millionaire status. However, the question we should ask ourselves first is, “What does it take to become a millionaire?”

We are flooded with images of entertainers, celebrities, and athletes who are millionaires. Some of them flaunt their status, while others are relatively low key. We celebrate the accomplishments and success; however, we do not understand key characteristics of how they reached their status. These keys are patience,

perseverance, commitment, and faith. The rise to their financial status did not happen overnight, which is the message of this article. The majority of individuals in this country did not achieve millionaire status overnight. Following these four key principles, among others, helped millions of aspiring hopefuls to reach this desired status.

The average age of millionaires is 62. With 10.8 million millionaires, the numbers show that half of them are 62 or older. Achieving financial wealth and prosperity is a long game that most do not understand. Although the average age is 62, it is not impossible to reach this plateau before then; however, there are some guiding principles you could use to help you move closer to this goal.

• Budgeting – Budgeting creates a foun-

dation for you to identify your spending and saving habits. Budgeting also requires you to be honest and look at yourself in the mirror. Many who create a budget either ignore their spending vices, or justify their spending behavior. You must be honest with your expenditures to start a foundation moving you in a positive direction. There are numerous apps and free resources available that can assist you towards this goal.

• The Rule of 25 – Identify your top five spending categories and cut it by 25%. Most feel that budgeting and saving is to give up your current lifestyle. Most of our spending goes to clothing, dining out, and other miscellaneous activities that could generate hundreds of dollars in savings if we just cut them out weekly. For example, if you spend $250 eating out every month,

the Rule of 25 saves you $62.50 a month. If your five categories equal $1,200, the Rule of 25 equals $300 per month. This tactic will give you $3,600 in one year.

• Pay yourself – Most people work to pay bills and spend the rest. The result is living paycheck to paycheck. Every time you receive a paycheck or make money from a side job, you should pay yourself. Building an emergency savings fund is vital because it helps you cover costs that you know will happen such as oil changes, auto repairs, or some other expense.

Your progress depends on the adjustments that you are willing to make. These are small samples to move towards your desired financial goals. Your commitment and willingness to make small sacrifices pays off in the long run.

MONEY SMART 2018 • 6

Calendar of Financial Events

ILLINOIS EVENTS

n Tuesday, April 17

10:00 AM - 11:30 AM

Financial Basics

East St. Louis Housing Authority

Orr-Weather High Rise D1 Bldg.

1400 Missouri Avenue, East St. Louis, IL 62201

12:00 PM - 1:30 PM

Financial Basics

MISSOURI EVENTS

n Monday, April 16

12:00 PM – 1:30 PM

Creating a successful retirement plan to secure your future

Justine PETERSEN

1023 North Grand Ave, St. Louis, MO 63106

RSVP: 314-533-2411

12:30 PM - 1:30 PM

Public Service Loans Forgiven Office of Financial Empowerment

1200 Market St. Room 220, St. Louis, MO 63103

RSVP Required: www.stlofe.org

4:00 PM - 6:00 PM

Money Monday

Thomas Dunn Learning Center 3113 Gasconade, St. Louis, MO 63118

6:30 PM - 7:30 PM

Personal Financial Planning

St. Charles City-County

Kathryn Linnemann Branch

2323 Elm St, St Charles, MO 63301

RSVP Required: www.mylibrary.org

6:30 PM - 8:30 PM

Help Me Save! SLACO

5888 Plymouth, St Louis, MO 63112

7:00 PM - 8:00 PM

Financial Transitions

St. Louis County LibraryGrant’s View Branch

9700 Musick Road, St. Louis, MO 63123

RSVP Required: www.slcl.org/events or 314-994-3300

East St. Louis Housing Authority

Roosevelt Homes

Orr-Weather High Rise E2 Bldg. 1400 Missouri Avenue, East St. Louis, IL 62201

n WEDNESDAY, April 18

10:00 AM - 11:30 AM

Types of Credit and Credit Scores

East St. Louis Housing Authority

Orr-Weather Row House 1401 Missouri Avenue, East St. Louis, IL 62201

n Thursday, April 19

10:00 AM - 11:30 AM

Financial Basics

East St. Louis Housing Authority

John -DeShields Building 1235 McCausland Avenue, East St. Louis, IL 62201

12:00 PM - 1:30 PM

Financial Basics

East St. Louis Housing Authority Phoenix Courts 7750 Marybelle Ave., East St. Louis, IL 62203

n Tuesday, April 17

10:00 AM - 11:00 AM To Your Credit

Midwest BankCentre - Friendly Temple 5501 Dr Martin Luther King Dr, St. Louis, MO 63112

1:00 PM - 3:00 PM

Budgeting, Saving & Credit

Al Chappelle Community Center

1401 LaSalle Lane, St. Louis, MO 63104

RSVP Required: 314-588-7854

1:00 PM - 3:30 PM

Afternoon Theater - Catch Me If You Can St. Charles City-CountyKisker Road Branch

1000 Kisker Rd, St Charles, MO 63304

RSVP Required: www.mylibrary.org

2:00 PM - 3:00 PM

Estate Planning: Introduction to the Essentials

St. Louis County Library - Oak Bend Branch

842 S. Holmes Ave., St. Louis, MO 63122

RSVP Required: www.slcl.org/events or 314-994-3300

2:00 PM - 3:00 PM

Financial Empowerment Saints Hall Meeting Room

650 Maryville Dt, St. Louis, MO 63141

6:30 PM - 8:00 PM

Home Buying 24:1 Excel Center 6724 Page Ave, Pagedale, MO 63133

7:00 PM - 8:00 PM

Intro to Real Estate & Mortgages St. Louis County Library - Headquarters

n FRIDAY, April 20

10:00 AM - 11:30 AM

Financial Basics

East St. Louis Housing Authority

Lansdowne Towers Rukavina Bldg. 2903 Waverly Avenue, East St. Louis, IL 62204

12:00 PM - 1:30 PM

Financial Basics

East St. Louis Housing Authority

Lansdowne Towers Starnes Bldg. 2904 Waverly Avenue, East St. Louis, IL 62204

1640 S. Lindbergh Blvd, St. Louis, MO 63131

RSVP Required: www.slcl.org/events or 314-994-3300

7:00 PM - 8:30 PM

Missouri’s 529 College Savings Program

St. Charles City-County - Deer Run Branch

1300 N Main St, O’Fallon, MO 63366

RSVP Required: www.mylibrary.org

n Wednesday, April 18

12:30 PM - 1:30 PM

Neighborhood Loan Program Office of Financial Empowerment

1200 Market St. Room 220, St. Louis, MO 63103

RSVP Required: www.stlofe.org

2:00 PM - 3:00 PM

Access to Capital 101: Funding Options to Start and Grow Your Business Webinar

RSVP Required: https://cc.readytalk.com/r/ atka5frl0gp1&eom

2:00 PM - 4:00 PM Estate Planning St. Charles City-County Middendorf-Kredell Branch 2750 Hwy K, O’Fallon, MO 63368

RSVP Required: www.mylibrary.org

3:00 PM - 4:00 PM

Bank On It

Midwest BankCentre - Grand 5515 S Grand, St Louis, MO 63111

7:00 PM - 8:30 PM

Retirement Planning: Do’s and Don’ts

St. Charles City-CountyDeer Run Branch

1300 N Main St, O’Fallon, MO 63366

RSVP Required: www.mylibrary.org

n Thursday, April 19

11:30 AM - 1:30 PM

Six Steps to Building A Winning Business Billionaire Thoughts 17295 Chesterfield Airport Rd., Chesterfield, MO 63005

RSVP Required: events. stlouisbusinesscoach.com or 636-203-5420

2:00 PM - 3:30 PM Retirement Planning Peoples Community Action Corporation

6827 South Broadway, St Louis, MO 63111

2:00 PM - 3:30 PM

Mitigating the Cost of Long-Term Care

St. Charles City-County Corporate Parkway Branch

1200 Corporate Pkwy, Wentzville, MO 63385

RSVP Required: www.mylibrary.org

5:30 PM - 8:00 PM

CREDIT AND MONEY MANAGEMENT

Carnahan High School of the Future

4041 South Broadway, St. Louis, MO 63118

n Thursday, April 19

6:00 PM - 8:00 PM HOMEBUYING SEMINAR

Arnold Recreation Center

1695 Missouri State Road, Arnold, MO 63010

RSVP Required: www.events.ameaglecu. org

6:00 PM - 8:00 PM

More Than A Side Hustle: How Does She Do It?

Microsoft Store - Galleria Mall

St. Louis Galleria Mall, St Louis, MO 63117

RSVP Required: https://www.eventbrite. com/e/more-than-a-side-hustle-securethe-bag-and-look-cute-doing-ittickets-42749251161 or 314-655-2553

6:30 PM - 8:00 PM

Proactive Finances: Building Blocks of Financial Health

St. Charles City-County - Spencer Road Branch

427 Spencer Rd, St Peters, MO 63376

RSVP Required: www.mylibrary.org

n Friday, April 20

9:00 AM - 11:00 AM

Coffee & Connections

DK Annex 2727 South Jefferson, St Louis, MO 63118

RSVP Required: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/socialsynergy-coffee-and-connections-

MONEY SMART 2018 • 7

tickets-42844578287

12:30 PM - 1:30 PM

Welcome Home St. Louis Down Payment Assistance Program

St. Louis City, Abrams Building 1520 Market St., 1st FL. Classroom #1, St. Louis, MO 63103

RSVP Required: www.stlofe.org/events

6:30 PM - 8:30 PM

Black Friday: “What Legacy Will You Leave - Bills or Benefits?”

Better Family Life 5415 Page, St Louis, MO 63112

n saTurday, April 21

9:00 AM - 11:00 AM

Idea Spot - Business Structure

24:1 Community Excel Center

6724 Page Ave. , Pagedale, MO 63133

RSVP Required: wbcinfo@gracehillsettlement.org

9:00 AM - 12:00 PM

Money Smart Kids Zoo Safari St. Louis Zoo - Living World 54 Government Drive, St. Louis, MO 63110

9:30 AM - 12:00 PM

1st Time Home Buyers Workshop Midwest BankCentre - Pagedale 6810 Page, St. Louis, MO 63133

9:30 AM - 12:30 PM

Credit and Money Management Workshop

Urban League of Metro St. Louis 8960 Jennings Station Road, St. Louis, MO 63136

RSVP Required: Bonita.Williams@operationhope.org

10:00 AM - 11:00 AM

Money Smart Kids Read

St. Louis County Library - Eureka Hills Branch

156 Eureka Towne Ctr, Eureka, MO 63025

10:00 AM - 11:00 AM

Money Smart Kids Read

St. Louis County Library - Rock Road Branch

10267 St. Charles Rock Rd., St. Ann, MO 63074

10:00 AM - 12:00 PM

Homeownership

Al Chappelle Community Center 1401 LaSalle Lane, St. Louis, MO 63104

RSVP Required: 314-588-7854

10:00 AM - 12:00 PM

Cybercrime Fighters - Browsers, Password Managers & Identity Theft

St. Charles City-County - Spencer Road Branch

427 Spencer Rd, St Peters, MO 63376

RSVP Required: www.mylibrary.org

10:00 AM - 1:00 PM

Money Smart: Medicare Counseling St. Charles City-County Middendorf-Kredell Branch 2750 Hwy K, O’Fallon, MO 63368

RSVP Required: www.mylibrary.org

11:00 AM - 1:00 PM

Economic Impact of the Black Church (Lunch & Learn) CIC@CET

20 South Sarah St., St Louis, MO 63108

RSVP Required: Global1000operation@gmail.com

2:00 PM - 5:00 PM

“Mikey Knows Biz” Book Signing Event

Dellwood Community Center 10266 West Florissant, St. Louis, MO 63136

4:00 PM - 5:30 PM

1st Time Home Buyers Workshop

Midwest BankCentre - Pagedale 6810 Page, St. Louis, MO 63133

n sunday, April 22

3:00 PM - 5:00 PM

AJ Discovers the $2 BillBook Signing

Eyeseeme Book Store

7827 Olive Blvd, St. Louis, MO 63130

n Monday, April 23

1:30 PM - 2:30 PM

Identity Theft

St. Louis County LibraryMeramec Valley Branch 625 New Smizer Mill Rd., Fenton, MO 63026

RSVP Required: www.slcl.org/events or 314-994-3300

4:00 PM - 6:00 PM

MONEY MONDAY

Thomas Dunn Learning Center 3113 Gasconade, St. Louis, MO 63118

4:30 PM - 5:30 PM Art Market

St. Charles City-County - Spencer Road Branch

427 Spencer Rd, St Peters, MO 63376

RSVP Required: www.mylibrary.org

6:00 PM - 7:00 PM

Steps to Homeownership Kingdom House 1321 S 11th St., St. Louis, MO 63104

6:30 PM - 7:15 PM

Money Smart Kids Read St. Charles City-County

Kathryn Linnemann Branch 2323 Elm St, St Charles, MO 63301

RSVP Required: www.mylibrary.org

6:30 PM - 8:00 PM

Creating and Maximizing Your Spending Plan

24:1 Excel Center 6724 Page Ave, Pagedale, MO 63133

6:30 PM - 8:30 PM

Money MondayFree Credit Reports SLACO 5888 Plymouth, St Louis, MO 63112

7:00 PM - 8:30 PM

Taxes and the IRS

St. Charles City-County

Kathryn Linnemann Branch 2323 Elm St, St Charles, MO 63301

RSVP Required: www.mylibrary.org

7:00 PM - 8:30 PM

Teens - How to Find, Apply for, and KEEP a Job!

St. Charles City-CountyDeer Run Branch 1300 N Main St, O’Fallon, MO 63366

RSVP Required: www.mylibrary.org

n Tuesday, April 24

9:00 AM - 11:00 AM

How to Fund Your Business

Grace Hill Water Tower Hub

2125 Bissell St., St. Louis, MO 63107

RSVP Required: wbcinfo@gracehillsettlement.org

10:00 AM - 11:00 AM

Money Madness

St. Charles City-County - Deer Run Branch

1300 N Main St, O’Fallon, MO 63366 RSVP Required: www.mylibrary.org

10:00 AM - 11:00 AM

Money Smart Kids Read

St. Charles City-County - Kisker Road Branch

1000 Kisker Rd, St Charles, MO 63304 RSVP Required: www.mylibrary.org

10:00 AM - 11:30 AM

Money Smart Kids Read Jefferson County Library- Windsor Branch 7479 Metropolitan Blvd, Barnhart, MO 63012

RSVP Required: 636-461-1914

1:00 PM - 3:00 PM

Budgeting, Saving & Credit

Al Chappelle Community Center

1401 LaSalle Lane, St. Louis, MO 63104

RSVP Required: 314-588-7854

1:00 PM - 3:00 PM

Estate Planning - Crossing The T’s And Dotting The I’s.

Lincoln University Extension Urban Impact Center

9041 Riverview Drive, St. Louis, MO 63137

RSVP Required: 314-867-4915

2:00 PM - 3:30 PM

Identify Theft Bingo

Peoples Community Action Corporation 6827 South Broadway, St Louis, MO 63111

6:00 PM - 8:00 PM

My Sister’s Keeper: Be Smart About Your Money

William J. Harrison Education Center 3140 Cass Avenue, St. Louis, MO 63106

6:30 PM - 7:30 PM

Teens - Game Day

St. Charles City-County - Kisker Road Branch

1000 Kisker Rd, St Charles, MO 63304

RSVP Required: www.mylibrary.org

6:30 PM - 8:00 PM

Emotional Spending

Old North Excel Center

2707 North 14th St., St Louis, MO 63106

6:30 PM - 8:00 PM

Social Security – Optimize your options and taxation

St. Charles City-County - Spencer Road Branch

MONEY SMART 2018 • 8

427 Spencer Rd, St Peters, MO 63376

RSVP Required: www.mylibrary.org

7:00 PM - 8:00 PM

Estate Planning

St. Louis County LibraryMeramec Valley Branch

625 New Smizer Mill Rd., Fenton, MO 63026

RSVP Required: www.slcl.org/events or 314-994-3300

7:00 PM - 8:00 PM

Real World Retirement Planning

St. Louis County Library, Indian Trails Branch

8400 Delport Dr., St. Louis, MO 63114

RSVP Required: www.slcl.org/events or 314-994-3300

n Wednesday, April 25

10:00 AM - 11:00 AM

Money Madness

St. Charles City-County - Deer Run Branch

1300 N Main St, O’Fallon, MO 63366

RSVP Required: www.mylibrary.org

2:00 PM - 3:00 PM

Estate Planning

St. Louis County Library, Prairie Commons Branch

915 Utz Lane, Hazelwood, MO 63042

RSVP Required: www.slcl.org/events or 314-994-3300

2:00 PM - 4:00 PM

Planning & Paying for Long-term CareMedicare & Medicaid

St. Charles City-County Middendorf-Kredell Branch

2750 Hwy K, O’Fallon, MO 63368

RSVP Required: www.mylibrary.org

RSVP Required: www.slcl.org/events or 314-994-3300

7:00 PM - 8:30 PM

Legal Decisions: Wills, Trusts and Powers of Attorney

St. Louis County Library Headquarters 1640 S. Lindbergh Blvd, St. Louis, MO 63131

RSVP Required: www.slcl.org/events or 314-994-3300

7:00 PM - 8:30 PM

Advanced Social Security Planning

St. Charles City-County Corporate Parkway Branch 1200 Corporate Pkwy, Wentzville, MO 63385

RSVP Required: www.mylibrary.org

n Thursday, April 26

10:00 AM - 11:00 AM

4:00 PM - 5:00 PM

To Your Credit Midwest BankCentre - Grand 5515 S Grand, St. Louis, MO 63111

4:00 PM - 6:00 PM

McClay T.A.B. hosts - Money Smart Month - Mad City Money Game

St. Charles City-County - McClay Branch 2760 McClay Rd, St Charles, MO 63303

RSVP Required: www.mylibrary.org

5:30 PM - 8:00 PM

Connect UP - Money & Business DK Annex

2727 South Jefferson, St Louis, MO 63108

RSVP Required: https://www.eventbrite. com/e/social-synergy-connect-up-moneybusiness-tickets-42844847091

6:00 PM - 7:30 PM

Cash Flow Basics: The Rat Race CIC@CET 20 South Sarah St., St Louis, MO 63108

RSVP Required: www.brandofstl. eventbrite.com

6:30 PM - 7:30 PM

Understanding Insurance Coverage St. Charles City-County Middendorf-Kredell Branch 2750 Hwy K, O’Fallon, MO 63368

RSVP Required: www.mylibrary.org

6:30 PM - 8:30 PM Your Money Your Goals

Jefferson County Library - Arnold Branch 1701 Missouri State Road, Arnold, MO 63010

RSVP Required: 636-296-2204

7:00 PM - 8:00 PM

Financial Fire Drill

St. Louis County LibraryGrant’s View Branch 9700 Musick Road, St. Louis, MO 63123

Money Smart Kids Read St. Charles City-County Corporate Parkway Branch 1200 Corporate Pkwy, Wentzville, MO 63385

RSVP Required: www.mylibrary.org

2:00 PM - 3:00 PM

Money Management for Women St. Louis County Library - Oak Bend Branch

842 S. Holmes Ave., St. Louis, MO 63122

RSVP Required: www.slcl.org/events or 314-994-3300

4:00 PM - 5:00 PM

1st Time Home Buyers Workshop Midwest BankCentre - Friendly Temple 5501 Dr Martin Luther King, St. Louis, MO 63112

4:30 PM - 5:30 PM Art Market

St. Charles City-CountyDeer Run Branch 1300 N Main St, O’Fallon, MO 63366

RSVP Required: www.mylibrary.org

4:30 PM - 5:30 PM Art Market

St. Charles City-County - Library Express Discovery Village 378 Shadow Pines Dr, Wentzville, MO 63385 www.mylibrary.org

4:30 PM - 5:30 PM

Teens - How to Find, Apply for, and KEEP a Job!

St. Charles City-County - Spencer Road Branch

427 Spencer Rd, St Peters, MO 63376

RSVP Required: www.mylibrary.org

5:00 PM - 7:00 PM

Making Money Count - Budgeting Jefferson County LibraryNorthwest Branch

5680 State Road PP, High Ridge, MO 63049

RSVP Required: 636-677-8243

6:00 PM - 8:00 PM

Student Loans; The Good, The Bad & The Ugly Ritenour High School

9100 St. Charles Rock Road, St. Louis, MO 63114

RSVP Required: TeAnna Jackson, tjackson@caastlc.org, 314-446-4426

6:00 PM - 8:00 PM

My Sister’s Keeper: Estate Planning 101 100 Black Men Bldg. 4631 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis, MO 63108

6:30 PM - 8:00 PM

Home Buying and Credit

South City Excel Center 2828 Gravois Avenue, St. Louis, MO 63118

6:30 PM - 8:00 PM

Tax Strategies for Retirement Planning

St. Charles City-County - Spencer Road Branch

427 Spencer Rd, St Peters, MO 63376

RSVP Required: www.mylibrary.org

7:00 PM - 8:30 PM

Teens - Mad City Money Game

St. Charles City-County Corporate Parkway Branch 1200 Corporate Pkwy, Wentzville, MO 63385

RSVP Required: www.mylibrary.org

n Friday, April 27

10:00 AM - 11:00 AM

Money Smart Kids Read

St. Charles City-County - Deer Run Branch

1300 N Main St, O’Fallon, MO 63366

RSVP Required: www.mylibrary.org

n Saturday, April 28

9:00 AM - 11:00 AM

Idea Spot - Pricing

24:1 Community Excel Center 6724 Page Ave, Pagedale, MO 63133

RSVP Required: www.gracehillwbc.org

10:00 AM - 12:00 PM

Homeownership

Al Chappelle Community Center 1401 LaSalle Lane, St. Louis, MO 63104

RSVP Required: 314-588-7854

10:00 AM - 1:00 PM

Home Buying Resource Fair

New Northside Coference Center 5939 Goodfellow Blvd. , St. Louis, MO 63147

10:30 AM - 11:30 AM

Maximizing Your Social Security Benefits

St. Louis County Library - Natural Bridge Branch

7606 Natural Bridge Rd., St. Louis, MO 63121

RSVP Required:

MONEY SMART 2018 • 9

www.slcl.org/events or 314-994-3300

10:30 AM - 11:15 AM

MONEY SMART KIDS READ

St. Charles City-County

Middendorf-Kredell Branch

2750 Hwy. K, O’Fallon, MO 63368

RSVP Required: www.mylibrary.org

11:00 AM - 7:00 PM

Empowerment Fest 2018 Grandel Square

3701 Grandel Square, St Louis, MO 63108

2:00 PM - 3:30 PM

Myths and Misconceptions of Estate Planning

St. Charles City-County - Spencer Road Branch

427 Spencer Rd, St Peters, MO 63376

RSVP Required: www.mylibrary.org

2:00 PM - 3:00 PM

Money Management for Women

St. Louis County Library, Daniel Boone Branch

300 Clarkson Rd., Ellisville, MO 63011

RSVP Required:

www.slcl.org/events or 314-994-3300

3:00 PM - 4:00 PM

Tweens - Duct Tape Wallet

St. Charles City-County - Kisker Road Branch

1000 Kisker Rd, St Charles, MO 63304

RSVP Required: www.mylibrary.org

n Monday, April 30

10:30 AM - 12:00 PM

Money Smart Kids Read De Soto Public Library

712 South Main St., De Soto, MO 63020

RSVP Required: 636-586-3858

2:00 PM - 3:00 PM

Real World Retirement Planning

St. Louis County Library, Indian Trails Branch

8400 Delport Dr., St. Louis, MO 63114

RSVP Required: www.slcl.org/events or 314-994-3300

4:00 PM - 6:00 PM

Money Monday Thomas Dunn Learning Center 3113 Gasconade, St. Louis, MO 63118

6:30 PM - 8:00 PM

Understanding Annuities

St. Charles City-County - Kisker Road Branch

1000 Kisker Rd, St Charles, MO 63304

RSVP Required: www.mylibrary.org

6:30 PM - 8:30 PM

Utility Bills Got You Down? Get Help! $25 bill summer bill credit for seniors SLACO

5888 Plymouth, St Louis, MO 63112

7:00 PM - 8:00 PM

Estate Planning

St. Louis County Library - Samuel C. Sachs Branch 16400 Burkhardt Pl., Chesterfield, MO 63017

RSVP Required: www.slcl.org/events or 314-994-3300

7:00 PM - 8:00 PM

Financial Fire Drill

St. Louis County Library - Grant’s View Branch

9700 Musick Road, St. Louis, MO 63123

RSVP Required: www.slcl.org/events or 314-994-3300

By Deletra Hudson Deletra Hudson LLC

Have you ever wondered who controls how your money gets in and comes out of the ATMs? Many of you know ATMs as a source where money is deposited into or dispensed from our bank accounts. We go to a machine, enter our four-digit magic code, request a dollar amount, and voila, our money mysteriously spits from a slot on the machine. Wouldn’t it be great if we had an ATM that could help us make money and put money into our accounts opposed to taking money out?

MONEY SMART 2018 • 10

You control the ATMs Tips to help protect yourself from identity theft

I am going to share with you four money management strategies that you can use to help put money into your accounts and shift your mindset about ATMs. The great thing about my money management strategies is that they are not new strategies. They are things that you have heard before or may be doing, but probably never looked at them as the source to start building your wealth. These four strategies are simple enough for you to start using them today and seeing immediate results in your bank account.

As a financial coach, I’ve had the pleasure of helping to transform financial positions by helping people to identify their financial challenges and set new financial goals. These strategies will help support you with raising your consciousness about your relationship with their money. The most valuable lesson to be learned is that you control your money; your money does not control you. Here’s how you do it:

A - Automate your finances

Create a financial plan that minimizes you having to manually manage your financial transactions. Have your money automatically deposited into your bank account and set your bills up to be automatically paid on a specific date for a specific amount. Automating your bill payment process will minimize late fees and penalties, while increasing your on-time bill payment history and credit score.

T - Track your finances

Understand your money flow. Know when it is coming in and how it is going out. An easier way to understand this strategy is to know your pay dates and how much you take home on those dates. Then, know the dates your bills are due, to whom they are due and how much is due. I don’t expect you to know this

information off the top of your head, so I have an exercise for you. I want you to track income and expenses for 30 days so the you start to develop your own relationship with your money.

M- Multiple Streams of Income

Don’t rely on one stream of income to create a comfortable living or wealth. You can’t build wealth from one income source, especially if that one source is a job. Find what you love to do and would do it for free. Let that, in addition to your job, contribute to your wealth building. More importantly, allow your job to help fund your passion.

S- Savings Research shows that 7 out

people have less than $1,000 in their savings account. Don’t be a part of the statistic. I encourage you to save by paying yourself first. You are your first bill to pay. We often hear that we should pay ourselves 10% of our income. I realize that 10% may be steep for someone who is not saving. So, start with what you can afford.

If it is not 10%, maybe $25 per month. Set it up to be automatically taken from your checking account and put into a savings account on a particular date. This exercise will help automate your savings. Then, you can watch your money grow.

Developing a good relationship with your money is like developing a good relationship with people. If you treat them right, they will treat you right. The same relationship should exist with your money. Treat your money right, take care of it and it will take care of you.

When your identity is stolen it can be used to get credit, loans and many other things. Help to minimize your risk of identity theft with the following five steps:

• Protect your Nine Digits: Your social security number is a 9-digit number that will follow you all your life. Be careful who you give it to and trust with it. Don’t carry your social security card with you. Only carry it when you know you will need to use it. Losing it could cost you dearly.

• Create a Filing System not a Piling System:

Keep mail safe in files and off of your coffee or dining room table. While we always worry about our information being taken from strangers on the internet we forget that most identities are reported as being stolen by people we know (i.e., relatives, ex-spouses, roommates, etc.).

• OPT OUT:

Stop credit card offers by contacting optoutprescreen.com or by calling 1-888-5OPT-OUT. By doing this, you will lower your risk of thieves, who pretended to have legitimate businesses, getting your information.

• Review your Credit Report:

Check your credit report at least once a year to make sure all the information reported is correct. You can get a free copy of your credit report at annualcreditreport.com or you can call 1-877-322-8228.

• Change Passwords Often:

Change your passwords often (every 30 days) and make passwords complex by using numbers, letters and phrases. For example if you use “Ziggy” as your password. Use a phrase instead like “ThedogZiggy23” Also remember in computer language a “space” is considered a character.

Also, remember to take precautions with your wallet or purse. If it gets stolen, make sure to file a police report, place fraud alerts on credit cards, contact your financial institution, and contact the 3 major credit bureaus to place an alert on your credit file. Unfortunately, when your identity is stolen, it is up to you to prove it wasn’t you.

Evette Baker, Financial Education Coach, Prosperity Connection

MONEY SMART 2018 • 11

Qualifying for a home loan is not only about Credit Score

By Jeannine Murphy FCB Banks

There are several crucial factors that determine approval of a home loan-credit status: the amount of money toward the home purchase (down payment), and financial habits. The key is to be prepared before submitting an application to a loan officer. Doing so will eliminate the frustrations that often arise during the process, and help the experience be more pleasurable and go smoothly. For most consumers, purchasing a home is the single most important financial decision one can make in a lifetime.

The amount you have set aside for the Down Payment & Closing Costs may dictate what loan types are available. Set a goal for how much you can spend toward the purchase of your home. Include funds for the down payment, inspections and the closing costs. Ideally, 20% down offers better rates and no mortgage insurance. However, there are loan programs that offer lower down payments as little as 3% of the purchase price for those who qualify. In addition, closing costs on average are an additional $2,500 or up to an estimated 5% of the purchase price. The money used for the home purchase transaction should be held in a bank account for at least 2 months prior to making an application. Monies used to complete your purchase must be documentable –cash held in a safe deposit box nor “mat-

tress money” is not allowed. Receiving funds as a gift is acceptable. However, the giver must provide documentation as to where the funds are coming from. If there are no savings in advance, that could be perceived as a sign of insufficient cash flow or income to meet debt obligations.

An underwriter must be certain the decision to lend is warranted. The expectation

is that you, the new homeowner, have demonstrated the habit of saving and being prepared for emergencies and unexpected expenditures.

Once you’ve been pre-qualified and have secured a contract to purchase a home, your loan request and your financial documentation will be processed and underwritten for approval. Underwriting

means your request will be assessed to determine how risky a borrower you are. Keep in mind, you are asking a company to lend you several thousands of dollars over a long period of time in good faith. The lender wants to be certain you have the ability and have demonstrated the willingness to perform responsibly to this obligation consistently.

An acceptable credit score is very important. Nonetheless, how you pay your monthly obligations and manage your finances is vital. An underwriter will analyze your information and draw a conclusion of your financial aptitude and money habits by what your credit report and bank account activity reveals. Overdrafts and insufficient funds fees are indicators of poor budgeting and/or being over obligated, meaning there are more expenses and spending than income.

Derogatory credit, outstanding charge offs and collection items can appear on the credit report even with a qualifying score. Unpaid negative accounts should be paid off prior to making a loan application. Current payment history should be clean for at least the twelve months prior to application.

It’s important to concentrate on attaining an adequate credit score. Higher scores render better interest rates and other terms for your home loan. Additionally, savings, clean bank account history, and paid collections and charged off debts is a healthy start to the home buying process.

Save now, smile later

By Doni Causey Financial Coach at Money Motives

Emergencies are inevitable. If you lost your job today, could you continue to pay your expenses for the next three months with no income? What about paying an unexpected medical bill? Or replacing a tire after a blowout? These are just a few of the curveballs life may throw at you when you least expect it.

If you answered ‘No’ to any of the above, you are not alone. Less than 50% of Americans have $1,000 in emergency savings. When you don’t have the money, such predicaments can lead to stress and debt. Having emergency funds to fall back on will give you a peace of mind. Having money to cover three to 12

months of expenses in an emergency fund is ideal. If you’re just beginning, no need to panic. You can start small and work your way up. Start with a goal of $100 and let your emergency fund grow from there.

Outlined below are tips to help take your savings to the next level.

Budget: Financial discipline is a must when it comes to saving money. The first step to discipline is creating a budget. Start by writing down all monthly income after taxes and all monthly expenses. This shows the money that is coming in and going out, and it gives you a visual where you can cut expenses. Work on lowering your expenses (increasing your income, if possible) to save more money.

20/50/30: This is a great ratio on which to base your budget. This ratio is designed to save 20% of your monthly income, use 50% to pay bills and spend 30% towards everything else, including groceries, gas, etc. Often times, bills are more expensive than 50% of our monthly income. If this is the case, use the money from your 30% spending, not your 20% savings.

Automatic Deductions: A rule of thumb for saving money is to have it automatically deducted from your paycheck and put directly into your savings account. By doing this, you will not miss the money. You will become accustomed to it not being part of your monthly income. Another best practice is to increase this

automatic deduction whenever you receive a raise.

Pay yourself first: Most importantly, always pay yourself first! Think of yourself as the most important bill. Even if it’s only $5 per check, make sure you are saving money every time you get paid. The biggest part of saving money is discipline. Deciphering needs from wants and living below your means. Don’t treat yourself so much that it becomes a lifestyle you cannot afford. Let’s get started saving today, so the next time you have an emergency car repair, you don’t have to borrow money or go into debt paying for it.

Cheers to saving money.

The disparate difference: New generation affordable housing

Crystal Morris

Midland State Bank

The topic of homeownership, no matter your pedigree or vocation, can strike a nerve of uncomfortableness, and rightly so. Instant access to information about homeownership can send you down a wormhole of clicks as you search for what “sounds right.” Therein lays the challenge that the next generation of homeowners face. I am not referring to generation X, Y or Z specifically, but rather to the generation of potential buyers who have chosen to postpone homeownership for postsecondary education. Coincidentally, this generation is now further away from the American dream. How, you ask? While they have positioned themselves to be slightly above the median income limit, they are also over the qualifying Debt to Income (DTI) ratio limit. Let me explain: If you are a family of four and earn more than $59,600 per year, you are over the income limits for many first-time homebuyer programs in St Louis. To make matters more difficult, student loan payments count against your debt to income ratios, even if your payments are deferred. If you have $80,000 in student loan debt, that’s about an $800 per month payment that has to be factored into your DTI. Considering that most qualifying ratios are around 45% of your gross monthly income, you can reach the 45% limit fairly quickly when you add in student loan debt.

Affordable housing means something different for each person, but the principal is the same: How can I get the most “bang” for my buck? There are lots of programs and assistance available for households under the 80% median income bracket. But what about the families earning slightly above those thresholds? There is hope! Through the collaborative efforts of financial partners and community activists, there is programming available to help new generation home buyers access affordable housing options. Most financial institutions have portfolio loan programs with manual, more flexible guidelines. Some have options for reduced Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI) or no PMI as well as down payment assistance.

Through the collaborative efforts of financial partners and community activists, there is programming available to help new generation home buyers access affordable housing options.

Ask your local banker about their affordable housing options portfolio today.

April is Money Smart Month and there are over 200 financial literacy classes available about a broad array of topics including affordable homeownership. Hope to see you there!

Equal Housing Lender. Member FDIC.

More Money in Less Time, Passive Income

Nicole R. McBee, MBA Business Consultant & Coach

New Day Consulting

Passive income is highly sought after and often misunderstood.

Passive income streams require an upfront investment and a lot of nurturing in the beginning. After some time and hard work these income streams start to build and are able to maintain themselves, bringing you consistent revenue without much effort on your part.

Speaking from personal experience, adding passive income streams to your portfolio can help you increase your earnings and accelerate your financial goals in tremendous ways.

For example, you can use passive income streams to help you get out of debt or achieve financial independence sooner, plus free up your time while still making money.

If you want to get started earning passive income here’s what you should know first.

If you want to skip straight to the ideas, here you go:

15. Drop Shipping

16. Vending Machines (another one of my favorites)

Before we get into the passive income ideas I think it’s a good idea to first clear up a couple of misconceptions. Although the word “passive” makes it sound like you have to do nothing to bring in the income this just isn’t true. All passive income streams will require at least one of the following two elements:

1. An upfront monetary investment, or

2. An upfront time investment

You can’t earn residual income without being willing to provide at least one of these two.

While it can be tempting to want to pick five passive income ideas to start with, I encourage you to pick one in the beginning. You need the time and ability to focus in order to grow a passive income stream. Master one income idea before moving on.

I promise earning passive income is everything it’s cracked up to be! Pick an idea, make a plan, and dedicate yourself until that income stream comes to fruition. Enjoy your financial independence!

Small business owner best practices

Sierra Dean Dean Diaries LLC

As a Small Business Owner, there are a few best practices to follow to ensure your business will thrive. Instead of working hard every day to ensure you’re striving to survive; strive to thrive. Become the best business owner out there. Below are 3 best practices to ensure your business continues to thrive.

Get Sponsors. Everyone is always focused on getting mentors to help them along the way. Yes, of course we need those mentors that will give us guidance and ensure that we stay on track but we also need sponsors. Every sponsor is different but the main goal of a sponsor is to provide you with opportunity. Sponsors are able to speak on your behalf when you’re not in the room. They are that connect that you need to get into a corporation or organization. Your sponsor should know your vision and mission for your business; this will allow the sponsor to provide your contact information to the

Businesses. Every small business has a specific client in a certain demographic, stepping outside of the norm can help with you

from people that you normally don’t work with. Seek out collaboration with individuals that have the same mission as your business. Don’t get caught up in whether a person is doing well or not. Your brand is on the line so definitely do some homework before collaborating with anyone.

Taxes. Yes taxes, the best topic of them all. Every time you get paid from a product or service, you want to ensure that the money is being deposited into your business account but you also want to ensure you’re paying taxes. Just to be on the safe side, if you get paid $1,000 put at least 30% of that into a tax account, which will be $300. Yes that’s a lot of money from your original deposit but you don’t want to file taxes and end up owing a ton of money to the IRS. Doing your diligence when it comes to taxes can save you time, money and a headache during tax season.

These are only a few best practices to follow as a small business owner but are great to implement, if you haven’t already.

The Importance of Generational Wealth

By Alnita Smiley, CFSW, MSW, Financial Coach, Prosperity Connection

The term ‘generational wealth’ is often associated with becoming financially stable, but what does this mean for your family? The idea of creating generational wealth may sound abstract at first but let’s discuss this in today’s terms. Lack of financial education is a major contributor to generational poverty as well as access to financial education for all persons.

Building generational wealth is a threetier approach, which includes educating yourself, your children and their children. As parents and role models it is our job to make sure that the next generation does not have to start over from a blank slate. It is our job to plant seeds that will blossom into beautiful, healthy and long-lasting trees. It takes the average tree fifteen to thirty years to grow from a seed - up to three decades! This is the same perspective I use for building a financially stable family. I have listed some tips below to

start building generational wealth! Please do not hesitate to share with your friends, family and children!

• If you have children, grandchildren, and/or nieces/nephews start saving for their college education! It is never too early to start saving! A 529 savings plan is preferred but if you are saving for future children try a high interest savings account or money market account.

• Start investing early! If you do not

know where to start, do not hesitate to reach out to a financial advisor and schedule a consultation. Consultations are often free of charge and can point you in the right direction!

• Be sure to purchase life insurance! Debt or a bill is the last thing you want to leave to your children! What kind of insurance and how much insurance you need is unique to your individual situation. Reach out to a financial advisor to see what will work best for you!

Get the kids involved in your next garage sale

By COUNTRY Financial

Talking to your kids about money is important for their financial future, with garage sale season approaching; you have a wonderful opportunity to teach your kids about earning, giving and responsibility while cleaning out your closets. Have a garage sale with your kids and watch them learn!

Give

them

some skin in the game

Many areas have community garage sale weekends, so ask your kids if they want to help with a sale at your house. Tell them about the opportunity to clean out old toys (to make room for new ones), clean out clothes they no longer wear and make some money for themselves. As an additional incentive, offer to match what-

ever your kids make on their items.

Earning potential

Let them keep an eye on the prize by having them help gather items, organize them and price them. During the process, you can help them keep a running total of inventory and price to see how much they could potentially earn. Be sure to remind them not all items will sell, and many will be sold at less than sticker price. However, if the kids are involved in the actual sale, many customers may be reluctant to haggle over price.

Help them learn about giving

Talk to your kids about donating half of

the money they make at the sale to a charity of their choosing. When children learn about charities, they often want to help but do not have funds to donate. You are sure to see a look of satisfaction and accomplishment when they can make a donation with their own money.

Save or spend

We all love toys, and we all like to reward ourselves for a job well done. Suggest that your kids save what they earn, but allow a little bit to be used toward something they’ve been wanting.

Start with simple steps today and chat with your kiddos about the value of a dollar– it’s a lesson sure to follow them for years to come.

Mortgage loan available for purchases and rate and term refinances

Low down payment options available*

Most down payment assistance programs allowed Not credit score driven

Short term personal loan available from $1,500 to $10,000 Can be used for most minor or major home repairs No appraisal needed Flexible underwriting guidelines

Midland States Bank’s Believable Banking Home Mortgage and Home Improvement Loan are designed to assist people on the pathway to affordable, successful home ownership while helping revitalize neighborhoods. Available in select communities, these unique loans feature flexible underwriting guidelines to help overcome some of the challenges individuals may face with traditional loan programs.