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Richmond Urban League Event Shows Partnering Spirit By Melissa Canaday
Former NFL Star and Corporate Leaders Among Luminaries Supporting League’s 91st Anniversary Banquet and Scholarship Benefit
During his keynote address to the Urban League of Greater Richmond’s banquet attendees, Mr. Fugett imparted his thoughts on success and why making a social difference is important, particularly in what is now an even more complex and interdependent global community. Mr. Fugett also spent time during his Richmond stay visiting Fairfield Elementary School and Children’s Hospital of Richmond.
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ay 27, 2005. Richmond, Virginia --- The Urban League of Greater Richmond’s 91st Annual Banquet and Scholarship Benefit took place on May 27, 2005 at the Richmond Marriott Hotel. The annual gala celebrates student excellence and the dedicated professionals who devote their lives to community service. It is an opportunity for the Urban League to thank community leaders, members, staff, and affiliates as well as other supporters and friends such as premiere sponsors Capital One, Phillip Morris and Dominion. The scholarship award ceremony was not the only element of the gala to produce excitement. Mistress of Ceremony, Cheryl Miller, Co-Anchor, WTVR-TV 6, began the evening with a greeting brought by the Honorable Benjamin J. Lambert, III, Senator, 9th District for the Commonwealth of Virginia. Lifetime Achievement award honors went to L. Douglas Wilder, James Ukrop and Robert Ukrop. Corporate Community Service Awards were presented to Comcast Cable, HBO, Optima Health Care and Universal Ford. A video telling the Urban League of Greater Richmond’s story through the words of clients whose lives were empowered and changed was sponsored by AD Results. Chief Executive Officer of AD Results, Wanda Lewis Goodridge, was Honorary Co-Chair of the event. Debbye Mahan, Urban League Board member and Honorary Co-Chair, stated, “These stories showed that, although the year 1913 seems in our distant past, the 8
Soul of Virginia . SUMMER 2005
But his achievements go well beyond academia and sports. Jean exhibited considerable financial acumen as Director and Vice Chairman of the McCall Pattern Company management committee; he’s a founding partner of a Baltimore law firm; partner with Fanfone in Europe; and in 1993, Jean took over TLC Beatrice International Foods. TLC Beatrice International Foods was the largest black-owned and black-managed business in the U.S. with $2.2 billion in sales.
Essence Band & Show provided the Urban League of Greater Richmond Guild with a silent auction and performed music. Melissa Canaday is a freelance writer based in New Kent County, Virginia.
Urban League of Greater Richmond’s role as the voice for Richmond’s underserved is as vital today as the year of its founding.” For the youth, the elderly, the unemployed, the dispossessed, the collective energy of Urban League staff, volunteers, and financial supporters makes a critical difference in Greater Richmond in the areas of education, economics, health, civic engagement and civil rights. Signature sponsors met with Jean S. Fugett, Jr., Esq., the keynote speaker, during the President’s VIP reception, prior to the dinner. Jean S. Fugett, Jr., Esq., knows the road to achieving wealth while maintaining a social consciousness is not without challenges. Mr. Fugett is an Amherst graduate and attended Washington University where he received his law degree while playing professional football. Jean is a retired tight end. He played for the Washington Redskins, 1976-1979, and the Dallas Cowboys, 1972-1975. He was also a Washington Post reporter and a television sportscaster during his NFL career.
FROM OPPOSITE PAGE (L to R): Mayor L. Douglas Wilder and RUL President Thomas Victory; Ken Dye of Comcast Cable; The Honorable Benjamin J. Lambert, III; Scholarship recipients; Harry Harris of Universal Ford ; Debbye Mahan, Thomas Victory and Janice Williams. Keynote speaker, Jean S. Fugett, Jr. Esq.; Fugett and Melissa Canaday; attendees with Fugett; Robert Ukrop with Mrs. Ukrop(left) and Debbye Mahan.
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Richmond Urban League Event Shows Partnering Spirit
Soul of Virginia . SUMMER 2005
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