June 9th, 2011 edition

Clay’s Career Fair draws 5,000

Corporation

with

underemployment in the 1st Congressional District and throughout the St.Louis region.”

Pioneerin ‘Waron Poverty’retires

Ruth Smith leaves HDC after 46 years of community service

By Rebecca S.Rivas

Of The St.Louis American

Ruth Smith pulled out a piece of notebook paper with handwritten notes.

“I jotted a few things down this morning over coffee,” said Smith, the president and CEO of the Human Development Corporation of Metropolitan St. Louis (HDC) since 1994. It was a list of dates, some even including time of day, when crucial moments occurred in the 46-year history of HDC, an agency that offers social service programs.

Highlighted in yellow was the date September 30, 1981.

On that day, President Ronald Reagan called former CEO Harold Antoine at “five minutes till five” to tell him that the White House would be dismantling the Community Service Agency, the federal agency where HDC received the core of its funding. “I’ll never forget that day,” she said.

Destination: Yale

Jennifer Lunceford is one of four SLPS students bound for the Ivy League

By Rebecca S.Rivas Of The St.Louis American

And the lucky winner is ... Yale. Metro Academic and Classical High School graduate Jennifer Lunceford chose Yale out of many universities she was accepted to – including Princeton, Brown, Vassar and Georgetown.

“It’s pretty much a full ride,” she said. “They gave me a work study, but I’ve received outside scholarships so that’s the first thing that goes away.”

She’s one of four St. Louis Public Schools graduating seniors who will go on to Ivy League universities, all of them Metro students.

See SLPS, A7

“My family’s history of teen pregnancy really pushed me to do well in school.”

– Jennifer Lunceford

Rev. Gillespie passes at 80

“My mother said, ‘No matter where you are in life, you should always look back and pull someone along with you.’”

– Ruth Smith

Jennifer Lunceford,a 2011 graduate of Metro Academic and Classical High School in the St. Louis Public School District,will attend Yale University to pursue its American Studies track.

By Kenya Vaughn Of The St.Louis American

St. Louis is full of heavy hearts following the passing of spiritual and civic leader the Rev. Dr. William Gillespie, who passed on Friday of complications from Alzheimer’s disease at the age of 80.

“If it weren’t for him, we wouldn’t be where we are right now.”

– Martin Mathews, Mathews-Dickey Boys & Girls Club

“Dr. Gillespie in my estimation was iconic,” said James Buford, president and CEO of the Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis. “When you do that much – save souls, build educational institutions and serve our youth –what more can you expect from any one man’s legacy?” Dr. Henry Givens Jr., longtime president of Harris-Stowe University, benefitted from and relied on Rev. Gillespie’s spiritual and educational leadership.

“Rev. Gillespie provided counsel and spiritual guidance to me personally,” Givens said. “Much of the university’s outstanding accomplishments must be credited to Rev. Gillespie’s strong leadership.”

“He gave everything he had to Cote Brilliante Church and its members and the

Photo by Wiley Price

Andy Meyer of Boeing

talked

Staci Bonds about job opportunities at U.S.Rep.Wm.Lacy Clay’s 6th Annual Career Fair held at Harris-Stowe State University on Monday.Overall attendance numbered more than 5,000 job seekers.Clay said,“It shows the urgency of unemployment and

Photo by Wiley Price

Photo by Wiley Price

The Rev.Dr.William Gillespie,longtime pastor of Cote Brilliante Presbyterian Church,passed on Friday of complications from Alzheimer’s disease at the age of 80.

Should Lauryn Hill head to Maury?

Rohan Marley, the father of Lauryn Hill’s five children, took to twitter claiming that he is probably not the father of the bun currently in

planned in advance of me knowing about the continued growth of my family (wink, wink),” Hill said. “There were some shows that we started late. We apologize and thank you for your patience. I can’t wait to re-engage with you, and give you a musical experience worth coming back for.

Creflo Dollar wants Eddie long

a wreck – instead of praying for him.

I pray I don’t ever have a wreck that you leave me, ‘cause I’ll tell you about yourself…he had a wreck. I mean, the mercy God showed on you…you couldn’t show it to the preacher?”

Ja Rule becomes a jailbird

Rap star Ja Rule spent his last full night of freedom in the recording studio Tuesday evening (June 7th).

will be released post-prison, titled [expletive] Fame.

Fuqua bails on Tupac biopic

After years of trying to get a film about Tupac Shakur’s life made, fans rejoiced last year when it was announced that director Antoine Fuqua (Training Day, Brooklyn’s Finest) would be helming a feature-length film based on the life and times of one of the greatest rappers, poets, and personality’s of all time. Today, that is no longer the case.

The Los Angeles Times reports that Fuqua has left the “Tupac” biopic to direct Dreamworks Pictures’ Southpaw, a boxing project written by “Sons of Anarchy” Kurt Sutter and starring Eminem (“8 Mile”). No reason was given for Fuqua’s Despite the “Tupac” biopic being in question now that Fuqua has left, a script that Shakur had written while in prison titled “Live 2 Tell,” about a drug dealer’s attempt to turn his life around, has been purchased and picked up by NStar Studios with a budget of

Church program spurs ESL students to graduate

New Life in Christ and United Way partner in Project 2011

American staff

Bishop Geoffrey V. Dudley, pastor of New Life in Christ Interdenominational Church in O’Fallon, Ill., bases his theology on the idea that “everybody wants their lives changed and the opportunity to change the lives of others by being involved in the community in some way.”

Taking this theory into action, Dudley enlisted more than 100 mentors, mainly from his large congregation, to work closely with East St. Louis School District 189’s class of 2011. Thus was born Project 2011.

Project 2011 began working with the 2007 freshman class in East St. Louis and has stayed with them through all four years of high school. In all, 155 students participated in the project and the results from the program have been exceptional.

A remarkable 90 percent graduated, with more than 42 percent of students planning on attending college and another 26 percent planning to attend trade school or join the military.

The drop-out rate among students in 2007 was more than double the national average and the graduation rate a meager 41 percent of the number that started as freshmen.

“To see the transformation among these teens is truly amazing,” said Dudley. “During these four years, truancy plummeted, grade point averages increased, suspensions went down, and more children plan on continuing their education after graduating from 189 than we’ve seen in a long time.”

Project 2011’s goals included an increase in overall academic achievement, attendance, leadership skills and personal responsibility. It was started through New Life Enterprises with substantial funding and support from United Way of Greater St. Louis.

“We began with the belief that, with caring, faithful mentors giving their time in a positively structured and character-building setting, these teens would excel in and out of school,” said Wray Clay, vice president, United Way of Greater St. Louis.

United Way of Greater St. Louis has invested $122,000 toward Project 2011. Several options existed for the mentors and mentees to interact through Project 2011. From monthly general assemblies and small group instructional time to planned outings, one-on-one mentoring and fans in the stands, where the mentors attend extra-curricular activities for their mentee. “We structured the program so it was hard not to be involved,” Dudley said.

Project 2011 is just one program out of many to come from a partnership, led by United Way, of Metro East community leaders since April 2006. These leaders formed the Power of Partnerships in response to many of the societal pressures teens in East St. Louis were facing and continue to be challenged with.

Through the partnership, programs ranging from inancial education to English as a second language have been established with various faith-based organizations for children and their families in School District 189’s service area. Since 2006, United Way has invested more than $375,000 in these Power of

Partnership programs. “We call ourselves Life Changers at New Life. Therefore, we persevered and came together for the good of our teens in East St. Louis,” said Dudley.

“These young people have unfair disadvantages and they deserve, like all teenagers, to have people care for them, a good education, an opportunity.”

Student members of Project 2011, a joint effort of New Life in Christ Interdenominational Church in O’Fallon, Ill. and United Way of Greater St. Louis, at their recent graduation. In all, 155 students from East St. Louis School District 189 participated in the project, and 90 percent graduated.

Photo courtesy of New Life in Christ Interdenominational Church

EDITORIAL /COMMENTARY

St. Louis needs economic revitalization

It’s often said that St. Louis is the prime economic engine of Missouri. So St. Louis shoulders a large share of the responsibility for dispiriting data released Tuesday by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. In a comparative report on state economies for 2010, Missouri ranked 39th, with the gross state product growing 1.4 percent compared to 2009 while the U.S. economy overall grew at nearly double that rate, 2.6 percent.

These numbers make it clear that St. Louis needs economic revitalization badly, and this objective should have the highest priority. This urgent need explains our focus on the Aerotropolis legislation, the proposal that has the greatest potential to spur macroeconomic growth and job creation and enable the region to compete in the global economy by providing an essential boost to our lagging air service, a weak link in the region’s logistical and infrastructural advantages in transportation.

This also explains our insistence on the need for charter reform to enable city government to be more eficient and effective. In a city with declining population and tax revenues, our unwieldy governance structure is an unwarranted burden on the city and its competitiveness. A stronger mayoral system with a smaller Board of Aldermen would make St. Louis more eficient and competitive and facilitate the public/private development partnerships that we desperately need to improve opportunities for economic growth.

In so doing, we take the same position as some of the region’s business leaders and the city’s current mayor, knowing that the AfricanAmerican community tends to be suspicious of Republican-dominated business leadership and the current mayor. But it’s fatally short-sighted

thinking that opposes changes in an archaic governance structure that offer greater prospects for long-term prosperity and reversal of population decline simply because they would empower a sitting mayor who has lost the trust of the black community.

We also reject the protectionist thinking that a smaller Board of Aldermen would disenfranchise our community as short-sighted and selfdefeating. Yes, with fewer aldermen there would be fewer black aldermen; and yes, a stronger mayoral system would mean weaker roles for the aldermanic president and comptroller, two positions currently held by competent African Americans. But we must remember, from Virvus Jones to Lewis Reed and Charlie A. Dooley, African Americans in St. Louis have shown the ability to form diverse coalitions that have enabled them to win on merit substantial, highly competitive citywide and countywide ofices.

We can participate and be successful in a more eficient and competitive political system.

To quote Melissa Harris-Perry, this paper hopes “to inluence policy, inspire individuals and intervene in public conversations about race” – in that order of priority. We know that issues of race remain critical in St. Louis, but we are living at a time when we must also be engaged in policy decisions that effect the macroeconomic factors that shape people’s lives as we work to address the many race-based disparities in St. Louis. The American and overall dominant global economic systems are based on a competitive model, and to advance we must be prepared to compete. We have no reservations about the ability of black people in St. Louis to compete for their fair share of the opportunity if this city and region make the changes they must make in order to grow and lourish.

Correction

One of the actors in the Mary Meachum Freedom Crossing event on May 21 was incorrectly identiied in the caption to the photograph that includes her. Her correct name is Mintha Thomas.

GOP only mad at imaginary fraud

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch on Tuesday reported that Republican Congressman Todd Akin failed to register to vote at his current address in Wildwood but has continued for years to vote by absentee under his former address in Town and Country in apparent violation of state law. The idea that a sitting congressman would fail to follow election law while insisting that others jump through new onerous hoops to vote is inexcusable.

Almost as incredible are the statements of Senator Bill Stouffer, the sponsor of the Republicans’ photo ID bills. After expressing great concern during the legislative session about the imaginary problem of voter impersonation, Stouffer in an interview with the PostDispatch merely shrugged off Akin’s alleged violation of existing election law. The proposed voter ID requirements would not stop the type of fraud allegedly committed by Akin. It would only address voter impersonation at the polling place, which has never been reported in Missouri. Living in one jurisdiction

and voting in another, or voting by absentee in a jurisdiction in which you do not reside, is voter fraud. Lying about your residence address is a Class One election offense punishable by the loss of the right to vote. Akin’s alleged actions should be immediately investigated by the appropriate authority.

State Rep. Stacey Newman St. Louis

Thanks from Meals on Wheels

I am writing to thank the legislators who voted to reinstate some of the much-needed funding for Missouri’s Meals on Wheels programs. This program provides homebound seniors with balanced, nutritious meals, as well as a daily check on those older adults who live alone.

Many frail seniors live alone, and often they are unable to get the kinds of meals that allow them to continue living at home. Without these meals, they often end up with malnourishment problems that put them in a nursing home or in the hospital.

The Mid-East Area Agency on Aging provides the Meals on Wheels program in the counties of St. Louis, St. Charles, Franklin and Jefferson. MEAAA’s loyal volunteers who deliver the meals offer about $3 million worth of unreimbursed services each year. They also get to know the seniors on a personal basis. In this time of short hospital stays, Meals on Wheels helps those who are recuperat-

The Way I See It - A Forum for Community Issues

Cornel West v. Barack Obama

By Melissa Harris-Perry For The Nation

Professor Cornel West is President Obama’s silenced, disregarded, disrespected moral conscience, according to Chris Hedges’s recent Truthdig column, “The Obama Deception: Why Cornel West went Ballistic.” In a selfaggrandizing, victimology sermon deceptively wrapped in the discourse of prophetic witness, Professor West offers thin criticism of President Obama and stunning insight into the delicate ego of the self-appointed black leadership class that has been largely supplanted in recent years.

West begins with a bit of historical revision. West suggests that the president discarded him without provocation after he offered the Obama for America campaign his loyal service and prayers. But anyone with a casual knowledge of this rift knows it began during the Democratic primary, not after the election.

It began, not with a puffedup president but when Cornel West’s “dear brother” Tavis Smiley threw a public tantrum because Senator Obama refused to attend Smiley’s annual State of Black America. Smiley repeatedly suggested that his forum was the necessary black vetting space for the Democratic nominees. He needed to ask Obama and Clinton tough questions so that black America could get the answers it needed.

But black America was doing a ine job making up its own mind in the primaries and didn’t need Smiley’s blessing to determine their own electoral preferences. Indeed, when Smiley got a chance to hold candidate Clinton “accountable” he spent more time fawning over her than probing about her symbolic or substantive policy stances that impacted black communities.

served for the ordinary women and men who worked to make Obama ’08 possible. It must be a simple matter of jealous indignation. While I appreciate the humanness in such a reaction, it hardly counts as a prophetic critique.

Since the inaugural snub, Professor West has made his personal animosity and political criticism of the president his main public talking point. There was that hilariously bad documentary with Tavis Smiley and the rest of the Soul Patrol in 2009. There is the tiresome repetitiveness with which West invokes the name of his erstwhile Harvard nemesis Lawrence Summers as indicative of President Obama’s failed economic vision. And there was the eminently watchable screaming match on MSNBC where lovethe-people West called Rev. Al Sharpton a “mascot” for the Obama administration. Add to this three-year screed the current Hedges article and it looks more like a pissing match than prophecy.

Take for example West’s ad hominem attack on the president’s racial identity.

“I think my dear brother Barack Obama has a certain fear of free black men.… It’s understandable. As a young brother who grows up in a white context, brilliant African father, he’s always had to fear being a white man with black skin. All he has known culturally is white. He is just as human as I am, but that is his cultural formation.”

hypocrisy in his public positions in a way that would make him vulnerable come election time. As a media personality and professor he is safely ensconced in a system that can never vote him off the island.

I think an honest critique of Obama has to begin by acknowledging his own privileges. Instead, West seems determined to keep black politics tethered to a patronage model of politics. He tells Hedges:

“Our last hope is to generate a democratic awakening among our fellow citizens. This means raising our voices, very loud and strong, bearing witness, individually and collectively. Tavis [Smiley] and I have talked about ways of civil disobedience, beginning with ways for both of us to get arrested…” God help us if Cornel West and Tavis Smiley getting arrested is our last chance at a democratic awakening. I have many criticisms of the Obama administration. I wrote angrily about his choice of Rick Warren to deliver a prayer at the inauguration. I have spoken on television about my disagreement with drone attacks in Pakistan and been critical of the administration’s initial choice to prosecute DADT cases. I worked for more progressive health care reform legislation and supported organizations that resisted the reproductive rights “compromises” in the bill. I’ve been scathing in public remarks and writings about the President’s education policy.

ing from illness or surgery to heal at home. All in all, homedelivered meals represent a win for seniors and a win for less Missouri HealthNet expenditures in the long run.

Diane Keefe, president MEAAA Foundation Ballwin

Lebron deserves respect

I marveled as I listened to the owner of the Cleveland Cavaliers rip a 25-year-old outstanding African-American citizen apart like an enemy. Lebron James – who has been trying his best to live respectably, work hard and help our youth and young adults – was literally labeled as a “curse” and as one who “quit” among other things. Even worse than the owner’s tirade was the response from David Stern (commissioner of NBA), who failed to adequately address these truly selish, selfcentered and callous comments by the Cavs owner, especially when he always insists on corrective action when the players are concerned.

Something is rotten when a city and organization that have beneitted from the talents and efforts of this respectable young man fail to respect his rights as a person. Something is rotten when adults degrade him by utterly defaming his character, forgetting all he has attempted to do and burning his jersey while not a single leader has enough conscience to say “this is not the attitude or actions we want our youth to learn.”

Allif Dove, St. Louis

Fiercely loyal to his friend, Professor West chose sides and began to undermine candidate Obama is small and large ways. Obama ceased calling West back because he was in the middle of a ierce campaign and West’s loyalties were, at best, divided. I suspect candidate Obama did not trust his “dear brother” to keep the campaign secrets and strategies. I also suspect he was not inaccurate in his hesitancy.

West may have had principled, even prophetic reasons, for choosing this outsider position relative to Obama, but it is dishonest to later frame that choice as a betrayal on the part of the president.

Furthermore, West’s sense of betrayal is clearly more personal than ideological. In Hedges’s article West claims that a true progressive would always put love of the people above concern with the elite and privileged. Then he complains, “I couldn’t get a ticket [to the inauguration] with my mother and my brother. I said this is very strange. We drive into the hotel and the guy who picks up my bags from the hotel has a ticket to the inauguration…. We had to watch the thing in the hotel.”

Let me get this straight – the tenured, Princeton professor who collects ive igures for public lectures was relegated to a hotel television while an anonymous hotel worker got tickets to the inauguration! What kind of crazy, mixed-up class politics are these? Wait a minute…

What exactly is so irritating to West about inaugural ticketgate? It can’t be a claim that the black, progressive intellectual community was unrepresented. Yale’s Elizabeth Alexander was the poet that cold morning. It can’t be that the “common man” was shut out because the Neighborhood Ball was re-

This comment is utter hilarity coming from Cornel West who has spent the bulk of his adulthood living in those deeply rooted, culturally rich, historically important black communities of Cambridge, Massachusetts, and Princeton, New Jersey. And it is hard to see his claim that Obama is “most comfortable with upper middle-class white and Jewish men who consider themselves very smart, very savvy and very effective in getting what they want” as anything other than a classic projection of his own comfortably ensconced life at Harvard and Princeton Universities.

Being an Ivy League professor does not mean that one has no room to offer critical engagement on issues of race. Like Professor West, I too make my living at elite, predominantly white institutions. For the past ive years we were on the same payroll at Princeton. Like Professor West I supplement my income by giving lectures. Like West, I hope to inluence policy, inspire individuals and intervene in public conversations about race. My criticism of West is his seeming unwillingness to acknowledge how our structural positions within the academy and in public intellectual life can be just as compromising to our position vis-à-vis black communities as is President Obama’s.

As tenured professors Cornel West and I are not meaningfully accountable. President Obama, as an elected oficial, can, in fact, be voted out of his job. We can’t. That is a difference that matters. As West derides the president’s economic policies he remains silent on his friend Tavis Smiley’s relationship with Wal-Mart, Wells Fargo and McDonald’s – all corporations whose invasive and predatory actions in poor and black communities have been the target of progressive organizing for decades.

I have never heard him take Tavis Smiley to task for helping convince black Americans to enter into predatory mortgages. I’ve never heard him ask whether Tavis’s decision to publish R. Kelley’s memoirs might be a less than progressive decision.

He doesn’t hold Tavis accountable because Tavis is his friend and he is loyal. I respect that, but I also know that if he were in elected ofice the could not get off so easily. Opposition research would point out the

The president has never called me. I got my ticket to the inauguration from Canada! (Because Canadian Broadcast Television who gave me a chance to narrate the day’s events.) But I can tell the difference between a substantive criticism and a personal attack. It is clear to me that West’s ego, not the health of American democracy, is the wounded creature in this story. Reprinted with permission from the blog on www.thenation.com.

Guest Columnist Melissa Harris-Perry

Christian Ferguson event

June 11

On Saturday, June 11, Looking

For An Angel will host “Riding for an Angel/Family Affair.”

Participants will gather at 9:00 a.m. at Page and Skinker Boulevards, the alleged location of Christian T. Ferguson’s disappearance. The ride will start promptly at 10 a.m. and end at Yummies Soul Food Restaurant located at 3149 Shenandoah (at Compton), the location of the Christian T. Ferguson Family Affair.

Christian T. Ferguson, a disabled boy, was reported missing by his father in St. Louis on June 11, 2003. Last year his mother, Theda Wilson (Thomas), walked “7 miles for 7 years” the boy has been gone. She said the community’s support and participation in annual events for Christian helps to ease her family’s pain.

To be a sponsor, obtain a bike run and/or vendor application or for more information please call Theda at 314-440-3422 or go to www.lookingforanangel.org.

Grand Metro Link Station to remain closed

The Grand MetroLink Station did not reopen on Monday, June 6 as planned. It will remain closed until further notice.The safety of passengers at the station is Metro’s primary concern and the agency will continue to restrict pedestrian access as long as necessary to ensure passenger safety.MetroLink trains will continue to travel through the Grand Bridge construction area, but trains will not stop at the Grand MetroLink Station.

During the closure, the #70 Grand MetroBus will be rerouted to Union Station. All MetroLink customers who want to board the #70 Grand must board at the Union Station MetroLink Station.MetroBus customers traveling near the Grand Bridge construction project should allow an extra 15 minutes for the reroute around Grand Boulevard.

Showing ‘Love’ to mentees

Toni Love,of Ameren Corporation,who volunteers with UrbanFutures, was awarded the 20102011 Restoration Award for her work in mentoring Victoria Montgomery,a 7th grader at Fanning Middle School.Mentoring is only one of Love’s many volunteer activities. With her is Ameren Supervisor of Applications Development Rob Kern, who came to the ceremony honoring Love.Love also has tutored through Y-Read Literacy,a YMCA program,mentored through Big Brothers/Big Sisters and taught Sunday school at Mt. Gideon Missionary Baptist Church.

Poetry helps us connect

By Michelle Obama U.S.First Lady

When I was young, I was a passionate creative writer and sort of a poet.That’s how I would release myself. Whenever I was struggling in school, or didn’t want to go outside and deal with the nonsense of the neighborhood, I would write and write and write and write. I think it was my writing that sort of prepared me for so much of what I’ve had to do in my life as an adult.

Robert Frost once wrote, “Apoem begins as a lump in the throat.”In writing poetry, you all put words into that kind of emotion.You give voice to your hopes, your dreams, your worries and your fears. And when you do that, when you share yourself that way, and make yourself vulnerable like that, you’re taking a risk. And that’s brave. And when you write poetry, you’re not just expressing yourself.You’re also connecting to people.And that’s the key to everything we want to be and do as human beings – is our ability to connect to one another.

Think about how you feel when you read a poem that really speaks to you, one that perfectly expresses what you’re thinking and feeling.When you read that, you feel understood, right?I know I do.You feel less alone.I know I do.You realize despite all our differences, there are so many human experiences and emotions that we share.

And poetry doesn’t just show us how much we share. It also exposes us to wonderful new ideas and experiences.It helps us see the world in an entirely different way.

As Rita Dove once wrote, “What writing does is to reveal.Agood poem can awaken our senses and help us notice things that we’ve never noticed before.It can take us to places we’ve never gone – to a mountaintop or a battlefield or a city halfway around the world.”

Library Foundation to offerteen award

The St. Louis County Library Foundation will sponsor the Sidney Johnson Learning Award, presented for outstanding library service by a teen, for a second consecutive year. The Sidney Johnson Learning Award will be presented at the Foundation’s Starcatchers Gala on Saturday, September 24. The winner will receive a $1,000 savings bond.

The Sidney Johnson Learning Award is open to teens between the ages of 12-18. To apply, teens must be one of the following: a St. Louis County Library (SLCL) volunteer, a member of a SLCL Teen Advisory Group or an SLCLemployee. In addition, a portion of the application must be completed by an SLCLstaff member. Applications are due no later than Friday, July 29 and will be available at all SLCLbranches and online at www.slcl.org/teens/.

The Sidney Johnson Learning award is in memory of Lewis & Clark Branch staff member, Sidney Johnson, who was killed in 2007.

For more information, please call the Youth Services Department at 314-994-3300 or visit www.slcl.org.

And I know that writing poetry is not easy.I know that sometimes you really got to work hard to make it happen.I know that it can be discouraging when you’re struggling with writer’s block and you can’t find that word that is just right, or get that line exactly the way you want it to be.

So I want you all to keep at it.Keep taking those risks.Keep having the courage to share your work, which is so important.That was the best part of writing – it was reading it back to my mother, making them sit and listen to my work.And I also had to read it and perform it.So keep sharing, keep reading poetry, and learning from other poets.

And even if you don’t grow up to be a professional poet, I promise that what you learn through reading and writing poetry will stay with you throughout your life. Edited from remarks made May 11 in the State Dining Room at the White House.

Michelle Obama

GILLESPIE

Continued from A1

St. Louis community,” said Martin Mathews, cofounder of the Mathews-Dickey Boys & Girls Club. “He gave his life –and there is no greater love a man can show than that.”

When he approached the podium of Cote Brilliante Presbyterian Church for the first time as pastor in the fall of 1956, Rev. Gillespie faced a skeletal congregation and surrounding community that had been all but abandoned by middle-class flight.

He wouldn’t step down until 2009 – nearly 55 years later.

“He took what God gave him and multiplied it tenfold,” Buford said.

By the time Rev. Gillespie said goodbye to the house of faith and neighborhood he rebuilt, he had become one of the most distinct faces of black and St. Louis pride through his activism and civic leadership.

“Dr. Gillespie was at the forefront of every serious civil rights and human rights issue that occurred in St. Louis during his 50-year tenure,” said Virvus Jones, former comptroller and veteran political leader.

“If you want to come up with a prototype of the person devoted to ministry and the healing of people, in terms of what a minister is supposed to be, he was the guy.”

“Rev. Gillespie was one of St. Louis’most respected, admired and impactful civic and religious leaders,” said Donald M. Suggs, publisher of TheSt. Louis American “His legacy of service and social concern will be enduring and continue to benefit many in our community and beyond for many years into the future.”

The St. Louis American Foundation awarded Rev. Gillespie its highest honor –Lifetime Achiever in Education – in 2000.

‘Rock and foundation’

Rev. Gillespie received the call to the ministry after graduating from Knoxville College in his native Knoxville, Tenn. He came to St. Louis to pursue his ministry, but he would help a neighbor of Cote Brilliante Presbyterian Church to build one of the community’s iconic youth organizations.

At the time, MathewsDickey Boys & Girls Club consisted of a group of youngsters meeting outside for recreation. Someone told club cofounder Martin Mathews, who lived on the same street as Cote Brilliante Presbyterian Church in the early 1960s, “Why don’t you go see Rev.?” That first meeting would evolve into a working relationship that lasted five decades.

“We never would have been able to leave from under that shade tree if it weren’t for him,” Mathews said of Rev.

Gillespie.

Rev. Gillespie used money he received from a grant to give Mathews-Dickey its first home.

“We were short $3,000 and the Lovejoy Foundation gave him money to spend in the community,” Mathews said.

“He could have done anything with it, but he chose to invest in us. If it weren’t for him, we wouldn’t be where we are right now.”

but it was the right one.”

Rev. Gillespie’s board leadership at Harris-Stowe State College, later Harris-Stowe State University, was also critical to its immense growth.

“After everybody was done talking, he’d sum it up and say, ‘I know this is what you want to do, but this is what we have to do.’”

– Virvus Jones

Rev. Gillespie sat on the board of Mathews-Dickey from 1975 until last year.

“He was always a support system, and he always had the right answer,” Mathews said.

“It might not have always been the answer you wanted to hear,

“The Rev. Dr. William G. Gillespie was the rock and true foundation of HarrisStowe State University for over 30 years,” said Dr. Henry Givens Jr., president emeritus of Harris-Stowe.

Rev. Gillespie was a member of its Board of Regents since Harris-Stowe entered the state system of public education in 1979. He was appointed and re-appointed by five governors. In fact, he was the board chairman and driving force behind Givens’appointment as president 32 years ago.

Under their leadership, the school evolved from a small college with one building into a full-fledged Midtown university campus. That campus now includes on-campus housing named in Rev. Gillespie’s honor.

“We have lost a gentle giant blessed with extraordinary leadership abilities, wisdom and compassion and will be sorely missed by all who knew him,” said Thelma Cook, who sat beside Rev. Gillespie on the Board of Regents and currently serves as board chair.

growth. He was a man who focused on serving and using his gifts and talents to make life better – especially for the youth and young people.”

“He brought out the best in people.I have seen the transformations.” – Marilyn Smith, Cote Brilliante Presbyterian Church

“He shared his spiritual knowledge, his keen sense of community collaboration, his commitment to the citizens, and I think he helped to guide the leadership of this community toward progress and

Leader of the movement

Rev. Gillespie went further than building institutions. He also had the courage to struggle to save institutions that were threatened and to challenge the civic leadership when change was required.

“He was one of the leaders of the movement to stop the closure of Homer G. Phillips Hospital, and his church was the meeting place for all serious political activism,” Virvus Jones said.

Donald M. Suggs said of

Rev. Gillespie, “Modest in demeanor, he was a man of intellect and determination who was willing to act based on his deep religious faith to advance the cause of less fortunate and suffering people despite the consequences.”

Rev. Gillespie’s leadership style left vivid memories with those who struggled beside him.

“He had this soft-spoken style. He never got upset. Because of that style he made cooler heads prevail,” Jones said.

“His tone was always perfect. He was the guy who’d be sitting there and, after everybody was done talking, he’d sum it up and say, ‘I know this is what you want to do, but this is what we have to do.’”

In his activism, he helped to build bridges between different faiths and communities in St. Louis.

“The world has lost a truly great man,” said Rabbi Susan Talve, president of the Central Reform Congregation and a veteran social justice activist. “He lived as he taught us – to seek justice, love mercy and walk humbly with his God.” For years Cote Brilliante member Marilyn Smith walked beside Rev. Gillespie as his assistant and witnessed the power of his influence firsthand.

“He brought out the best in people. I have seen the transformations,” Smith said.

“I saw people sent straight from prison under his care, with no reason to live or care, but when he worked with them these people went out and made changes in their lives. And they came back and thanked him.”

Rev. Gillespie received his Doctorate of Ministry from Eden Theological Seminary. He was awarded Honorary Doctoral degrees by Tarkio College, Harris-Stowe State University and the University of Missouri–St. Louis. In 1982 he was awarded the Humanitarian Award by the St. Louis Globe Democrat. He served as moderator of both the Synod of Missouri and the Giddings-Lovejoy Presbytery. Rev. Gillespie is survived by his wife Martha; a daughter, Vendetta Gillespie Dennis of St. Louis County; a son, Harry E. Gillespie of Pittsburgh; 13 grandchildren; and 10 greatgrandchildren.

Visitation for Rev. Gillespie will be Friday, June 10 from 47 p.m. On Friday evening at 7 p.m. there will be a special service conducted by his fraternity Alpha Phi Alpha. His funeral will be held on Saturday, June 11 at 10 a.m. All services will be held at Cote Brilliante Presbyterian Church, 4673 Labadie Avenue, St. Louis, MO 63115.

Photo by Wiley Price

Photo by Wiley Price

During Rev.Gillespie’s board leadership at Harris-Stowe,it grew from a small college with one building into a fullfledged university that now includes on-campus housing named in his honor (left).He sat on the board of MathewsDickey from 1975 until last year.Mathews-Dickey co-founder Martin Mathews (right) said,“If it weren’t for him,we wouldn’t be where we are right now.”

The Rev.William Gillespie was active with MathewsDickey Boys & Girls Club from its early days (left) and was the board chairman at Harris-Stowe responsible for the appointment of Dr.Henry Givens Jr.as president (above).

SLPS

Continued from A1

Xavier duMaine has applied and been accepted to Harvard University, Penn, Columbia University and Brown.

Nicholas Schmidt will attend Princeton University to study engineering and visual arts. Sarah Harrington has been accepted to Cornell University and Swarthmore College to study engineering.

Through Yale’s American Studies track, Lunceford will explore her various interests, including history, English and politics. Eventually, she might end up studying law, a childhood interest that intensified with her time on the debate team and in mock trial competitions.

At Metro, she served as cocaptain of the varsity tennis team and the Metro Dance Company, among many other activities. She’s graduating with an International Baccalaureate diploma, an international program that prepares students to “live, learn and work in a rapidly globalizing world.”

She said she was fortunate to get on the magnet-school track at the elementary level after a few teachers and administrators urged her parents to have her abilities tested.

“I’ve always loved school,”

SMITH

Continued from A1

In a minute, the agency went from 800 employees to five. Smith, the agency’s comptroller, was one of the five.

Eventually, HDC hired most of those people back when Reagan set up the Community Service Block grant, the principal source of the agency’s current funding.

Smith has more than 40 years of such memories. She started at HDC on October 9, 1967 as a junior accountant. Soon after Smith announced her retirement on April 29, 2011, the national non-profit Community Action Partnership recognized her as a pioneer in the “War on Poverty.” Smith said it was one of her proudest moments.

“‘Pioneer’is a semi-official designation/recognition of someone who has been involved and successful in our Community Action Movement for decades,” said Don Mathis, president and CEO of the partnership.

“It’s not a term of endearment that we throw around loosely. Rather, a pioneer is someone who started in the early years of the War on Poverty (during Lyndon B. Johnson’s administration in the mid-1960s).”

Community collaborator

Without the HDC in St. Louis, Smith suspects that 116,000 people would be living in Tent City. Under her helm, the agency has doubled the number of people served. And she has pushed the agency to get out in the community and partner with other agencies.

“What she has been able to do – more than most people in that position – is to collaborate with other organizations, including the Gateway Classic, Matthews-Dickey Boys’& Girls’Club, and others,” said Former Fire Chief Sherman George, who collaborated with Smith on many efforts.

“She wants to get away and rest, but she will be sorely missed.” Before she arrived at the agency, however, poverty was

she said. “In kindergarten when we did our handwriting assignments, I always took it very seriously.”

From kindergarten, she attended Kennard Elementary School, McKinley Middle School and then Metro.

“I want to create more schools like Metro because so many qualified students are turned away every year,” she said.

Being on Student Council, she was one of the representatives who brought up this point to Superintendent Kelvin Adams at a student summit.

“Students shouldn’t be discouraged from going to school because they aren’t learning anything,” she said.

She developed disciplined study habits to do better than the examples she saw around her.

“My family’s history of teen pregnancy really pushed me to do well in school,” she said. “Subconsciously, I had to do better.”

She has a large family, with her mother having six girls and her father having three girls and three boys.

“Alarge percentage of them starting having children during high school or straight out of high school,” she said.

“Without realizing, I was watching.”

Lunceford has thought about becoming a political leader. She would propose that public schools include self-

not a familiar part of her life.

“I wasn’t brought up with a silver spoon, but I almost didn’t know what poverty was,” she said.

Smith’s parents were an interracial couple in New York when that was not looked upon favorably, she said. She grew up in Westchester County, New York, where she attended both public and private schools.

Through her brother, she met a “St. Louis man” and moved here in 1963. From there, Smith worked at Gateway Bank, where the agency’s former CEO, the late Judge Clyde Cahill, served as the bank’s attorney.

Many people find it surprising, she said, that she rose to the ranks of local leadership without growing up in St. Louis. Particularly within the African-American community, she said, that’s not easy to do. In 1981, she became the first and only female comptroller of HDC, then a $50-million agency with 5,000 employees. In 1994, she became its first female CEO. It is now an $18 million agency with 75 employees.

Departure of a Delta

On September 30, 2011 –30 years after the day

esteem classes and courses where teens learn about the various forms of sexual protection.

“Alot of teens don’t want to talk to their parents – understandably, but it’s not wise,” she said.

In addressing teen pregnancy, Lunceford would put edu-

President Reagan put the agency into a complete panic in her first year as comptroller – Smith will leave her office.

For six months after she leaves, she will serve as a consultant to see current projects through and to assist the next CEO, said Charles Barge, chairman of HDC’s Board of Directors.

She has received many awards and recognitions, including presentation of a “star” in the St. Louis Gateway Classic Sports Foundation Walk of Fame, Woman of Achievement in 2007 and the Missouri Legislative Black Caucus’Gwen Giles award.

She will be given the St. Louis American Foundation’s 2011 Non-Profit Executive of the Year award at the Salute to Excellence in Business in November.

“Ruth Smith has been a stalwart community service champion for many decades,” said state Senator Robin Wright-Jones of the Missouri Legislative Black Caucus.

“She has successfully guided HDC throughpolitical, legislative and economic turmoil, leaving a strong legacy for its next director.”

On her jacket, Smith wore a sparkling elephant pin. And just about everywhere you look in her office, you will

cation at the forefront.

Like many who achieve success, Lunceford seeks out resources and support networks. Lunceford was part of QuestBridge, a non-profit program that links motivated lowincome students with educational and scholarship opportunities at some of the nation’s

find an elephant statue or symbol. She’s a proud member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., which claims the elephant as its mascot.

Some time back, the Deltas gave her an appropriate statue that sits on her office shelf. It’s a beaded bird with its head turned backwards taking an egg off its back. In Ghana, it’s called a sankofa representing the idea, “Go back and retrieve.”

For her, it evokes a proverb her mother engrained in her.

“My mother said, ‘No matter where you are in life, you should always look back and pull someone along with you,’” Smith said. “I’m following what my mother taught me as a child. It has been my mission in life. My biggest achievement is thinking of all the people that I’ve helped to change their lives.”

best colleges.

“It was an extensive application,” she said. “I really don’t know where I would have applied if I hadn’t done QuestBridge.”

Aside from her school activities, her volunteer and community service activities include serving as a camp

counselor for children and young adults with cerebral palsy and volunteering for the early learning center at United Way of Greater St. Louis. Lunceford’s personal life motto is: “Never give up. There is always a solution, you just have to stay in there and persevere,” she said.

Photo courtesy of St.Louis Public Schools

Sarah Harrington,Xavier duMaine,Nicholas Schmidt and Jennifer Lunceford are all St.Louis Public School District students who just graduated from Metro Academic and Classical High School and have been accepted into Ivy League universities.

Obituaries

Forever in Loving Memory of Mamie

Odessa Reed

April 7, 1933— May 23, 2010

Beloved wife, mother, grandmother, sister, aunt, friend and family member. We miss you dearly, and we’ll see you in heaven with love.

Norma Deon Purvey

ing room as a Registered Nurse. She left Homer G. Phillips to become a Registered Nurse with the City of St. Louis’ Health Department where her position was a School Nurse in different Parochial Catholic and Lutheran Schools. Deon was later transferred to Wohl’s Clinic and then later to Florence Hill Clinic where she retired.

Beloved Husband & Father, Donald C. Mitchell

five decades, Taylor performed on radio and TV, in film and on stage, including in the original Broadway cast of the musical “The Wiz.”

Her films included the 1971 Clint Eastwood thriller “Play Misty for Me” and, besides “The Cosby Show,” she had another recurring TV role on “Sesame Street,” where she was grandmother to the character David.

Black and proud

In 1968 James Brown released his recording of “Say It Loud – I’m Black and I’m Proud.”

Was James attempting to bond us to our associations between our people and our ancestral past? Was the song intended to illustrate how African Americans have retained links with our African past through the horrors of the middle passage, slavery and segregation?

What did it represent to you? Did it propose to you that we should be actively researching, analyzing and scripting our own histories?

There is so much we do not know or have forgotten of our birthright, customs and traditions, because what little history there is of our ancestors is often vague or distorted.

Purvey, Norma Deon (nee Smith), born March 11, 1940, departed this life to be with the Lord on May 28, 2011 with her family at her side. Beloved wife and soul mate of William Bill Purvey Jr.; dear mother of Kimberly Ann Milton Harris (Tony Nelson), Tracey Charon Purvey Muldrow and Karen Renee Purvey; loving daughter of the late Norman and Dorothy Smith; beloved sister of Yvonne West, Emma Jean Caradine and the late James Vernon Bubba Smith; sister-in-law of Cecil Purvey, Melvin Purvey, Christine Moore, Louise Walker and Dorothy Robinson of Houston, TX.; niece of Edna Gilder; dear grandmother of eight, greatgrandmother of five, dear aunt, cousin, sister friend and best friend to many.

Norma was affectionately known as “Deon”. She was educated in the St. Louis Public Schools Systems. She graduated from Vashon High School with her proud class in January 1958. She exceeded in her studies and made honor roll every year. She was awarded a full scholarship to Lincoln University in Jefferson City, but due to her close-knit family, she decided to attend Homer G. Phillips Nursing School in St. Louis, MO. Deon graduated from Homer G. Phillips on Sept. 26, 1961. Deon worked at Homer G. Phillips in the operat-

Donald Craig Mitchell, 53, of St. Louis MO died February 6, 2011 at DePaul Health Center. He was employed by Tom-Boy Supermarket approximately 7-years and worked for SuperValu for 22 years. Big/ Honest Don served as Chief Shop Steward for the Teamsters Union Local 688. He fulfilled the role of Trustee of the Teamsters Black National Caucus, an organization dedicated for the less fortunate.

Donald Craig Mitchell is survived by his wife, Barbara Mitchell, four children Cortney, Kelsey, Craig, Elizabeth, and one brother Allan Mitchell.

Donald Craig Mitchell services were Feb. 11, 2011 from Shalom Church (City of Peace) through William C. Harris Funeral Directors. Burial was at Memorial Park Cemetery. Donald would have been 54 years of age on May 30, 2011. We miss you dearly Donald. Happy 54th Birthday.

Clarice Taylor

NEW YORK (AP) - Clarice Taylor, the actress and comedian best known for playing grandmothers on “The Cosby Show” and “Sesame Street,” has died at the age of 93. Taylor died of congestive heart failure in her home in Englewood, N.J., on Monday, said her son, William Taylor. During a career that spanned

Both Taylor and Earle Hyman, who played her husband on “The Cosby Show,” received Emmy nominations in 1986 for their roles as Anna and Russell Huxtable, parents of Bill Cosby’s character and grandparents of the Huxtable youngsters.

In 1987, she played the pioneering black female comedian Jackie “Moms” Mabley in an original off-Broadway play, “Moms,” with future “Law & Order” regular S. Epatha Merkerson also in the cast. Taylor later toured as Mabley in a one-woman show.

She also played the role of Addaperle, the Good Witch of the North, in the stage vers ion of “The Wiz,” which opened in 1975.

Taylor began her acting career with Harlem’s American Negro Theatre, and in the late 1960s was one of the original members of the New Yorkbased Negro Ensemble Company.

Born Sept. 20, 1917, in Buckingham County, Va., she grew up in Harlem, where she skipped school to watch the sassy comedian Moms Mabley perform at the Apollo Theater.

Taylor told the AP she portrayed Mabley in “Moms” because she was determined that the world not forget her.

“She was so special and so wonderful,” she said in the 1987 interview. “Here’s a black woman born in the last century who made a living at her craft. She never cleaned house or picked cotton. She went through a lot but she stuck with it.”

Taylor is survived by two sons, William and James, and four grandchildren.

The accurate records of education, culture, diet, faith and religion were long disregarded by the writers of American history textbooks. While we were in the grips of the Jim Crow South, experiencing racial discrimination in housing and schools, not too many focused on the self-motivated activities of peoples of African descent who were remaking themselves and their worlds. Very few focused on the academic achievements of our people. But there were many. By the 12th century, Timbuktu (in West Africa) had three universities (Sankore University, Jingaray Ber University and Sidi Yahya University) and 180 schools. This was the golden age of Africa. Books were not only written in Timbuktu, but they were also imported and copied there. Mansa Mussa’s pilgrimage to Mecca in 1324 had made Mali known worldwide

In Yoruba communities in West Africa, couples performed a Yoruba Tasting Ceremony, also known as the Tasting of the Four Temperaments. The Yoruba Ceremony involves tasting four elements which illustrates the experiences that a couple is expected to go through during their marriage. The elements include bitter, sweet, sour and hot. Water is used to cleanse the palate and represent a way of moving forward.

Asserting our right to worship, our ancestors who were not Muslim were attracted to the Baptist and the Methodist faiths. Their messages of personal salvation gave black slaves a spiritual escape from their hardships on Earth. These messages inspired them to share a personal relationship with Christ, as knowing and believing in a loving heavenly Father gave them the hope of a having a much better future, spending eternity in heaven with Christ.

The cultures of black migrants from the South, the Caribbean, Haiti and Africa have had an extraordinary impact on American arts and culture. Today’s African Americans are heirs to all the migrations that have formed and transformed African America, the United States and the West.

African-American history starts in the 1500s with the first Africans coming from Mexico and the Caribbean to the Spanish territories of Florida, Texas and other parts of the South. And as early as 1526, Africans rebelled and ran away in South Carolina.

Enslaved Africans were not permitted to marry, thus they created their own ritual to honor their nuptials. To symbolize their commitment, slaves jumped the broom as if to sweep away the old and bring in the new. Africans continued the jumping the broom ritual as a way to maintaining a tie to their culture and homeland. Depending on where Africans lived, there were many different variations of wedding rituals in addition to jumping the broom.

In the movie industry, we have come from Birth of a Nation to Death of a People with such silver screen atrocities as Menace II Society, New Jack City, Boyz in the Hood and Juice Now, we must develop a new interpretation of African-American history and culture. We must again form our own survival skills and efficient networks. We left the plantations and have settled in the urban centers, but now we are killing ourselves and each other with guns and preventable diseases such as diabetes, hypertension and HIV/AIDS.

June is Black Music Month and James Brown stated it well: “Say It Loud – I’m Black and I’m Proud. Or are we?

Please listen the Bernie Hayes radio program Monday through Friday at 7 a.m. and 4 p.m. on WGNU-920 AM or www.wgnu920am. com. Please watch the Bernie Hayes TV program Saturday Night at 10 p.m. and Friday Morning at 9 a.m. on KNLC-TV Ch. 24. I can be reached by e-mail at: berhay@swbell.net.

Maime Odessa Reed

Norma Deon Purvey

Donald C. Mitchell

Clarice Taylor

Bernie Hayes

“We play like a Triple-A team.This is embarrassing.”

— Chicago Cubs pitcher Carlos Zambrano,after their extra-innings loss to the St.Louis Cardinals last Sunday

Best in track

INSIDE SPORTS

With Earl Austin Jr.

McCluer’s Lance Jeffries drafted by Cardinals

Congratulations to McCluer High baseball

standout Lance Jeffries on being drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 10th round of the Major League Baseball Draft on Tuesday. The 5’11” 195pound outfielder was selected with the 320th pick overall. He was rated as one of the top five draft prospects in the state of Missouri throughout the season. As a senior at McCluer, Jeffries hit .457 with eight doubles, two triples, seven home runs, 21 runs batted in and 30 stolen bases.

“It’s amazing,” said Jeffries on being drafted by his hometown team. “I’m just so happy right now. It really hasn’t sunk it yet. It is great to be drafted by my home team that I have always followed.”

Cardinal Nation can get a sneak peak of Jeffries on Monday, June 20 when he plays in the PNC High School Baseball Showcase, which will be played at Busch Stadium. Jeffries will compete on a team of Missouri All-Stars against a group of Illinois All-Stars from the metro east.

If my memory serves me correctly, the last time the Cardinals drafted a local high school AfricanAmerican player was in 1992 when Lafayette High’s Scarbrough Green was selected. Ironically, Green was also selected in the 10th round. He spent three years in the Majors, including one with the Cardinals in 1999 and two with the Texas Rangers from 19992000. Kerry Robinson of Hazelwood East also played for the Cardinals, but he played collegiate baseball at Southeast Missouri State.

Track and Field Team

TRACK & FIELD NOTEBOOK

With Earl Austin Jr.

Class 3Agirls shot put), McCluer South-Berkeley (Missouri Class 3 boys 4x200-meter relay), Jena Hemann (Breese Central, Illinois Class 1Agirls long jump).

Our 2011 St. Louis American Male Track Athlete of the Year is shared by Michael Hester of Hazelwood Central and Vernon Carter of Cahokia. Our Female Track Athlete of the Year is Samantha Levin of Ladue. Here are the members of the St. Louis American All-Area Track and Field Team by event: 100-meter dash: Tianna Valentine (Hazelwood East)

200-meter dash: Peyton Chaney (Nerinx Hall) 400-meter dash: Montenae Roye-Speight (Ladue) 800-meter run: Samantha Levin (Ladue)

1,600-meter run: Samantha Levin (Ladue)

It was another exciting season of high school track and field in the St. Louis metropolitan area. As the season comes to a close, it is time to bring you the 2011 edition of the St. Louis American AllArea Track and Field Team. We would like to congratulate our state team champions, which include Maplewood (Missouri Class 2 boys), MICDS girls (Missouri Class 3 girls), Hazelwood Central (Missouri Class 4 boys), East St. Louis (Illinois Class 3Agirls) and Cahokia (Illinois Class 2Aboys). We also want to congratulate our new state record holders: Samantha Levin (Ladue, Class 4 girls 800), Ladue (Class 4 girls 4x400-relay), Emmonnie Henderson (Edwardsvillle, Illinois St. Louis American

high hurdles: Claudette Day (E. St. Louis) 300-meter low hurdles: Markita Rush (East St. Louis)

4x100-meter relay: E. St. Louis 4x200-meter relay: Hazelwood East 4x400-meter relay: Ladue 4x800-meter relay: Ladue

Long Jump: Nataliyah Friar (Wentzville Holt) Triple Jump: Nataliyah Friar (Wentzville Holt) Shot Put: Emmonnie Henderson (Edwardsville) Discus: Emmonnie Henderson (Edwardsville)

Jump: Joymesia Howard (East St. Louis)

Boys 100: Lonnell Watkins (McCluer South-Berkeley) 200: Michael Hester (Hazelwood Central) 400: Michael Hester (Hazelwood Central) 800: Johnny Moore (E. St. Louis)

The last time the Cardinals drafted a local high school AfricanAmerican player was in 1992 when Lafayette High’s Scarbrough Green was selected. See TRACK, A11

In my opinion, this is a wonderful development. Jeffries is a product of the MathewsDickey Boys and Girls Club program, which produces a lot of great talent in basketball and baseball. The club also produces some pretty good baseball players too and to see a young man such as Jeffries become such a high draft pick should be an inspiration to a lot of young African-American players in St. Louis who want to pursue baseball.

• The St. Louis track and field community lost a great friend with the recent passing of Eddie Buckley Strickland, who died on May 24 age the age of 65. Everyone knew him as “Coach Buck” who spent nearly 30 years coaching summer track with the Royal Knights Track Club. When you have been in this business as long as I have, you come across many great people and many colorful personalities. Coach Buck fit both of those categories. Everyone knew when “Coach Buck” was on the scene with his loud, booming voice that commanded attention. When one of his kids was ready to run in an event, he would always cut loose with is signature phrase, “BUCK UP!!.” Coach

Earl Austin Jr.

Lance Jeffries

Michael Hester:Hazelwood Central

Samantha Levin:Ladue

Lonell Watkins (424) of McCluer South Berkeley represents the All-Area Track Team in the 100.

Track photos by Wiley Price

After the weekend Albert Pujols had single-handedly destroying the Cubs, there seems to be little concern about whether he is back to being the Albert we know. I guess that means all is right with the world again.

With his performance, some would run out and say his price just went up and the Cardinals have to sign him now. I guess that same contingent forgot about the previous two months when Albert looked like a mere mortal.

One weekend against the Cubs does not make a contract. Whatever decision is made about Albert will not be based on this weekend. While most of us would like for the Cardinals to continue to have his services, Pujols will have

CLAIB’S CALL

By Mike Claiborne

Cub killer, not a Cub

something to say about it too. As for those who think that the Cubs are going to be in the hunt, look at their team. While they may want to throw around money, Albert would still like to be on a team that will be a serious contender and that will not happen in the Windy City for the foreseeable future.

Redbird rookies

having enough talent, if you look at the lineup, much of it is homegrown and they have all contributed nicely.

With the Cardinals being in first place without Wainwright, the real Albert, Matt Holliday or Lance Berkman, you have to ask yourself: how is this? While the minor league system had been maligned for not

Jon Jay is currently the best outfielder on the team, while Allan Craig and Daniel Descalso have played out of position most of the year with positive results.

As for the bullpen, once Ryan Franklin had a flat tire the pitching heroics of Edwardo Sanchez and Fernando Salas are a major reason the Cardinals find themselves in first place.

The question is will they now get overexposed, as teams make adjustments, or will these kids prove that they are Mike Claiborne

major leaguers and not just a flash in the pan.

So long,Shaq

Late last week, Shaquille O’Neal announced his retirement form the NBAafter 19 seasons – a career that saw him play for Orlando, Los Angeles, Miami, Phoenix, Cleveland and Boston. In each location he made them better, on and off the court.

O’Neal will be remembered for being the most physically powerful player to ever play the game. Yet he found the open man and would yield to another star player if that meant them winning more games (see Kobe, Lebron and the Big Three in Boston).

O’Neal had more fun playing the game than anyone since Magic Johnson. His antics on and off the court are memorable as well as his media chats, where he either had them guessing or laughing. There is no new Shaq anywhere in sight, as today’s player has yet to have fun.

What stands out more than any accomplishment Shaq on the court is there was never a mention of any legal trouble. No, he wasn’t pulled over for possession or a DUI, nor did he beat his wife. He acted with conscience on most occasions, and he had no problem sharing his wealth with the less fortunate.

When your stack them up, the five most impactful players ever in the NBAwould include O’Neal. The other four would be Chamberlain, Magic, Michael and Dr. J. These players had the most impact on the game as we watch it today.

Thanks, Shaq.

Photo by Bill Greenblatt/UPI

Albert Pujols is red hot.

Maryville University names Manning as directorof athletics

St. Louis-area native

Marcus Manning has been named director of athletics at Maryville University in St. Louis, Mo., effective July 11.

He will lead the Saints 18 varsity athletic teams, student athletes and coaches as Maryville anticipates assuming full status this fall as a member of NCAA Division II and the Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC).

Manning has served since 2008 at the headquarters of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) as director of membership and legislative services.

“It’s hard to overstate the positive impact that athletics plays within our campus community,” said Mark Lombardi, PhD, president of Maryville.

“In Marcus Manning, we’ve hired a proven leader who will ensure that all of our student athletes will enjoy the benefits of a top-flight education while competing in what is arguably

INSIDE

Continued from A9

Buck was the life of the track meet. He talked to everyone and he didn’t know any strangers. He is survived by Carol Strickland, his wife of 42 years and herself a fixture at all of the local high school and summer track meets. She was always at Coach Buck’s side. It always brought a big smile on my face when I saw both of them arrive at the meets.

Coach Buck’s five children all competed in high school track in the St. Louis area. His daughter Lisa Like was a former star at Jennings and Lutheran North. His daughters Eva Like Mary Strickland son Joe Like and grandson Darryl Grady were also standout track athletes at

TRACK

Continued from A9

• 1,600: Johnny Moore (East St. Louis)11

• 110-meter hurdles: Ezekiel Elliot (John Burroughs)

the finest Division II conference in our nation.”

Prior to joining the NAIA national office, Manning’s work included eight years of recreation and athletic administration, first at the University of California, Irvine, as director of club sports and special events, and then at Indiana University - South Bend as assistant athletic director. His experience includes new program implementation, student leadership development, community relations, special event and game management, budget oversight, fundraising, corporate sponsorships, compliance and sports information.

to working at one of the great universities in the Midwest, building upon the established the Saints athletics program and returning home to the St. Louis area.”

Manning earned his B.S. in business management from Quincy University in 1997 and his master’s in sports administration at Southern Illinois UniversityEdwardsville in 2001.

“I am very excited to welcome Marcus as our new athletics director,” Nina Caldwell, PhD, vice president of Student Life and dean of students, said in announcing his appointment. “His experience, energy and leadership will be a great asset to Maryville University as we move forward.”

“I am extremely humbled and honored to be the next director of athletics at Maryville University,” Manning said. “I look forward

Jennings High. Those were his immediate family members, but his track and field family numbered in the hundreds. He touched the lives of so many young people that he worked with for more than three decades. Coach Buck was a vocal and staunch advocate for all of the kids. We are all going to miss Coach Buck. He was a very special human being.

• Former Riverview Gardens football standout Joe Williams has recently signed a national-letter-of-intent to attend Baylor University. Williams spent the past football season playing defensive back at Fort Scott Community College in Kansas. He had 36 tackles and five interceptions in his redshirt freshman season at Fort Scott. He will have three years of eligibility at Baylor. As a senior at

• 300-meter Int. hurdles: Jehu Chesson (Ladue)

• 4x100: Belleville West

• 4x200: Ladue

• 4x400: Hazelwood Central

• 4x800: Rockwood Summit

• Long Jump: Vernon Carter (Cahokia)

• Triple Jump: Vernon Carter

Manning played quarterback at GLVC member Quincy from 1993-1996. At the completion of his career, Manning

Riverview in 2008, Williams was one of the top all-purpose players in the St. Louis area. He was an All-State quarterback after passing for 2,354 yards and 22 touchdowns while rushing for 1,312 yards.

• Local prep basketball standouts Deshawn Munson of East St. Louis and Nolan Berry of DeSmet will be participating in this weekend’s Nike Elite 100 Showcase at Saint Louis University. The Nike Elite 100 will bring many of the nation’s top underclassmen to the St. Louis area. The event will begin on Thursday and end on Sunday.

(You can follow Earl Austin on his basketball website, www.earlaustinjr.com. You can also follow Earl on Facebook at at twitter.com/earlaustinjr).

(Cahokia)

• Shot Put: Deondre Canaday (McCluer North)

• Discus: Keith Jones (McCluerNorth)

• High Jump: Marcus Mason (Granite City)

• Pole Vault: LaMarr Welch (Ritenour)

finished in the top 5 in 14 offensive categories in school history, including career completions (165) and career attempts (340). In 1995, he set the single-game record for most completions in a game with 28. Manning was invited to the National All-Stars Football Classic his senior season.

Aformer distinguished student-athlete at Jennings High School in Jennings, Mo., Manning has coached football at his alma mater and at Rosary High School in St. Louis.

Marcus Manning

Let’s play demonize ‘the aldermen’

The EYE has been waiting and watching for some ireworks (or improvised explosive devices) to go off since an African American, Ald. April Ford-Grifin, took over the chair of the city’s powerful Ways & Means Committee.

Veteran South Side Ald. Stephen Conway stepped down from the chair in April, telling the EYE he had been on that job long enough and that it wasn’t such a plum assignment now, with the city facing massive budget cuts. Conway also said he hoped to leave the committee under the leadership of a CPA, Ald. Lyda Krewson. But Ford-Grifin has more seniority than Krewson, and she grabbed the brass ring instead. In the economic pits of 2011, it is indeed a brass ring, as opposed to one wrought from a more valuable metal.

The irst ireworks popped on Thursday evening, when David Hunn reported on the PostDispatch website on a marathon Ways & Means Committee meeting that day. It is a curious piece, in that it mentions no alderman by name, not even the committee chair. But the unnamed “aldermen” are made to look like counter-productive, disorganized and uncaring fools.

Hunn writes, “Aldermen at the Ways & Means meeting decried a general lack of iscal responsibility while cutting, and then turned around and suggested adding at least $2.3 million back into the budget.” That sounds counter-productive.

And: “Aldermen frequently talked over each other, got

confused over bills presented, and had to ask city staff to rewrite amendments because they had not been written correctly beforehand.” That sounds disorganized.

And: “The atmosphere, while tense early, was cavalier by the end, with aldermen joking and laughing as they cut.” And that sounds uncaring, since they are cutting salaries and services that beneit real people. Forget the fact that Mayor Francis G. Slay has noted on his campaign site that he inds it “sort of exciting” to hack millions from the city budget.

Ald. Kacie Starr Triplett was one of the unnamed “aldermen” at this meeting. She bristled at Hunn’s coverage. “Under the leadership of Chairwoman April Ford-Grifin, the Ways & Means committee has been anything but ‘cavalier,’” Triplett writes in a letter to The American. “In addressing our deicit, she guided a thoughtful, focused committee that repeatedly met with department heads to hear their concerns and analyze their budgets.”

Naming the unnamed Other unnamed “aldermen” at the meeting – who will continue to remain unnamed, at their request – agreed with Triplett in the main, while marveling at the lack of detail in Hunn’s report. Naming some aldermen, they said, would make a lot more sense of the committee meeting, if the goal were indeed to understand what happened and communicate it

chief of staff and message man.

Indeed, as soon as Hunn published his article, Rainford retweeted the link to the story on Twitter and added a comment that reads as if lifted from Hunn’s report: “Some aldermen embarrassed themselves today.”

The EYE suspects two things to be true: Slay and Rainford are going to be doing a lot of beating up on “aldermen” in the coming months; and when they differentiate between “aldermen” at all, they will (as usual, in a city where race is always a weapon in politics) want to depict black aldermen (“some aldermen”) as the bumbling ruthless fools. A more nuanced report of this meeting would not have served either agenda.

Charter reformists

accurately.

They said that the meeting turned when Ald. Fred Wessels – a staunch South Side ally of Mayor Slay – left the meeting, and then North City loose cannon Ald. Charles “Quincy” Troupe showed up (unexpectedly, as he had been ill). This tipped the balance away from South Side Slay supporters and opened up a budget-cutting frenzy at the expense of Slay’s department heads. However, the real story here, the EYE was told, is that there was no prototypical North/ South, black/white split. In fact, a trio of white South Siders –Aldermen Jennifer Florida, Craig Schmid and Shane Cohn – proved just as willing to buck the mayor’s version of the budget. In fact it was Florida who started making cuts to department overtime spending, though Ald. Marlene Davis and others later jumped in.

Rainford and ‘some aldermen’

There are innocuous reasons why Hunn may have named no “aldermen” in a brief report that makes “aldermen” look like disorganized, ruthless fools. It’s a brief report about a committee meeting, after all, not a front page story about the surrender at Appomattox. However, a strategy might be suggested. As a reporter, Hunn is not the sharpest hatchet in the shed. The EYE strongly believes that Post editors like weaker reporters on their City Hall beat, because strong reporters tend to bristle at being led by the nose and rewritten to it the party line. And whatever Post reporters see and write at City Hall, what Post readers inally encounter in print usually reads like it comes from the mind and mouth of Jeff Rainford, Slay’s

Remember that Jeff Roorda business manager of the St. Louis Police Oficers Association, readily agreed with the EYE that St. Louis needs charter reform for city control of the police to be a genuinely progressive change. But Roorda did more than agree that the City Charter’s provisions for the police department are laughable. He said the POA had agreed with Slay and – Roorda was the one who introduced the man’s name – Rex Sinqueield on a broader charter reform effort.

A crucial step in attempts at charter reform, in recent years, has been streamlining the Board of Aldermen. Proponents of a strong mayoral system that would make the city more competitive always point to the 28 seats on the Board of Aldermen (in a city with a dramatic drop in population) as an impediment to greater eficiency and a more broad impact for public/private development deals. There are major problems here. Charter reform keeps getting defeated, partly because the voting public seems to prefer the smaller wards and relative accessibility of their aldermen. In the last charter reform effort, Slay himself did not endorse the amendment that would have reduced the number of alder-

men. Everyone knew this was political calculation (or cowardice) on the part of Slay, who did not want to antagonize the aldermen, whose votes he needs – or their constituents, whose votes he needs – though the irst charter reform any sitting mayor in St. Louis would want is fewer aldermen. So what do you do? You demonize “the aldermen.” And that is what we will be seeing in the Post-Dispatch, for some time to come – a demonization of “the aldermen.”

Black committee chairs

This will be easier for the Post to do, thanks to Conway, given the Post’s appetite for race-baiting in the context of our local politics. For Conway’s stepping down from chair of Ways & Means created a domino effect that left almost all of the major committees under the leadership of an African American – as is the board itself, in Lewis Reed board president. Add it up. Ford-Grifin chairs Ways & Means. Ald. Greg Carter chairs Public Safety, which would oversee the police department under local control, and Ald. Antonio D. French is vice chair. Ald. Terry Kennedy chairs Transportation, which overseas airport policy. Ald. Freeman Bosley Sr. chairs Streets. That’s a lot of African Americans in positions of aldermanic leadership. They can all expect a drubbing from Slay, Rainford and the Post for the foreseeable future.

The EYE should remind readers that The American endorsed all four charter amendments in 2004 – including the amendment that would have reduced the number of aldermen. If Sinqueield and Slay do indeed pursue charter reform along lines similar to the 2004 proposals, The American will be there in support again because we believe it will improve governance of the city. But let’s not try to get there through a campaign of disingenuous demonization of “the aldermen” – and certainly not of “some” (black) aldermen.

Ald. April Ford-Grifin recently took over the chair of the Board of Aldermen闇s powerful Ways & Means Committee.

Photo by Wiley Price

BUSINESS

JUNE 9 – 15, 2011

Area students play stock market – and nearly win

Special to The American

Students from Hazelwood West High School and Hazelwood North Middle School finished in second place during the spring session of the bi-annual Missouri Stock Market Game. The high school students placed second out of 750 teams in Missouri, and both teams took second place at the regional level.

See STUDENTS, B2

At Hazelwood West High School,juniors Yesh Dagne,Ayat Sumren and Angeline Bangcale (front row) and juniors Cory Brown and Jon DuBois and senior Kierra Thompson came in second place out of 750 Missouri teams and they took second place at the regional level in Missouri Stock Market Game.

County releases

for Jamestown Mall

By Rebecca S.Rivas

Of The St.Louis American

Perhaps the mall era has come to an end. All around the country, malls are closing at a rapid rate. The malls that once pushed out the vibrant American main streets are now being torn down and replaced with open-air “lifestyle centers,” which resemble the traditional main streets – places where people can walk amid restaurants, movie theaters, offices and apartments or homes.

St. Louis County leaders are proposing a similar switchback plan for the Jamestown Mall, the largely-vacated, 142-acre retail center in unincorporated North St. Louis County. Jamestown is the size of the entire French Quarter in New Orleans, and it’s more than twice the

size of the St. Louis Galleria and The Boulevard combined.

On May 27, the county’s consultants presented a plan for rebuilding the area into a walkable, mixed-use village center. The proposed area includes senior-living housing, offices, restaurants, retail shops, an amphitheater, recreational green spaces, a farmers’market and civic centers. The Jamestown Mall Area Plan, a 15-year project, offers wiggle room to adapt the plan to the changing economic times and pressures. The mall once included four anchor stores (Sears, Macy’s, JCPenney Outlet and Dillard’s), the Wehrenberg movie theater and a

PEOPLEON THE MOVE

Coker

Bert Coleman is the recipient of the 2011 Individual Equality Award from the Human Rights Campaign, a grassroots force of over 750,000 members and supporters. Coleman is a longtime advocate and activist for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender rights. SAGE Metro St. Louis will recive this year’s Group Equality Award. For more information, visit http://stlouis.hrc.org.

Angela Coker has been selected by the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board and the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Education to participate in a Fulbright-Hays Seminars Abroad Program to Brazil. She is assistant professor of counseling and family therapy at University of Missouri-St. Louis. She will attend “Land of the Future or of the Present? Ahistorical perspective on Brazil” in July.

BUSINESS

BRIEFS

Credit union lauded forcommunity benefits

St. Louis Community Credit Union has an annual economic impact of nearly $20 million on the St. Louis area when compared to banks, payday lenders and/or check cashing institutions, according to a recent study from the Olin School of Business at Washington University.

This figure focuses on the overall long-term sustainability of the organization, which includes the absolute value of having a banking relationship with the credit union, as well as its social influence.

“St. Louis Community Credit Union may be the most community-oriented financial institution in St. Louis,” said Stuart Greenbaum, former dean and Bank of America Professor Emeritus of Managerial Leadership from the Olin School of Business at Washington University.

For more information on St. Louis Community Credit Union, visit www.stlouiscommunity.com.

Foundation forHealth accepting applications forboard

The Missouri Foundation for Health is accepting applications from individuals wishing to be considered for nomination to its Board of Directors. Five board positions are available each year. Directors govern MFH’s efforts to provide funding to nonprofits that improve the health of the state’s uninsured and underserved residents.

MFH is the largest nongovernmental funder of community health activities in the state, and is one of the largest health care conversion foundations in the nation. Its 15-member board distributes $40 million to $50 million in grants and awards annually. MFH’s service region covers 84 Missouri counties and the City of St. Louis.

Board members serve unpaid three-year terms, and must live in the MFH service region. MFH is committed to a board that represents Missouri’s racial, ethnic, cultural, geographic, and gender diversity.

Applications must be postmarked no later than August 12, 2011. To download an application, visit http://www.mffh.org/content/476/mfh-board-application.aspx. For more information, visit www.mffh.org or call MFH at 314-345-5500.

Deadline nearing for Broadband Business Surveys

As part of Gov. Nixon’s MoBroadbandNow initiative, which seeks to expand high-speed internet access throughout Missouri, input is being sought from local businesses through a Broadband Business Survey. Businesses are asked to complete the survey and return it with postmark date no later than June 15. The Broadband Business Survey can be completed online at http://mobroadbandnow.com/mo-broadband-initiatives/broadband-survey/.

Herbert Hooverseeks aspiring entrepreneurs

By Abesi Manyando

Herbert Hoover Boys & Girls Club -Sportsman’s Park Unit is offering a partnership with the Youth Entrepreneurial Development Institute (YEDI). Summer campers ages 12 -14 will have the opportunity to learn about entrepreneurship while running a DB Gourmet Cookie Sales franchise. Herbert Hoover staff will teach financial literacy and career launch. YEDI will provide business coaching and help campers earn money toward their own savings account.

To participate, sign up for Herbert Hoover summer camp http://www.hhbgc.org/programs-services/summer-camp-2011.aspx. For more information about YEDI visit www.marksedi.com.

Bert Coleman

Angela

Abesi Manyando

The difference between a fixed and variable annuity

An annuity is a contract with an insurance company in which you make one or more payments in exchange for a future income stream in retirement. The funds in an annuity accumulate tax deferred, regardless of which type you select. Because you do not have to pay taxes on any growth in your annuity until it is withdrawn, this financial vehicle has become an attractive way to accumulate funds for retirement.

Annuities can be immediate or deferred, and they can provide fixed returns or variable returns.

FIXED ANNUITY

Afixed annuity is an insurance-based contract that can be funded either with a lump sum or through regular payments over time. In exchange, the insurance company will pay an income that can last for a specific period of time or for life. Fixed annuity contracts are issued with guaranteed mini-

PR

Continued from B1

mum interest rates. Although the rate may be adjusted, it should never fall below a guaranteed minimum rate specified in the contract. This guaranteed rate acts as a “floor” to potentially protect a contract owner from periods of low interest rates.

Fixed annuities provide an option for an income stream that could last a lifetime. The guarantees of fixed annuity contracts are contingent on the claims-paying ability of the issuing insurance company.

Immediate Fixed Annuity

Typically, an immediate annuity is funded with a lumpsum premium to the insurance company, and payments begin within 30 days or can be deferred up to 12 months. Payments can be paid monthly, quarterly, annually, or semiannually for a guaranteed period of time or for life, whichever is specified in the contract. Only the interest portion of each payment is considered

By Charles Ross PERSONAL FINANCE

taxable income. The rest is considered a return of principal and is free of income taxes.

Deferred Fixed Annuity

With a deferred annuity, you make regular premium payments to an insurance company over a period of time and allow the funds to build and earn interest during the accumulation phase.By postponing taxes while your funds accumulate, you keep more of your money working and growing for you instead of paying current taxes. This means an annuity may help you accumulate more over the long term than a taxable investment. Any earnings are not taxed until they are with-

that are familiar to them.

Charles Ross

drawn, at which time they are considered ordinary income.

VARIABLE ANNUITY

Avariable annuity is a contract that provides fluctuating (variable) rather than fixed returns. The key feature of a variable annuity is that you can control how your premiums are invested by the insurance company. Thus, you decide how much risk you want to take and you also bear the investment risk. Most variable annuity contracts offer a variety of professionally managed portfolios called “subaccounts” (or investment options)that invest in stocks, bonds, and money market instruments, as well as balanced investments. Some of

your contributions can be placed in an account that offers a fixed rate of return. Your premiums will be allocated among the subaccounts that you select.

Unlike a fixed annuity, which pays a fixed rate of return, the value of a variable annuity contract is based on the performance of the investment subaccounts that you select. These subaccounts fluctuate in value with market conditions and the principal may be worth more or less than the original cost when surrendered.

Variable annuities provide the dual advantages of investment flexibility and the potential for tax deferral. The taxes on all interest, dividends, and capital gains are deferred until withdrawals are made.

When you decide to receive income from your annuity, you can choose a lump sum, a fixed payout, or a variable payout. The earnings portion of the annuity will be subject to ordinary income taxes when you begin receiving income.

Annuity withdrawals are taxed as ordinary income and may be subject to surrender charges plus a 10% federal income tax penalty if made prior to age 59?.Surrender charges may also apply during the contract’s early years. Annuities have contract limitations, fees, and charges, which can include mortality and expense risk charges, sales and surrender charges, investment management fees, administrative fees, and charges for optional benefits. Annuities are not guaranteed by the FDIC or any other government agency; they are not deposits of, nor are they guaranteed or endorsed by, any bank or savings association. Any guarantees are contingent on the claims-paying ability of the issuing insurance company.

Charles Ross is host of the syndicated radio program “Your Personal Finance.” Contact him at P.O. Box 870928; Stone Mountain, Georgia 30087; or email to charles@ charlesross.com.

saving and investing money.

branding are three important components of effective PR. Marketing develops a product, business or image and gives it definition to the public based on a target audience. Marketing analysis helps a PR consultant find your consumers and sponsors. As the PR consultants for the recent Heart & Soul 5K Run, it was important for us to research our target audience so that we knew which media outlets and potential sponsors were aligned with our client’s mission before creating a publicity plan. Publicity generates interests in your business. Television, newspapers and magazines are outlets that give businesses credibility and familiarity with the public. People gravitate towards businesses or products

Branding: Make everyone recognize your business as the best in its field. We live in a world that is dependent on brand recognition. It’s not enough to just be a great business – you have to become a brand to be relevant to the consumer’s mind. Whether you are a doctor, lawyer, author, entertainer or an entrepreneur, in order to differentiate yourself in your field your company has to be easily recognized and liked.

Oprah, Nike, Michael Jordan, Dr. Oz and Kimora Lee Simmons are all examples of people and products who excelled with phenomenal publicity and marketing.

Continued from B1 an avenue to attract more clients. After implementing my PR plan, Amusa called me both shocked and excited that she had tripled her attendance. Public relations is your window of communication to the public. It is your tool to sell your services, products or image to consumers, clients and sponsors. In an economy that revolves around brands and popularity, excellent PR is what skyrockets companies to their fullest potential. Businesses that make PR their priority are able to become visibly recognizable brands. Marketing, publicity and

You don’t have to be a million dollar company, celebrity

or athlete to become a visible and profitable source in your field. Capitalize on your expertise by applying innovative and creative PR techniques to elevate your business. Public relations may be the missing link. Manyando is owner and president of Abesi PR & Marketing LLC (www.abesipr.wordpress.com).

STUDENTS

Participating in the game

enriches student core academic subjects – math, social studies and communication skills –and teaches the importance of

Teams compete against other participating schools in the same grade levels, and the state is organized into 10 geographic regions.

Starting with $100,000 in virtual cash, students attempt to create the best-performing stock portfolio using live trading simulations during the game, which lasts for 10 weeks. Students must research and examine different stocks and decide whether to invest based on their findings.

Approximately $70 separated the first and second place high school teams.

“I started out buying a lot of Bronco Drilling Company and Union Drilling Company stocks,” said team leader Jon DuBois, a junior. “The market

for oil is going up. Groups are driving up prices. Alot of people bought favorite name stocks instead.”

Team sponsor and business education teacher Mark Van Hoy said DuBois and his team analyzed historical, industry and future trends to guide them in selecting stocks that would propel them to success.

Teams trade common stocks and mutual funds from the New York Stock Exchange, the NASDAQ and AMEX exchanges; earn interest on cash balances; pay interest if buying on margin; and pay commissions on all trades.

“We bought no blue chip stocks,” DuBois said. “Blue chips are not the way to go for short-term investments. You get those for long-term investing. I also made sure that when I bought an oil stock I bought more of a cheaper stock. You have to look for stocks that have room for growth.” Cooperation, leadership, organization and negotiation are all skills students need to use to succeed in the game. Students must also follow the markets and learn how the national and world economies work.

“We were in first place for the majority of the time,” DuBois said. “We had a multithousand dollar lead at first. We didn’t drop to second until the end.”

DuBois said the oil market turned fickle on them near the end of the 10 weeks and then rebounded after the game ended. He added that while he is not looking to work as a stockbroker as an adult, he will follow the markets as a hobby. At North Middle, seventhgrade Students’Activities in Investigative Learning members Justin Toney, Roman Achaya and Charles Pennington also profited. They built the value of their portfolio to almost $108,000.

“We started slow,” said Pennington. “First we picked stocks we knew then, as we got used to it, we picked stocks that were doing great.”

“We liked the freedom to buy and sell what we wanted to,” Achaya said.

“Usually, when we do other projects, there are instructions we have to follow.”

“The whole experience taught me a lot – how the stock market works, buying and selling and how to monitor your money and the different things you can do with it,” said Pennington.

MALL

Continued from B1 food court. When Dillard’s closed in 2006 and Sears in January 2009, the surrounding stores were left without much stability. The remaining 412,000 square feet of retail space is sparsely occupied by approximately 48 tenants. With the area plan finished, the St. Louis County Council must now adopt the plan. Then project managers will begin reaching out to the five distinct property owners who control the various parcels that constitute the Jamestown site. The owners include Macy’s, Carlyle Group, JCPenney,

Sears and investor Michael Kohan. Kohan purchased most of the mall in June 2009 for $3.3 million. The purchase did not include the JCPenney Outlet and Macy’s stores and the closed Sears and Dillard’s stores.

Victor Dover, principal of Dover, Kohl & Partners, said, “Residents kept telling me this used to be the heart of the community. I think this plan reclaims that place.” When built in 1973, Jamestown, located at Old Jamestown Road and Lindbergh Boulevard, was a pillar of the community. And over the past two years, residents have told planners, legislators and consultants exactly what they want in their com-

munity. In the fall of 2009 the non-profit Urban Land Institute conducted a panel study of the North County area to identify the issues contributing to the retail decline and to provide recommendations for best uses.

Urban Land Institute strongly recommended that the county first hire a consultant that would engage the community in the designing process for a new Jamestown area. In September 2010, the chosen consultant, Dover, Kohl & Partners, held a six-day planning session with 400 residents and stakeholders.

The community members offered many specific ideas. But at the end of the day, residents wanted a place to shop,

dine and visit with neighbors. They wanted a family-friendly place with green areas similar to Forest Park. And they wanted a diverse array of housing.

In the plan released last week, the consultants provided a market analysis of these ideas and which would be most sustainable. Currently, the location of the mall does not have access to enough households required to support 1.2 million-square-foot mall with several national tenants. Looking at demographics and household spending, the community could support 200,000 square feet in local serving retail.

In the next one to five years, consultants said, the village may support a movie the-

ater with several restaurants and boutique shops, totaling around 76,000 square feet. In the next six to 15 years, the village could include a grocery store along with more restaurants and cafes and boutique shops.

As far as housing, the area could provide for 1,400 new single-family attached and detached dwellings and apartments units in addition to the 200,000 square feet of retail, and 80,000 square feet of offices or varying combination of the two.

Looking at job creation, there are 30,000 people within the seven-minute drive-time study area surrounding the Jamestown Mall site, representing 7.9 percent of the

377,000 people in North County. The plan projects that potentially 500 new jobs in the immediate area could be created.

“We want to give North County a place that residents can be proud of again,” said St. Louis County Executive Charlie A. Dooley. “The beauty of this plan is that it capitalizes on the virtues of North County and is flexible to meet the community’s needs. Based on two years of research, this is what the residents of North County have told us they want and what studies show is possible.”

To read the complete plan, visit http://www.slcec.com /jamestownmall.html.

A closeup view of the proposed Jamestown village center

Shirley Strawberry & Lyah Beth Lalore

Photos by Kevin Jordan & Denzel Robinson

St.

a local African beer (St. Louis lager) during a recent visit to Botswana with Chicago’s Jamaica Travel Club.

Graduations, engagements, South African journeys, design parties and more!

By Dana Grace For The St. Louis American

Rollin back to the beginning of May, Jeralyn Williams James and Janet Jackson Williams celebrated Cinqo de Mayo in grand style with a good old-fashioned Girl Soiree. Margaritas, sombreros and old school music on deck … the rain wasn’t going to stop this show. Friends and family were happy to see St. Louisan Miriam O’Hara Hardin, M.D. who was visiting from Philadelphia. Voices for Children Advocate/Recruiter Judi Fagen Coleman said she and hubby Steve were looking forward to daughter Stevie Lynn Coleman’s graduation from University of Illinois’ College of Business on May 15. Congratulations, Stevie Lynn!

Several members of the St. Louis chapter of Girl Friends, Inc. lew to Greenville, SC for Girl Friends 76th annual conclave held at the Hyatt Regency Hotel May 12-15, 2011. Joyce Price and Bettye Reed were members of the cheering section for St. Louis Chapter member InBev AB’s Linda Wilson who successfully campaigned for National Chatterbox

See POTPOURRI, C4

Moore of St. Louis has a role with the ensemble dancers in the Kennedy Center’s current production of Follies in Washington, D.C.

By Rebecca S. Rivas

Of The St. Louis American

When professional dancer Erin Moore was in third grade, a fellow student at New City School in University City gave her some lifechanging advice.

“There was a kid in class who performed in theater,” she said. “At recess he’d tell me where to ind auditions in the calendar section of the newspaper.”

Now Moore arrives every day at the renowned Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. at 6 p.m. She puts on her make-up, preps her hair for a wig, and takes the stage in Follies as one of the ensemble dancers.

“The Kennedy Center really went big with its revival,” she said of the show, which runs until June 19. “The costumes are elaborate. It’s a spectacle.”

Moore has been dancing professionally since 2005, when she graduated from Alvin Ailey School

of Dance/Fordham University in New York. This show has her tap dancing next to legendary Broadway veterans, including Bernadette Peters and Linda Lavin. Moore plays the “Young Stella” to Terri White, who had a recent resurgence on Broadway when she was cast in Finian’s Rainbow

n “It’s not every day you get to be in a cast like this.”

– Erin Moore

“It’s not every day you get to be in cast like this,” Moore said. “Just to be in a room with so much talent, I felt like I was putting little things in my bag every day learning from them.”

As a young girl, Moore took recreation dance classes at Wren

Pelagie Green Academy of Dance, an African-American run studio, and performed as one of the original MUNY Kids.

Then in eighth grade, Moore began taking formal dance classes at COCA in University City, under Lee Nolting. Moore (and many others who studied under Nolting) went on to become professional dancers, she said.

“She really knew how to inspire the love of dance,” Moore said of Nolting. “Being in that place and all the kids who share a love for it, and having a teacher who was so loving – it made you love it.”

Nolting said she gets equal joy from watching her former student dance.

“She dances with a mesmerizing precision that not only makes you watch, but it makes you feel her performance,” Nolting said. Moore graduated from the Mary

Brady Lewis, trumpeter in the Young Lions Miles Ahead Quartet, was backed recently by drummer Michael Walker, alto saxophonist Kendrick Smith and keyboardist Brian Harrison at BB’s Jazz, Blues and Soups for a celebration of what would have been Miles Davis’ 85th birthday.

In memory of Miles

By Terry Perkins For The St. Louis

American

BB’s Jazz, Blues and Soups, one of St. Louis’ premier music clubs, served up a tasty mix of music by the legendary Miles Davis – as well as one of his favorite dishes, bouillabaisse – late Thursday afternoon, May 26. The music, supplied by a talented quartet of young East St. Louis musicians known as the Young Lions Miles Ahead Quartet, celebrated what would have been Davis’ 85th birthday. But despite his death almost two decades ago in 1991, Miles’ music continues to live on, inluencing

generations of young musicians. That inluence could certainly be heard at BB’s, as alto saxophonist Kendrick Smith, trumpeter Brady Lewis, keyboardist Brian Harrison and

n ESL jazz legend celebrated with concert series and art shows

drummer Michael Walker supplied the soundtrack for a press conference announcing metro area events that will be part of a 2011 Miles Davis

Festival.

“Today marks Miles Davis’ birthday,’’ declared Deborah Granger, producer of the Miles Davis Festival and head of Miles Davis Properties LLC.

“And it marks the perfect time to announce events that will happen here in St. Louis and East St. Louis that will be part of a worldwide celebration of his music.”

According to Granger, area events will include a series of concerts by young musicians such as Smith, Lewis, Walker, Harrison and others in July at the Nu-Art Series/Metropolitan Gallery. In ad-

See MILES, C4

Good Samaritan was murdered while breaking up robbery of neighbor

An exhibit and auction of the Paul Reiter Collection of St. Louis Art will be held 3-6 p.m. Sunday, June 12 at Mad Art Gallery in Soulard.

Dana

Louisan Gregory Smith (now of Chicago) enjoys

Erin

Photo by Roscoe Crenshaw

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

Jun. 12, 6 p.m., Hot 104.1 presents SuperJam 4, Verizon Wireless Ampitheatre starring Wiz Khalifa, Ludacris, Keri Hilson, Lloyd and more Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre. For more information, visit www. hot1041stl.com.

Fri., Jun. 17, 8 p.m., R. Kelly with special guests Keyshia Cole and Marsha Ambrosius, The Chaifetz Arena. For more information, call (314) 5341111.

Sat., Jun. 18, 8 p.m., Earth, Wind and Fire, The Fox Theatre. For more information, visit www.metrotix.com or call (314) 534-1111.

Sun., Jun. 19, 2:30 p.m., Missouri History Museum presents theirSecond Sunday Celebration with Oleta Adams, Missouri History Museum, Lindell and DeBaliviere in Forest Park. For more information, call (314) 361-9017 or visit www.mohistory.org.

Jul., 2, 8 p.m., JeKade Entertainment presents Bobby Womack featuring Latimore, The Ambassador, 9800 Halls Ferry. For more information, call (314) 5341111.

Sun., July 17, 7p.m. (doors open 6p.m.) Lexus Len Productions presents THE BACKWITH AVENGENCE TOUR featuring George Clinton & Parliament/Funkadelic, The Ambassador, 9800 Halls Ferry Rd. Call The (314) 869-9090or Metrotix (314)534-1111 (metortix.com).

July 28, Sade with special guest John Legend, Scottrade Center. Tickets on sale April 16. For more information visit www.ticketmaster.com

Jul., 29, C.R. Lee ministries

present Tye Tribbett live in concert, Faith Church St. Louis 3590 Rider Trial South Earth City, MO 63045. Tickets can be purchased at Transformation Christian Bookstore, WORD Christian Bookstore or by calling 314 322-9468 or 314 398-3405.

Sat., Sept. 17, (Tickets on sale Mon., Jun. 6 at 10 a.m.), Yo Gabba Gabba, The Fox Theatre. For more information, call (314) 534-1111 or visit www.metrotix.com

local gigs

St. Louis’own StarCity recording artist Fred Walker performs his (one man)SAXY JAZZ music show at the all new SHRIMPSHACK GRILL , Every Friday (happy hour) 3pm – 7pm, and Saturday (brunch) 10am – 2pm. 8624 Natural Bridge Rd (at Hanley) 314-426-3333.

Funkin Right, Every 2nd Saturday, Nappy DJ Needles invites you downtown for a monthly dose of good vibes delivered in the form of raw soul, afro beat, house, hip hop and deep funk. Lola, 500 N. 14th St.

Karaoke with Ric Louis, THURSDAYS, 8pm at St. Louis’Happy Hour Bar & Grill, 12948 New Halls Ferry at Parker Road (Next to Save-A-Lot Supermarket). Wednesday s, 9pm at Ace`s Lounge, in the Comfort Inn Airport Hotel, 9600 Natural Bridge Rd. at Brown Rd. (Across from Church’s Chicken). Come and enjoy Drink Specials, Food Specials, Super Music Videos, Free Prizes and Great Fun !! (314) 608-2424.

Pieces of the Family featuring Marvin (Hit Man) Rice, Fridays 8 p.m., Klub Klymaxx (inside The Ambassador), 9800 Halls Ferry Rd. Call (314)8699090.

CALENDAR

Sensational Sundays, 6:30 p.m. (6 p.m. doors) Jazz @ Eventide, featuring Black and White Trio. Sip N Savor, 286 DeBaliviere, 1/2 block north of the Forest park Metro link. For more information, call (314)361-2116.

Steppin & Boppin, 6 p.m. Wednesdays, Legacy Café, 5249 Delmar.Lessons available.

special events

Sat., Jun. 11, 7:30 p.m., Fundraising Gala to benefit the ChancellorRoss-Barnett Scholarship featuring Music of Michael Jackson performed by the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra with a post show reception by the African American Alumni Chapter of the University of MO-St. Louis, Powell Symphony Hall. For more information, e-mail colemandm.mo@att.net

Sat., Jun. 11, 8 p.m., All School-Old School Adult Prom, 2 lucky winners will be crowned Prom King & Queen,

Visitation Hall 1421 N Taylor. For more information, call (314) 480-0311.

Sun., Jun. 19, 3 p.m. (2 p.m.), Brotherly Love West Father’s Day Extravaganza, Marriot Airport Hotel. For more information, call (314) 495-1996 or (314) 382-7444.

Thurs., Jun. 23, 11 a.m., The Community Action Agency of St. Louis County, Inc. (CAASTLC) is preparing to host its SummerJob and Resource Fair and invites job seekers 18 and older to attend. Overland Community Center (9225 Lackland Road, 63114). Employers will be recruiting for openings in hospitality, sales, education, customer service, labor, nursing, clerical, nonprofit, and more. MO Career Center, Anthem College, St. Lukes, Harrah’s, AARP, ITTTech, Primerica, Scholar shop and BarnesJewish are among the employers participating. For more information Contact James Ingram at; (314) 446-4431.

Sat., Jun. 25, 12 noon, Comedy, Wine, Beer& Blues Day Tour, Must be at least 25 or older to attend. Call 314219-4188 for info or register

online at www.dayatthewinery.eventbrite.com

Sat., Jun. 25 – Sun., Jun. 26, Hispanic Festival, Inc. of GreaterSt. Louis will be presenting Fiesta in Florissant, the Knights of Columbus Park located in Florissant near the corner of Lindbergh and Washington St. For more information contact Hispanic Festival, Inc. at (314) 8376100.

Sun., Jun. 26 – Sun., Aug. 28, 6 p.m., Ivory Perry Park concert Series featuring Trench Town Rock ( June 26th ), Charles Glenn (July 24) and Tony Simmons (August 28). For more information, visit the web site at www.ivoryperrypark.com or call Archilla Buford at 314-367-2112.

Jul. 15 – Jul. 17, Vashon All Class Reunion Weekend, Vashon All Class Alumni Prom (Fri., Jul. 15) Olivette Community Center; All Class Reunion Picnic (Sat., Jul. 16, 10 a.m. – 8 p.m.); Official After Party (Jul. 16 ) Masonic Hall, 3820 Olive. For more information, call (314)-3696548

Sat., Jul. 23, 7 p.m., 1st Annual Green Grass Carpet Honolulu Ball, Visitation Hall, 1421 N. Taylor. For more information, call (314)4800311.

Tues., Jul. 26, 7 p.m., World Percussion Theatre 2011 featuring the Katherine Dunham Youth, Sheldon Concert Hall, 3648 Washington. Tickets available by calling Metrotix Charge Line at 314-534-1111 or 1800-293-5949. They may also be purchased at the Fox Theatre Box Office or online at www.thesheldon.org or www.metrotix.com

Jul. 30, 9 a.m., Hopewell MB Church Back to School Rally and Health Fair Mammogram van available, free mammograms for uninsured women 40yrs+. Must make appt for mammograms. Hopewell MB Church, 915 N. Taylor. For more information, call 314-705-1190.

Through Aug. 12, Best Dance & Talent CenterDance & Activity Camp, (7 a.m. – 6 p.m. Mon.- Fri.) Best Dance and Talent Center, 105 Northwest Plaza. For more information, call (314) 739BEST(2378).

Wednesdays through August, 5 p.m., The Downtown CID is introducing a NEW Downtown-wide Happy Hour, Wednesday Night Out, The Happy Hour will be from 5-7 pm and over 20 participating Downtown bars and restaurants will offer $4 signature cocktails, $3 wines, $2 beers and half-priced appetizers. To see if your favorite restaurant/bar is participating, visitwww.downtownstl.org/we dnesdaynightout

Sat., Jun. 18, 6 p.m., 13 Black Katz present Flight Time a special V.I.P. reception and book signing featuring Shirley Strawberry and Lyah Beth LeFlore , Missouri Vineyard Bar and Restaurant (inside Lambert International Airport). For more information, visit www.13blackkatz.com.

Mon., Jun. 27, 7 p.m., The St. Louis County Library Foundation’s Reading Garden Event Series and Pudd’nHead Books present young adult author Ally Carter for a discussion and signing of Uncommon Criminals, St. Louis County Library Headquarters, 1640 S. Lindbergh Blvd. For more information, Contact St. Louis County Library by phone 314994-3300 or visit www.slcl.org.

theatre

Jun. 13 and Jun. 20, 7 p.m., Auditions forNew Line Theatre’s production of the St. Louis premiere of the rock musical PASSING STRANGE, Washington University South Campus, 6501 Clayton Road (formerly CBC High School), just east of Big Bend, in the second floor theatre. This is not on the Washington University main campus. Performers need to come to only one of the dates. The show will run for twelve performances over four weeks, Sept. 22-Oct. 15, 2011. Call 314-773-6526 or email info@NewLineTheatre.com for more information. Through Jun. 26, The St. Louis Black Repertory Company will present the world premiere of Samm-Art Williams’ The Montford Point Marine. The Grandel Theatre, 3610 Grandel Square. Tickets are available from the Black Rep Box Office (314) 5343810, from Metro Tix (314) 534-1111, or online at metrotix.com.

Sun., Jun. 12, 3 p.m., An exhibit and sale of the Paul ReiterCollection of St. Louis Art, Paul’s collection included work by Craig Downs, Cindy Royal, Carmelita Nunez, Jeremy Hendry and many others. In addition to Paul’s collection at the time of his death, several artists will make new work for this event. Work will be priced affordably, with the intention of selling everything. All work will come off the walls and go home with buyers that night. The award-winning barbecue master Roland Frank will offer cheaply priced Q in the courtyard, and Mad Art will operate a wine and beer cash bar. No admission price. Mad Art Gallery, 2727 S. 12th

Fundraising Gala to benefit the Chancellor RossBarnett Scholarship featuring Music of Michael Jackson performed by the St.Louis Symphony Orchestra.See SPECIAL EVENTS for details

St. in Soulard. For more information, call 314-265-1435.

June 17 through July 24, The Gallery at The Regional Arts Commission presents Point o Departure featuring Cbabi, Jarvis and Lobdell. Opening reception will take place on Fri., Jun. 17 at 5:30 p.m. Gallery talk will take place at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday Jun. 30, Regional Arts Commission, 6128 Delmar.

Through July 3, Craft Alliance presents Identify Yourself. In this national invitational and juried exhibition, artists will explore the concept of identity through their art. The question will be asked “Who are you?” Juror and Curator Duane Reed selected work from emerging and established artists from across the country including Sonya Clark, Gregory Gannon, Mary Josephson, Elizabeth Lo, Mark Newport and Joyce J. Scott. Craft Alliance, 6640 Delmar Blvd. For more information, call (314)535-7528 or visit www.craftalliance.org

Through August 1, MFA Thesis Exhibition featuring the candidates in Washington University’s Graduate School of Art, part of the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts, Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum.

Through August 1, Cosima Von Bonin Character Appreciation, Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum.

Through August 14, Cryptic: The Use of Allegory inContemporary Art with a Master Class from Goya.This exhibition will feature the work of six contemporary artists – Folkert de Jong, Hiraki Sawa, Allison Schulnik, Dana Schutz, Javier Tellez, and Erika Wanenmacher –paired with works by Spanish master Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes. Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis,3750 Washington Boulevard. For more information, visit www.camstl.org.

Through August 28 PPRC Photography Project: BarnesJewish Hospital Center for Diversity & Cultural Competence, an exhibit at two locations. LOCATION 1: Through Aug. 28 at PPRC Photography Project Gallery, 427 Social Sciences and Business Building at UMSL, 1 University Blvd., St. LouisCounty, Mo. 63121; LOCATION 2: Through July 31 at Arts + Healthcare Gallery in the Shoenberg Pavilion at Barnes-Jewish Hospital, 4921 Parkview Place, St. Louis, Mo.

63110; Opening reception: 5:30-7 p.m. May 3; For more information, call (314) 5165273 or visit www.pprc.umsl.edu.

lectures

Tues., Jun. 14, 8:30 a.m., InsideOut Coaching, DoubleTree/Conference Center St. Louis, 16625 Swingley Ridge Road, Chesterfield, Missouri 63017.

Thurs., Jun. 23, 4 p.m., The Back Office - How to keep up with all that paperwork! Accounting, Payroll etc. The Missouri Regional Certification Committee (MRCC) partnering agencies, METRO, Lambert Airport Authority, MoDOTand several community agencies are holding a Free – Outreach Seminar for all D/M/WBEs and business owners. The guest speakers for this event include Ginni Campbell, National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO), Darlene Davis, Davis Associates, CPA, LLC, Marvin Johnson, BJC Healthcare Planning Design and Construction, Sandra Marks, Marks and Associates and Sharon Stone, Lambert Airport Legal Department. Harris Stowe State University in the (Telecommunity RoomLibrary) 3026 Laclede Ave. Pre-registration is required. For more information, call 314 982-1400 Ext. 1352 to sign up.

Mon., Jun. 27, 9 a.m., Informational Seminaron Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) “Green Building Concept.” The seminar will provide an overview of green building practices, with emphasis on site planning and development, water efficiency, conservation of materials and indoor environmental quality. The Missouri Regional Certification Committee (MRCC) partnering agencies, METRO, Lambert Airport Authority, MoDOTand several community agencies are holding a Free – Outreach Seminar for all D/M/WBEs and business owners. The guest speakers is Patricia Guttmann, Business Development Specialist for SBA. Harris Stowe State University in the (Telecommunity RoomLibrary) 3026 Laclede Ave. Pre-registration is required. For more information, call 314 982-1400 Ext. 1352 to sign up.

TMAPYouth Empowerment Sessions, Thursdays, 4:45 p.m., 5019 Alcott Walbridge C.E.C. Riverview West

Florissant -TMAPmeet for Youth Empowerment Sessions facilitated by Keith Minor Nuisance Coordinator in the 27th Ward and feature a variety of positive role models from the St. Louis Metropolitan area listen to and dialogue with youth in the Walnut Park neighborhood. Topics vary and are youth driven. Call the RWF-TMAP office at (314) 381-6999.

Toastmasters International St. Louis presents Primary Conversations! Want to develop in Public Speaking? Visit Toastmasters Primary Conversations Club every 2nd and 4th Tuesday at 6pm...Please call 314-2259098 for more information.

Matiff OPEN DANCE CLASSES,7 p.m. Monday and Friday, Male and Female dancers ages 14 and up specializing in modern, street, hiphop, and lyrical dance. Wohl Community Center, 1515 North Kingshighway. E-mail: matiffdance@gmail.com or call(314) 920-2499.

health

Sat. June 11, Susan G. Komen Race forthe Cure downtown St. Louis. For more information, go to www.komenstlouis.org.

Sat., Jun. 11, 4 p.m., Shades of Blue, a Fundraiser for Autism Speaks Walk St. Louis that will feature samplings of fine wines, art exhibits, silent auctions, live art, hors d’oeuvres, live entertainment and more! Art Trends Gallery,703 Long Rd Crossing Dr, Ste 1, Chesterfield, MO 63005636536-3266. 100% of the proceeds will go to Autism Speaks Walk St. Louis. For more information, visit www.arttrendsgallery.net

R.Kelly with special guests Keyshia Cole and Marsha Ambrosius at, The Chaifetz Arena. For more information, see CONCERTS.

Thurs. June 16, 11:45 a.m., “Preparing OurFaith Communities forDisasters,” a faith based emergency preparedness conference at St. Louis University - DuBourg Hall - Refectory Room 157, 221 N. Grand in St. Louis. Space is limited to one person from the first 150 churches. Food and parking is provided. Registration begins May 1deadline is June 3. Churches can register by calling Cathy Harris at 314-977-8274 or email charri29@slu.edu

Sat. June 18, 7 a.m. - 2nd Annual Ronald McDonald House Charities of Metro St. Louis’Bike Ride in Forest Park. The event has five race options: To ride, volunteer or for more information, visit www.rmhcridestl.com, 314932-4146 or e-mail lfletcher@rmhcstl.com.

Sat., Jun. 18, 9 a.m., LTS Love Outreach Ministry and Health Unit presents Meet the Professionals – Community Health Fair, 626 N. Newstead, St. Louis, Mo 63108.

Sun. June 19, Katy Trail Father’s Day Family Bike Ride, to benefit prostate cancer research at Siteman Cancer Center at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine. Riders can start

from a designated KATY Trailhead and ride to Defiance, Mo. Pre-registration is $10.00 ($15.00 day of ride). For more information, or to sign-up, go to www.fathersdaybikeride.com.

Sat., Jun. 25, 7:30 a.m., CHIPS Health and Wellness Center11th Annual 5k Run/Walk and 1 Mile Fun Walk and Community Health Festival, CHIPS Health and Wellness Center, 2431 N. Grand Blvd. St. Louis, MO 63106. For more information, call (314) 652-9231 Ext.20.

Sat., Jun. 25, 8 a.m., CochlearAmericas is sponsoring a free Hearing Health Fair to help educate St. Louis area residents about hearing loss and today’s modern solutions, such as cochlear implants. The Hearing Health Fair will provide several informational seminars, one on one opportunities for people who currently no longer benefit from hearing aids and for those who want to learn about other treatment options. The Sheraton at Westport, 900 Westport Plaza. For more information on the Hearing Health Fair or to register, visit www.hearinghealthfair.com or call 877-HEAR-THIS (4327844).

spiritual

Jun. 10 – Jun. 12, West Side Missionary Baptist Church celebrates the Twenty-Fifth Pastoral Anniversary of Rev. Dr. Ronald L. Bobo, Sr Friday, June 10, 2011 @ 7:00p.m. Pastor’s Love Night 4675 Page Blvd. Saturday, June 11, 2011 @ 2:00p.m. First Lady Darlean A. Bobo will be honored 2677 Dunn Road(formerly Target). Sunday, June 12, 2011 –Anniversary Sunday Morning Worship @ 8:00a.m. @ the Dunn Road Campus Morning Worship @ 9:45a.m. @ the Page Campus Morning Worship @ 11:30a.m. @ the Dunn Road Campus. Saturday,

June 25, 2011 @ 6:30p.m. Black-Tie Gala @ the Renaissance Grand Hotel 800 Washington Avenue in Downtown St. Louis. To purchase tickets or for more information please contact Rev. Lauren Andrew Hickman, Pastoral Assistant at 314-5359002.

Sun., Jun. 12, 10 a.m., The Afrikan Village & Cultural Centercelebrates the 13th Pastoral Anniversary forDr. Ray Hagins, Afrikan Village & Cultural Center, 3520 N. Newstead Avenue, St. Louis MO 63115. For more information, call (314) 535-0169.

Sun., Jun. 12, 10:45 a.m., True Testament Community Church Will have its official charge ceremony forthe pastorand the church, 1636 West Third Street (River’s Edge Reception Center), Granite City, IL62040. For more information, and directions call (314)-581-8721.

Sun., Jun. 19, 10 a.m., Memorial Missionary Baptist Church Family & Friends Day, 4001 Fair Ave., St. Louis, Missouri 63115. For more information, contact: Sis: Marie Dixon 314-723-0426 or Sis: Rosie Donald 314-8674932.

Jun. 20 – Jun. 24, 6:30 p.m., J Coleman Wright CME (the family church) Vacation Bible School, ages two through adult, The Theme is Go Green for Jesus, Hallelujah good time!9777 Halls Ferry Rd. For more information, call (314) 8686659.

Sun. June 26, 3 p.m. “Grace,” the 18th annual concert of Celebration Choir at Christ OurRedeemer AME Church, 13820 Old Jamestown Road, Black Jack, Mo. 63033.For more information, call 314-741-4222.

Jul. 18 – Jul. 22, Hopewell MB Church Vacation Bilble School- “Jesus Truth Seekers,” 915 N. Taylor.

Continued from C1

Editor, a GF publication. St. Louisan Cheryl Tyler (DC Chapter) also ran a very creative campaign for her bid to the ofice of National Secretary. St. Louis GF chapter President Dianne and hubby Kenny Powell are beaming over the recent engagement of son Kenny Powell III (Platinum Sports and Entertainment Management) to KSDK’s April Renee Amos.

Ran into St. Louisan Gregory Smith (Chicago) a couple of weeks ago, in town for twins niece and nephew Kelsy and Camron Ross’ graduation from Central Visual and Performing Arts High School. Greg just returned from a three-week tour of Cape Town, SA, Johannesburg, SA and Botswana with Chicago’s Jamaica Travel Club. A great experience for him, though the safaris were a little scary at times. Overall, he said it was an awesome experience. Beautiful people, history, scenery. St. Louis Chapter Smart Set, Inc. enjoyed a fun-illed champagne brunch last weekend at this city’s newest casino offering, River City. Members enjoyed a bountiful buffet, friendly chit-chat and later tried their luck on the casino loor. Dr. Jerda Riley was surprised to be the big winner on that front! A few members enjoying the South Side gaming facility, including Charles and Lisl King Watkins, Lynn Kennedy, Wendell and Gail Allmon, Paula Knight, Tammy and Collins Robinson, Chapter President Donna and hubby Dr. James Knight. Joan Miller was just back from Las Vegas where she celebrated sister Dr. Audrey Miller Gross’ (Charlotte, NC) birthday with

MILES

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dition to the music series, the Metropolitan Gallery will also host a Sony/Legacy Photo Art exhibit along with the Sheldon Art Galleries.

“We’ll also be working with the Sheldon to present a major concert this fall,” said Granger. “BB’s will be presenting a summer concert series, and we’ll be doing monthly jazz jams at Grand Marais Golf

KSDK’s April Renee Amos is recently engaged to Kenny Powell III of Platinum Sports and Entertainment Management.

a host of friends and family at the Wynn Resort and Casino. Smart Setter Dr. Mary Olivia Polk Mann is delighted son Jordan Mann – a MICDS 2011grad will be attending Brown University in the fall. Kudos Jordan! Jordan is the grandson of St. Louis lifelong

n Congratulations to Linda Baker Roby and Ronald Roby for being named one of the ESL Chapter Top Ladies of Distinction Power Couples for 2011.

educator and social columnist, Mary Attyberry Polk Alliance Sports CEO Rocky Arceneaux is just back from Chicago, where he spent time with longtime friend Les Bond Jr. (Attucks Asset Management) at the Miami Heat vs. Chicago Bulls playoff game. Win or lose, a good time was had by all. Rocky

Course in Centreville, Illinois, as well as a golf tournament in September.”

Additional speakers at the press conference included Nu-Art Series Director George Sams, and Eugene B. Redmond, ESL poet laureate and professor emeritus at Southern Illinois University–Edwardsville. Sams’ comments focused on the continuing power of Davis’ music to inluence young musicians like those who will perform at his NuArt Series. Redmond, who was an integral part of a Mile Davis

was also pleased to have Pittsburgh Steelers recruit Keith Williams of Nebraska fame in town for a couple of days. Keith is looking forward to the end of the”NFL lock-out.”

Congratulations to politico Dr. Linda Baker Roby (Paul Simon Public Policy Institute) and AT&T’s Ronald Roby for being named one of the East St. Louis Chapter Top Ladies of Distinction Power Couples for 2011. Ron and Linda were also happy to have son Kenneth Roby (Sprint) in from Indianapolis for the holiday. Enjoyed an evening as a guest of the unoficial Richmond Heights Birthday/Bid Whist Club last weekend with birthday girl Linda Williams Clark (Urban Strategies). A few of the unoficial members: Dwain Little (AA Importing), Denise Casey (Scottrade) and Althea Landrum. Sorry to have missed Christina Bennett and Robin Jackson’s Girls Night Out Party featuring Robin Weng Designs. Unique handcrafted jewelry designs for all ages! Robin also designs by request; see www.robinwengdesigns. com. Enjoy your week!

birthday celebration earlier in the day at East St. Louis City Hall, reminisced about growing up in East St. Louis and seeing Miles come back for visits – and hearing about Davis’ death in 1991. He read two poems dedicated to Davis, which provided a itting coda – along with the tasty bouillabaisse – to this celebration of Miles Davis.

For more information as it develops, Granger advised listening to radio station WSIE, 88.7 FM, and checking http:// milesdavisfestival.com.

A talk with Tavis

Smiley helps Sylvester roll out nonproit June 17 at History Museum

By Sylvester Brown Jr. For The St.

Louis American

Veteran radio and television host Tavis Smiley has taken a nationwide beatdown for critical assessment of America’s irst black president, Barack Obama. For the past four years, Smiley has insisted that Obama be challenged to speak out and be held accountable if he doesn’t address the disproportionate economic and social woes that plague African Americans. Smiley’s proclamations have met heated derision and denunciation from thousands, some who consider him a treasonous “Obama-hata.” I was never a hater but, in my mind, black folk had a brief window to accomplish all the things we complained about while President George W. Bush held ofice. I couldn’t understand why black leaders didn’t have an agenda at the ready once Obama was elected. Here’s what I wrote in my March, 2008 St. Louis PostDispatch column: “Yes, Obama, like all politi-

DANCE

Continued from C1

Institute and St. Louis Country Day School. Yet, when it came time to make a college decision, Moore was torn. Should she go straight into dance at the Alvin Ailey School of Dance/Fordham University BFA program? Or should she major in political science at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, while continuing her dance training?

“I signed both acceptance letters,” she said. “I told my

cos, should be held accountable. But what about guys like Smiley and others who for years have pontiicated about the things they now expect Obama to address? Why are we waiting on one man if we have an action plan?”

Who knew, I’d be working for the man a year after posing that question.

In 2009, I became a researcher and consultant for some of SmileyBooks’ authors. In late 2010, Smiley lew me out to Los Angeles to discuss “Fail Up: 20 lessons on Building Success from Failure,” the tome published this year to commemorate his 20th anniversary in broadcasting.

In the time we spent together, I learned the back story of the whole “Obama drama.” I hadn’t considered the perspective of a black commentator who, for years, challenged white Democratic politicians to articulate their speciic plans to address the needs of their most loyal constituents – black voters.

The hatred, threats and vicious attacks he endured after applying that same maxim to a black presidential candidate underscores the downside of standing on one’s principles in the face of overwhelming power.

Love him or loathe him, it’s hard to totally dismiss Tavis’ call for political redress when black people still struggle with disproportionate rates of poverty, crime, unemployment and economic stagnation. Nothing is promised. If, by some chance, Obama isn’t re-elected, many will have to reconcile the reward of symbolism over substance.

While listening to Tavis’ stories of perceived “failures,” I grappled with my own foibles and the lessons each provided. Smiley’s oft-used phrase; “We plan and God laughs” resonated

dad, ‘Send one, I can’t decide.’ He sent the one to Chapel Hill.”

For more than a year, Moore was a traditional college student. However, the summer after her freshman year, she attended a dance program at the Perry Mansield Performing Arts Camp, which encouraged her to make dance a career. That fall semester she transferred to Fordham University. The Fordham schedule was nothing like a normal college schedule. She took academic classes in the morning, and then she had her dance core classes. Then rehearsals, then maybe another evening dance class.

ART

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Joyce Fraser, said. “He had an interest in the arts and spirituality early on. That began his journey. And it progressed to helping local artists in the St. Louis area.”

Fraser said his family was surprised to learn how supportive of the St. Louis arts scene their brother had been. In addition to more than 100 works of local art displayed in his home and ofice, he collected hundreds of postcards and dozens of posters from the many art shows he had attended all over the metropolitan area.

“St. Louis artists lost a great friend and supporter in Paul,” she said.

with me. After an unsavory departure from the Post-Dispatch in 2009, I was confronted with the frustrating reality that black leaders weren’t going to push an urban revitalization agenda. Watching Smiley navigate the fast-paced, competitive media empire of his creation inspired me to stop whining and waiting for others to do what I envisioned.

Early this year, I told Tavis about When We Dream Together, the nonproit I created with a mission to deliver the public/ private resources to everyday people so they, too, can create vibrant, self-sustaining communities in our region. He candidly expressed his concerns. But, without hesitation, he offered to host a fund-raiser for me when he came to St. Louis to promote his traveling exhibit, America I AM, at the Missouri History Museum.

On June 17, I’ll present “An Afternoon with Tavis Smiley” at the History museum. There, I will oficially launch my nonproit and its accompanying website. Then, I will turn the stage over to Tavis. You may leave the event still in sharp disagreement with him. That’s OK. The event will relect the time I shared with Tavis. You’ll be reacquainted with a kindred spirit and reminded of our inherent ability to overcome life’s inevitable setbacks. Join me. I guarantee and afternoon of empowerment and enlightenment during this important talk with Tavis.

Sylvester Brown, Jr. is a freelance writer and founder of When We Dream Together, a local nonproit dedicated to urban revitalization. For more ticket and more information about the June 17 event with Tavis Smiley, contact the Missouri History Museum at 314-361-9017

In January of her senior year, Moore got her irst job as a concert dancer with Philadanco, the renowned Philadelphia-based modern dance company. She traveled the country and the world. Her versatility in dance led her to roles in musical theater, commercial advertising and television appearances. In 2010, Moore performed on NBC’s Saturday Night Live with Kanye West. “I plan on being in the biz for a while,” she said. “Seeing these ladies in their 60s and 80s, I feel like I have a long career ahead of me, if I choose.”

Fraser said the primary goal of the event is to show Paul’s art as a complete collection one more time and then see that that the art gets into the hands of Paul’s friends and fellow supporters of St. Louis’ lively but under-appreciated art scene. The family also hopes to generate funds to further Paul’s son’s education. Fraser said anyone who wishes to contribute to Paul’s son without bidding on art will have the opportunity to do so at the event. All proceeds from the art auction and all donations will go to Christopher Paul Reiter, Paul’s son. For information about the event, contact Chris King at 314-265-1435 or brodog@ hotmail.com. For family information, contact Joyce Fraser at jmaf697@yahoo.com.

Circulation transition

With the sudden death of Paul Reiter, the longtime St. Louis American circulation manager, on May 9, the newspaper lost a 22-year veteran whose efforts were largely responsible for the paper’s wide and consistent availibility. As we recover from Paul’s loss and attempt to replace an irreplaceable colleague, please be patient with us, as the paper may not be as widely and readily available as our readers expect.

At the same time, we need to hear from you about any interruptions or decline in service. If you can’t ind The American where you expect to ind it, please email circulation@ stlamerican.com and be very speciic as to when and where the paper was unavailable. Also, please put “Circulation” in the subject line. Remember, email circulation@stlamerican.com. Thank you.

Sylvester Brown Jr.

Tavis Smiley

You Can't Win If You Don't Know the Score!

By: Cathy Vogt, Regions Mortgage

Credit scores are one of the most important factors that lenders use when considering loans requests and extending any type of credit. And today, the impact of your credit score extends beyond what a bank might use it for … to being used by businesses with new customers, to employers vetting potential employees.

Consider for a moment that decisions about extending credit are really about evaluating someone's capacity and likelihood to repay A credit score is - in essence - a numerical representation calculated and typically provided by one of three major scoring firms (Experian, Equifax and TransUnion). It consists of your payment history, how many accounts you have, the types of accounts and how long you've had them. Thus, every decision to hold or request credit, to pay your bills (on-time or late) and to open or close an account can have an impact on your credit score and consequently on a lender's likelihood of extending you credit or approving a loan in the future.

While all three companies have their own processes, there are typical rules of thumb when it comes to credit scores. All three score your creditworthiness in a range from 300-900, giving more or less weight to certain areas:

o 35% based on payment history

o 30% based on outstanding debt

o 15% the length of time you've had the credit

o 10% the number of inquiries

o 10% based on the types of credit you currently have

What is a good credit score? The median credit score in the US is 723 according to Fair Isaac, the company that invented the credit score. Generally, aiming for a credit

score at or above 770 will allow you to take advantage of the best rates available to consumers.

Cathy Vogt, Regions Mortgage

On the other hand, higher-risk scores -lower than 620 -- often translate into higher costs for borrowers. Statistics have shown that a mortgage loan to an individual with poor credit will typically cost that person thousands of dollars more in interest per year.

Just as we conduct our annual physical checkup with our doctor, we should consider doing the same thing with our credit. Checking your credit report periodically is a common way to catch identity theft and to ensure that your report is accurate and includes only activities that you have authorized. To obtain a copy of your credit report you can directly contact the major credit bureaus online by going to one of the following websites: www.experian.com, www.tranunion.com, or www.equifax.com.

~ CELEBRATIONS ~

Graduate Maryville University

Tammarra Lewis, Ph.D

Tammarra Lewis, Ph.D received her doctorate degree in Educational Leadership from Maryville University, on May 7, 2011. Dr. Lewis analyzed how current trends in education are perpetuating the creation of a permanent underclass.

Graduate Chaminade College Prep

Dynasty WellsUnion

Dynasty WellsUnion graduated from Chaminade College Preparatory on May 29, 2011. Dynasty will be attending Saint Louis University in the fall, pursing a career in Medicine. In addition to receiving the Dr. Martin Luther King Model of Justice Award and other awards, he also received the Presidential Volunteer Service Award-Gold Level (Highest) from President Barack Obama.

Graduate Metro Academic High School

Xavier Scarborough Davis

Xavier Scarborough Davis graduated from Metro Academic High School, May 2011. Xavier will attend the United States Military Academy at West Point. West Point— renowned as the world’s premier leader development institution—accomplishes its mission by developing cadets intellectually, physically, militarily, ethically spiritually and socially.

A SPECIAL BIRTHDAY WISH!

Wishing the mother of thirteen, entrepreneur, fabulous cook and wonderful woman of God, Mother Rosetta Treadway, a very Blessed and Happy 70th Birthday (June 8). We will forever be grateful for your love and kindness. Love, your children.

Beaumont High School Class of 1965 is looking for all classmates interested in celebrating our 45-year reunion. We are in the process of planning a dinner/dance.Your contact information is needed ASAP. Pleaseemail LaLinda Newsom Diggs at lalindadiggs@sbcglobal.net.

Beaumont High School Class of 1966 has sent out letters announcing their 45-year reunion to be held Oct. 14-16, 2011.Friday night - Meet & Greet; Saturday night - Dinner Dance and Sunday morningBrunch.All events will be held at TheSt. Louis Airport Renaissance Hotel.Please contact Josh Beeks 314-3030791 or Evelyn Wright- 314479-7674.

Beaumont High School Class of 1971’s 40-year reunion is

scheduled for Aug. 5-7, 2011. $90 per person.E-mailyour contact information to beaumont71alumni@yahoo.com for details or contact Vernon Betts at (314) 226-3127.

Beaumont High School Class of 1976 will have its 35-year reunionAug. 19-21, 2011. Friday night,Aug. 19, meet & greet, hospitality suite St. Louis AirportRenaissance Hotel; Sat., Aug. 20, dinner dance,St. Louis Airport Renaissance Hotel Penthouse; Sun., Aug. 21, worship & picnic.For more detailed information pleaseemail bhs1976@swbell.net or visit our website at http://desyco.tripod.com

East St. Louis Lincoln Class of 1971, calling all classmates interested in their 40-year reunion, please send your contact info to: Lincoln Class of 1971, PO Box 1430, East St. Louis, IL62202. Email us at ESTLLincoln1971@hotmail.c om, on Facebook at ESLLinconPenn or call 618781-4888 or 314-249-7295.

Hadley Technical High School class of 1961 is preparing for its 50-year reunion in 2011. We are seeking contact information to complete our directory. For more informa-

tion contact Ralph Johnson 314-477-2042 or William Perry 314-531-3170.

Kinloch High School Class of 1970 will host their 41st Reunion Dinner Dance on June 10, 2011 at the Heart of St. Charles Banquet Center. Please contact Arlene Davis at 4800103, Lester Wilson at 8632180, or Mc McKinnies at 524-0126 for more info.

Kinloch High Class of 1976 has scheduled its 35-year reunion for Aug. 12-13, 2011. For more information, please contact Janet (Dalton) Campbell at 314-409-5441, Rosie (Moore) Odom at 314601-1331 or Sheila (Hughes) Bell at 314-680-8879.

McCluerNorth Class of 1992 is looking for all classmates interested in celebrating our 20-year reunion. We are in the process of planning a dinner/dance. Your contact information is needed ASAP. Go to the web-site at mccluernorth1992.com

Riddick

School/Neighborhood

Reunion UPDATE! Dates: Sept. 2-3, 2011 Fri. Sept.2— Meet and Greet; Sat. Sept.3— Picnic (Forest Park). Costs: $30/individual, $60/couple,

Birthday Turned 104 on June 2

Lucille Hall celebrated her 104th birthday on June 2, 2011. She recently outlived her third husband of almost 10 years. Amember of First Baptist Church of Creve Coeur, she attributes her longevity to honoring her father and mother, according to the Bible.

$75/family. Deadline for submitting money is July 15, 2011. Make money orders or cashier checks payable to: Riddick School Reunion, P.O. Box 52003, St. Louis, 63136. Please do not send cash or personal checks.

Soldan Class of 1976 is celebrating its 35-year reunion during the weekend of June 1012.We're looking for all alumni to participate. Contact us via e-mail:soldanclass 76@yahoo.com

SumnerClass of 1976 is hosting their 35-year reunion Aug. 19-21, 2011 with celebrity MC Bernie Hayes Saturday at the banquet.Registration is $85 through July 18 and $90 until Aug. 10, 2011.Meetings are held monthly at the St. Louis County Library, Natural Bridge Branch (small meeting room) 7607 Natural Bridge. For more info,contact Betty Louis at 314-385-9843 or Silvester Johnson at314-8073652oremail:sumnerclassof76@yahoo.com

SumnerHigh School Class of 1991 is preparing for its 20year reunion in 2011.We are looking for classmates of 1991 as well as those who started with us freshman year as a part of the class of 1991.Sumner

class of 1992 also invited. Please email your contact information to: Sumnerclassof91@gmail.com or for further information contact Delena Williams 314-4351373, Deanna Bonner 314920-8103 or Leslie Thompson 314-495-1665.

SumnerAlumni Association Scholarship Luncheon Committee is making plans forits 4th Annual Scholarship and Awards Luncheon. The Luncheon will be Sat., June 4, 2011 from noon until 4 p.m. at Debonaire Banquet Center & Catering, 3515 N Lindbergh Blvd. Featuring Angelo “Sax” Shaw as we dine and DJ Phill B. for entertainment. For more information, please call B. Louis at 314-385-9843.

Vashon All-Class Alumni Party hosted by Class of 1986, Sat., July 16, 2011 at the Masonic Hall, 4525 Olive Blvd., Tickets are $10.00. For more info contact: Margo at 314-607-9874, Lanna at 314479-4598, Chris at 314-8982803, Brenda at 314-805-1656 or Lovett-cctreze@att.net

Vashon All Class Prom, Fri., July 15, 2011, at the Olivette Community Center, 9723 Grandview Drive, 7 pm-

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, graduation, 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 4242 Lindell Ave St. Louis, MO 63108 FREE OF CHARGE

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, 4242 Lindell Blvd., St. Louis, MO 63108. 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

Midnight. Advance tickets only! Allyshia Hamber: 314243-7418.

Vashon All Class Reunion Picnic, Sat., July 16, 2011 at Tower Grove Park (Old Carriage Site) from 10am8pm. For T-Shirts, contact: Charles Hawkins at 314-6873018. Kickball game at 2 pm.

RELIGION

Free disaster conference for churches

Faith Based Preparedness Conference

June 16 at SLU

American staff

A coalition of health, faith and public agencies and institutions want to help prepare the public for the next disaster. They will present “Faith Based Preparedness Conference: Part One,” with the theme of “preparing our faith based com-

munities for disasters – what and how,” 11:45 a.m. – 5 p.m. Thursday, June 16 at Saint Louis University, DuBourg Hall, Room 157, 221 N. Grand in St. Louis.

The event is open to all faithbased entities and is sponsored in part by Heartland Center for Public Health Preparedness, Saint Louis University School of Public Health and St. Louis Region Faith Based Partners.

This free, half-day conference will provide basic information on emergency response and preparedness focusing on how a church can help develop emergency plans for their parishioners, help church leaders determine a plan for their church and determine what role

(if any) their church would take on during different emergencies or disasters.

Other partners include: The City of St. Louis, Department of Health – City of St. Louis, St. Louis County Health, State of Missouri – Emergency Management Agency, Emergency Management – City of St. Louis, United Way 2-1-1, United Way of Greater St. Louis, American Red Cross, and Heartland Public Health Education and Training Center

The conference is free to attend. A light lunch will be provided Advanced registration is required to attend. Registration is limited to one person per church (with a maximum conference

enrollment of 135 people).

Please contact: Cathy Harris at 314-977-8274, fax 314-9778150 or email charri29@slu. edu with the name of the person attending and the organization you’re representing.

Local church featured

at

History Museum

The traveling exhibit, America I AM, produced by Tavis Smiley and appearing at the Missouri History Museum features the acknowledgement of First Baptist Church–City of St. Louis as being the oldest black Baptist church west of the Mississippi River (194 years old) and founded by John Berry Meachum (a freed former slave).

“Carlton Farmer, the assistant curator for the exhibit, contacted me and we have been coordinating items for him to place within the America I AM exhibit,” Deborah Tyler from the church wrote to The American

“ I believe they are displaying a write-up on the history of the church, and I have loaned them a couple things that they wanted to put in the display case (including an 8x10 photograph of John Berry Meachum).”

With over 200 artifacts, documents and photos, the exhibit explores how African Americans have contributed to and shaped America in four areas: economics, politics culture, and spiritual life.

For more information, visit www.mohistory.org.

Have you ever wondered why you never have enough money, time, peace or joy?

Why you seem to just “get by,” with never enough to make a sustained difference in your life?

While not commonly discussed, quoted, or preached, the book of Haggai in the Old Testament of the Bible offers insight into these common but complex questions. Questions speciically concerning why or how we as God’s children, his remnant, and his chosen elect continue to sow seeds through hard work everyday but reap meager harvests. Though we remain fed, clothed, and sheltered, we always end up with just enough to get by.

timber and build the house, so that I may take pleasure in it and be honored,” says the Lord.

Shari Frankln

God directly answers these questions through Haggai, a post-exilic prophet who encouraged the Israelites to re-build the temple that was destroyed during the Persian/ Babylonian war.

God said, “Give careful thought to your ways. You have planted much, but have harvested little. You eat, but never have enough. You drink, but never have your ill. You put on clothes, but are not warm. You earn wages, only to put them in a purse with holes in it.”

This is what the Lord Almighty says.

“Give careful thought to your ways. Go up into the mountains and bring down

“You expected much, but see, it turned out to be little. What you brought home, I blew away. Why?” declares the Lord Almighty? “Because of my house, which remains a ruin, while each of you is busy with his own house. Therefore, because of you the heavens have withheld their dew and the earth its crops. I called for a drought on the ields and the mountains, on the grain, the new wine, the oil and whatever the ground produces, on men and cattle, and on the labor of your hands” [Haggai 1:5-11].

Oftentimes, we suppose that because God has not chastised us concerning a particular task because it is either not critically important to Him or not worthy of our diligent pursuit. We igure that we will get to the task later. However, none of these presuppositions is the case with God. A God-given task is always important and is to be diligently pursued and expeditiously completed. In closing, the next time you feel lacking, go to God in prayer with thanksgiving and ask Him to reveal to you any areas of kingdom neglect or disconcern so that your increase may be released.

Accepting Inspirational Messages

The American is accepting Inspirational Messages from the community. Send your column (no more than 500 words) as a Word document and pasted text to cking@stlamerican.com and attach a photo of yourself as a jpeg ile. Please be patient; we will run columns in the order received.

U.S. President Barack Obama spoke at Missouri Southern State University during a memorial service for the dead and missing in Joplin, Missouri on May 29. More than 140 people have been reported killed in the storm that hit Joplin on May 22. Obama joined Missouri Governor Jay Nixon to tour the damaged areas. Photo: UPI/Tom Uhlenbrock

ST. LOUIS AMERICAN

Friends of Normandy Foundation awards scholarships

Special to The American

During its sixth annual Grand Gala, the Friends of Normandy School District Foundation awarded $17,500 in scholarships to Normandy High School seniors and an additional $6,000 to graduates of the high school.

Shatera Davis is the foundation’s top scholar who received the Scholar of Excellence Scholarship in the amount of $3,000.Jasmine Porter received $2,000 as the foundation’s second place scholar, and Brandon Jackson received $1,000 as the third place scholar.

Vondale Harris, Dionna McKinney, Brianca Johnson, Kaionni Cuffie and Tyrice Jenkins were named Normandy School District Scholars.Harris, McKinney, Johnson and Cuffie received $1,500 scholarships.Jenkins, who also received the $1,000 Truman Bank Scholar of Excellence scholarship received a $500 Normandy School District Scholar scholarship.

Starting in the fourth grade, Normandy School District students can earn points, toward becoming a Normandy School District Scholar.Points are

Also, New Life in Christ Interdenominational Church funds students

awarded annually based on academics, attendance, test scores and other criteria. The points accrue throughout the student’s career in the district, and scholarships are provided through an endowment for each graduating class.

Normandy High School graduates Jolene Hibbler and Vincent Tillman were also recognized during the gala. Hibbler, a 2007 graduate, received the Board Vice President Edward James Scholarship in the amount of $3,000.She is currently a student at the University of Missouri-St. Louis.Tillman, a 2009 graduate and currently a student at Missouri University of Science and Technology in Rolla, received the Board President Cozy W. Marks, III Scholarship also in the amount of $3,000.The Board President and Vice President Scholarships are one time awards renewable for three additional years.

The Friends of Normandy School District Foundation was established in 2005 to promote and reward academic excellence. Tax deductible donations to the foundation can be made by contacting Beverley Thompson at 314493-0442.

New Life awards scholarships

New Life in Christ Interdenominational Church will award scholarships totaling $20,000 to seven area high school students during its annual Education Sunday worship services at 11 a.m. on June 12. There are over 90 graduates being honored at the

Friends of Normandy School District Foundation President Cozy W. Marks,Jr. congratulates Normandy High senior Shatera Davis as the foundation’s top scholarship recipient.

ment we’re making in their futures.”

New Life in Christ began awarding scholarships to graduating high school seniors who are members of the church eight years ago. Recipients were chosen based on their high academic achievement and their ability to demonstrate a love for serving others as well as their communities. To date, more than $106,000 in scholarships has been presented. The church’s annual Education Sunday services recognizes the scholarship recipients as well as other members who are graduating from high school and college, and transitioning from elementary and middle school levels.

The 2011 New Life in Christ scholarship recipients are:

Education Sunday Celebration for their accomplishments and success.

“Education changes minds and lives for the better,” said Bishop Geoffrey V. Dudley, New Life in Christ senior pastor. “These seven young people have shown the world that they are ready to make a difference, and that they are more than deserving of the invest-

• Lauren A. Little, Belleville Township High School East – Bishop Geoffrey V. Dudley, Sr. Pastoral Scholarship of Excellence, $4,000, attending Bethel College

• Emily M. Storment Belleville Township High School East - IdaDorothy Dudley Memorial Scholarship, $2,5000, attending Benedictine College

• Ebony M. Marks,

• Danielle Moody, O’Fallon Township High School - New Life in Christ Interdenominational Life Changer Scholarship, $2,000, attending Spelman College

• Christian A. Murray Belleville Township

in Christ Interdenominational Church Life Changer Scholarship, $2,000, attending Southern Illinois UniversityEdwardsville

• Nygel A. Williams Mascoutah High SchoolMinister Sheila Renee Swgert Memorial Scholarship. $2,500, attending St. Louis University

• Shontrice N. Garrett, East St. Louis Sr. High School

- John H. McCants Hope Scholarship, $5,000, attending Jackson State University. New Life in Christ Interdenominational Church is located at 689 Scott Troy Road in O’Fallon, Ill. It was founded in 2003. With more than 2,500 regularly attending members, New Life is considered one of the fastest growing churches in the Metro-East.