For the sixth year in a row, Kathryn Ervin and Carl Dameron will emcee the Black Rose Awards on Friday, Sept. 10. (photo by Chris Sloan)
(SAN BERNARDINO, Calif.) Margaret Hill, program chairman for next month’s Black Rose and Humanitarian of the Year Awards, points out, “It’s our 21st annual ceremony. We have been doing this a long time now, honoring more than 100 people who have done so much for our community.”
The September 10 event, presented by the San Bernardino Black Culture Foundation, will recognize recipients in three categories: the Black Rose; the Commitment to Community Service of the Year; and the Humanitarian of the Year.
Hosts for the gala evening, for their sixth consecutive year, are Kathryn Ervin, California State University San Bernardino Theater Arts professor, and Inland Empire public relations leader Carl Dameron of Dameron Communications.
“It’s vitally important,” says Ervin, “for the rest of us to be reminded of the many good things people here are doing.” Dameron adds, “I’m proud to be a part of providing our local heroes of all diversities with the recognition that is so often lacking, but always well deserved.”
The Friday evening ceremony will be in the Valencia Room of the National Orange Show, 689 South E Street in San Bernardino. “The doors open at 6 p.m. for a social hour,” notes Hill. “The awards will begin promptly at 7 p.m.. Tickets this year are $60 per person, with reserved tables for 10 at $600.” To order tickets or reserve a table, call Margaret Hill at (909) 991-6422.
Hill adds, “This is the chance for all of us to honor those virtually unrecognized individuals of the Inland Empire who have brought so much to our lives.”
To Ervin the Black Rose awards provide an opportunity to recognize local leaders, especially for youth. “The honors at the ceremony encourage young people to get involved, to help make our communities the best they can be.”
“The recipients have devoted their lives to helping others,” says Dameron, “and on September 10 it’s time to pay them back for all they have done. It’s time for the Black Rose Awards.”
Frank Washington III, winner of the 2009 Black Rose Award’s “Commitment to Service” award.
Cordelia Revels, winner of the 2009 Black Rose Awards “Humanitarian of the Year”
Brian Townsend, winner of the Jim King Founders Award, which is special recognition added to the Black Rose Awards this year by program founder Jim King.
Black Rose Award Winner Calvin White Black Rose Award Winner Bobby Vega
Black Rose Award Winner Bishop Kenneth Wells
Black Rose Award Winner Hilda Kennedy
Black Rose Award Winner Dr. Diane WoodsBlack Rose Award Winner Dina Walker
Black Rose Award Winner Mary Potts
Black Rose Award Winner Mark Seay
Black Rose Award Winner Kent Paxton
Black Rose Award Winner Jeff Johnston
Black Rose Award Winner James Ramos
Black Rose Award Winner Wil Greer
Black Rose Award Winner Terry Boykin Black Rose Award Winners Rubies of Highland
Black Rose Award Winner Norm Nunez (SAN BERNARDINO, Calif.) – The Black Culture Foundation has seen a lot of good things happening in the Inland Empire’s African-American communities over the last 20 years.
This month, the organization will honor 20 people who are largely responsible for the good things going on now, through its 20th anniversary edition of its annual Black Rose Awards program. The recipients receive their awards in a gala celebration, taking place 6 p.m. Friday, Sept 11 at the National Orange Show Valencia Room, 689 South E St., San Bernardino.
“We appreciate everyone who is willing to give his or her time and commitment to make a difference in the lives of others,” said Program Chairman Margaret Hill. “This is not an easy task for many and it takes a special person to give over and above each day, each hour and each minute. These recipients, and all of the ones recognized the previous 19 years, are phenomenal.”
Award winners are Black, White, Hispanic and other diverse citizens. They include city and state leaders, educators, key law enforcement officials, doctors and numerous members of organizations who take their clubs’ commitments to community service above and beyond the call of duty.
Three of the 20 are singled out for special recognition.
One of these is Precinct Reporter publisher Brian Townsend, who receives a new award, the “Jim King Founders Award.” King, the only one of the three founders of the Black Rose Awards program who is still living, chose to give a special award this year in honor of the program’s 20th anniversary, and selected Townsend as the recipient.
Townsend is recognized for his commitment to providing relevant and helpful information to the Inland Empire African-American communities through his weekly newspaper, and also for editorials that have influenced public policy to the good of African-Americans.
In 2005, Townsend served as chairman of the National Newspaper Publishers Association Foundation, an organization made up of more than 200 newspapers focusing on African-Americans. That year, the organization named then-Senator Barack Obama as its “Newsmaker of the Year.”
In addition to his work at the Precinct Reporter, Townsend is on the Board of Directors for the Arrowhead United Way and on the Executive Board for the Alliance for Education.
“I am deeply honored that I was chosen for this award,” Townsend said.
The other special award winners are Cordelia Revels, the Humanitarian of the Year and Frank Washington III, who receives the annual Commitment to Service Award.
Revels has been a community volunteers since the late 1970s, first working with incarcerated women in the Denver County Jail system, then with youth in the San Bernardino County Juvenile Hall when she moved to Highland in 1981. She worked with these teens for more than 20 years.
Washington is a past president of the Black Culture Foundation, an active member of the Masons and a member of the San Bernardino Feeding Coalition, which feeds sick, shut-ins and homeless people on Christmas Eve. He also assists in food and clothing drives, and through his work with all of these organizations helps involve youth in positive activities, including an annual campout in Lytle Creek.
Black Rose Award winners are:
Dina Walker, community outreach and engagement director for the recently approved Hardy Brown College Prep Charter School. This school, named for Black Voice News publisher and former San Bernardino City Unified School District governing board president Hardy Brown Sr., will open in San Bernardino’s Westside in Fall 2010. She also volunteers with other education causes, including the San Bernardino County Superintendent of Schools’ Alliance for Education, Family Involvement and Literacy Task Force.
Wil Greer, who with his wife LaTanya, founded Arroyo High School’s Ujima Academy. This Saturday enrichment program works with Arroyo’s students to improve their English and math skills, prepare them for the California High School Exit Exam and prepare them for college.
Bishop Kenneth Wells, founder and pastor of the Spirit of Love Christian Church and the bishop for all California churches in the Mt. Calvary Holy Church of America, Inc., He is also senior advisor for the Southern California Gospel Announcers Guild, and brings gospel entertainers to the Inland Empire.
Hilda Kennedy, executive director of AmPac TriState Certified Development Company, a Grand Terrace business that helps small and start-up businesses obtain credit. She also speaks at women’s retreats, teaches etiquette, and helps plan Fontana’s annual women’s conference.
Mary Potts, who teaches and volunteers at her church, New Hope, where she has been a member since 1962. She also is involved in a sorority and the Kiwanis Club.
Bobby Vega, a San Bernardino Westside native who growing up was influenced by various youth organizations serving the area, and for the past 20 years has given back to many of those same organizations. He created nationally recognized programs to steer youth away from drugs and gangs.
Radiant Rubies of Highland, a chapter of the Red Hat Society, a women’s organization known for community service. The Radiant Rubies have been recognized frequently for their community service in Highland and nearby areas, which includes baking deserts, buying dolls and clothing them for Operation Santa Claus and volunteering in the Loma Linda Veteran’s Hospital and the Highland Library.
Mark Seay, a former San Bernardino High School and NFL wide receiver, who now works as the manager of community relations for Stater Brothers’ Market and gives inspirational speeches to young people about adversities he’s had to overcome in life.
Wilmer Amina Carter (D-Rialto), who represents the 62nd District in the California Assembly. Rep. Carter has supported, and at times sponsored legislation to help advance the status of her district’s African-Americans. Prior to being elected to the California Legislature, she served as a Rialto Unified School District governing board member, where her support of students led to the naming of the district’s third high school in her honor.
Dr. Diane Woods, president of the African-American Health Institute of San Bernardino County. Five years ago, after conducting research in all areas of the county, this organization published a comprehensive study showing that Blacks in San Bernardino County die, on average, 13 years earlier than Caucasians. The organization has since devoted its efforts to resolving this disparity.
James Ramos, chairman of the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians, and the first Native American elected to the San Bernardino Valley Community College District governing board, which he currently serves as president. He is also a member of Arrowhead United Way, the San Bernardino County Museum, the Inland Empire Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, the San Bernardino Valley College Foundation, and the KVCR Educational Foundation. His organization, James and the Bird Singers, travels nationwide building awareness of Native American contributions to society.
Jeffrey Johnston, who has made the San Bernardino chapter of the National Football Foundation one of the most active chapters in the nation, just five years after its inception in 2004. The chapter hosts activities to help develop coaches and players, both academically and in their sport. Johnston has led eight of these workshops over the past three years for about 700 students and their parents. He also volunteers with other football-related organizations that help improve the game and help kids achieve success on the field and in the classroom.
Norm Nunez of the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department, who is highly regarded for his work in both African-American and Hispanic communities. He represents the Sheriff’s Department at career fairs and is the “go-to” person for the Sheriff’s Citizen Advisor Committee.
Kent Paxton, coordinator of Operation Phoenix, San Bernardino’s crime-fighting agency, and the former head of the San Bernardino Children’s Network. Paxton was raised in Fontana and has lived in San Bernardino most of his life, where he has made helping at-risk children his passion.
Terry Boykins, executive for business affairs at 4 Positive Knowledge, a company that promotes child safety and helping teens to make positive choices. He organized a local Million Fathers March, and has dedicated his time to encouraging fathers to be involved with their families and their community. He also organized the San Bernardino County Youth Foster Conference, attended by more than 300 foster children.
Calvin White, who was a middle and high school counselor and principal for almost 40 years. He also volunteers with his alma mater, the traditionally Black Grambling State University in Louisiana, by representing the school at job fairs in California. He now organizes a career awareness event for middle school students and volunteers with his Kiwanis Club.
To order tickets or reserve a table, contact Margaret Hill at (909) 864-3267.
2008 Commitment to Service Award Winner, the Rev. Gwen Rose
2008 Black Rose Award Winner Leah Cash
2008 Humanitarian of the Year James McCombs
2008 Black Rose Award Winner, Dr. Paulette Brown Hinds
2008 Black Rose Award Winner Beulah Pitts
(SAN BERNARDINO, Calif.) – Some people have made a career of helping others. And some have done even more than that.
If you know someone whose passion is to help make the community better for others, , the Black Culture Foundation wants to know about them. It is seeking nominations for its Black Rose, Humanitarian of the Year and Community Service awards.
“We are looking for someone whose volunteer efforts go over and above their job related activities,” said Margaret Hill, program chairman of the Black Culture Foundation. “These are unsung heroes, people who volunteer with multiple organizations or give all of their spare time to one. They never seek their own glory, but simply want to make their community a better place to live.”
To nominate someone for this award, contact Hill at marrobhill@aol.com, or call her at (909) 864-3267. Nominations are due Friday, July 31.
Although the awards program focuses on the Black community in San Bernardino, Hill says, an award winner need not be Black, nor a resident of the city. Many community leaders in law enforcement, education and other public venues have been recognized, and people living in places such as Riverside, Chino, Rialto and Fontana have received the awards in honor of work done to benefit the Inland Empire as a whole.
The Foundation is selling tickets to the awards ceremony, which takes place, Friday Sept. 11 at the National Orange Show – Valencia Room, 689 South E Street, San Bernardino.
Tickets purchased before Aug. 14, 2009 are $50 per person, or $500 for a table of 10. Tickets purchased after that date are $60 per person or $600 for a table of 10.
To order tickets or reserve a table, contact Hill at (909) 864-3267.
(SAN BERNARDINO, Calif.) The Black Culture Foundation will crown Marion and Charlotte Black of Rialto as the Senior King and Queen 2009 on Friday, Feb. 6.
The couple will be crowned in an invitation-only reception. To RSVP, call Margaret Hill at (909) 864-3267.
“The Black Culture Foundation selects senior citizens who are involved in the community every year for this honor,” said Margaret Hill, program chairman.
Marion Black is a deacon and a member of the Board of Directors for several ministries at Ecclesia Christian Fellowship Church, and is a past recipient of the Taft Newman Award from his church. He is also a member of the San Bernardino Kiwanis Club and works with its Key Club at San Bernardino High School and is a past recipient of its Harry Rheubotton Award. He’s an Ambassador for the San Bernardino Area Chamber of Commerce and has previously been named its Ambassador of the Year three times.
Marion is a long time supporter of the YMCA. He’s also a member of the Volunteer Center of the Inland Empire, the board of Advisors for California State University, San Bernardino, the Black Culture Foundation and the Civil Service Commission of San Bernardino County.
Marion Black is also the board chairman of the Provisional Accelerated Learning Center (PAL Center) and a member of the board for the Life Stream of San Bernardino and Riverside. He has received citations from the League of Women Voters as a Citizen of Achievement.
Charlotte Black has supported her husband in his endeavors, while maintaining her own involvement in community activities. She is the vice president of her chapter of the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, where she’s held local and regional positions. She is also a member of Sunrise Church of Rialto and is involved with several of its ministries.
The ceremony and reception crowning Marion and Charlotte Black as Senior King and Queen is sponsored by Dr. Arturo Delgado, superintendent of the San Bernardino City Unified School District and the San Bernardino Black Culture Foundation.
The Black Culture Foundation of San Bernardino will honor eight local heroes Friday, Sept. 26. They are, from top to bottom: Commitment To Service Award Winner Pastor Gwendolyn Rose, Humanitarian Award Winner James McCombs and Black Rose Award winners Velda Griffin, Terrence Stone, Roy Mabry, Lea Michelle Cash, Dr. Paulette Brown-Hinds and Beulah Pitts.
(SAN BERNARDINO, Calif.) – The San Bernardino Black Culture Foundation will honor eight local heroes Friday, Sept. 26 at the 19th Annual Black Rose Awards.
The Black Rose Awards program presents three types of awards: Humanitarian Award, which will be given to James McCombs this year, the Commitment To Service Award to be received by Pastor Gwendolyn Rose, and Black Roses for Lea Michelle Cash, Beulah Pitts, Roy Mabry, Terrance Stone, Dr. Paulette Brown-Hinds and Velda Griffin.
The event begins at 6 p.m. in the National Orange Show – Valencia Room, 689 South E Street, San Bernardino. It starts with a social hour, followed by dinner and the ceremony at 7 p.m.
Each award recognizes the recipient has given significant service to the local Black community.
The Humanitarian Award recognizes the person whom the selection committee feels has gone farthest beyond the call of duty to show kindness to others. His fellow members of the Inland Center Kiwanis Club estimate McCombs spends about 30 hours a week volunteering.
“James McCombs epitomizes the role of a true Kiwanian,” said his nomination, which was sent in by a fellow Kiwanian on behalf of the entire chapter. “He’s dedicated to changing the world one child and one community at a time.”
McCombs does this as a mentor to the Key Club at Cajon High School, where he teaches community services and leadership skills to students. The Key Club is a student-run organization affiliated with Kiwanis International, and mentoring these youth is one of many duties McCombs performs as a Kiwanian.
McCombs also is chairman of the scholarship committee for Inland Center Kiwanis, and in this role visits nine high schools and middle schools to seek applicants for Kiwanis scholarships. He reviews these applications, selects recipients and presents them to graduating seniors during their commencement ceremonies.
When he’s not working with high school students, McCombs keeps busy helping a much younger group. For the past 18 years, he has served as a member of the steering committee with the March of Dimes/Walk for Babies and has served as a coordinator and facilitator, overseeing registration for this event.
Mc Combs has also volunteered his time over the past fifteen years to support the Loma Linda Ronald McDonald House, by collecting “pull tabs” from aluminum cans and turning them in for cash to a recycling center. This effort has generated thousands of dollars for the Ronald McDonald House.
Another committee on which McCombs serves each year counts the relays ran during the Relay for Kids run held at Sylvan Park in Redlands. He also participates in the relay.
McCombs frequently volunteers at the Center for Individual Development’s annual Harvest Fair. The Center for Individual Development is a recreation center for children and adults with disabilities.
Every holiday season, McCombs volunteers at the Giving Tree, which the Salvation Army of San Bernardino mans at the Inland Center Mall from Thanksgiving to mid-December. This project allows Inland Center Mall shoppers to purchase gifts for area children whose families can’t afford presents.
“He can be found almost anyplace lending a helping hand to any organization that supports children and disadvantaged adults,” his nomination read. The nomination also pointed out that despite volunteering on a regular basis and until recently, working as a United States Post Office employee, McCombs finds time to help and encourage his wife, three daughters and grandchildren, and to take part in ministries at Traditional Community Fellowship Chapel.
The Commitment to Service Award honors the person the selection committee believes has given the most of anyone through a community service organization.
This year’s winner, Pastor Gwendolyn Rose, opened Rescue Team Ministries in 2002 as a place where people in unexpected difficult situations could find solutions and keep their dignity.
Since its opening, Rescue Team Ministries has given thousands of dollars to victims of fires, evictions, and to those who have recently had a death in their family. It has sent hundreds of pounds of clothes, shoes and books to Africa to help educate and clothe people on that continent, and Gwendolyn’s husband Don Rose has traveled to African villages to give Christian messages.
“When Pastor Rose is not rescuing victims from the street, you can find her in the prison system ministering the word of God and fighting in Sacramento for the rights of those incarcerated,” her nomination read. “She can be seen evangelizing to those in need on skid row or sharing God’s love in convalescent homes.
Gwendolyn Rose recently received her Master’s Degree from Cal State, San Bernardino and now teaches special education students for the County Schools of San Bernardino. She and her husband are the parents of six children.
The Black Rose Award winners are others whom the selection committee believes have done exceptional things for the Black community over the past year.
It has given this award to different people, and sometimes to organizations, over each of the previous 18 Black Rose Award ceremonies. This year’s winners join an ever-enlarging group of Inland Empire residents who are making a difference in their community.
Lea Michelle Cash raised her four grown children as a single mom. At the same time she has served in various volunteer capacities in southern California for more than 18 years.
When her children were school-age she volunteered as a PTA mom. She also volunteered with the now closed Los Angeles County Maclaren Hall for abused and abandoned youth, the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS/Inland Empire Health Underwriters, San Bernardino’s National Night Out and as Rialto’s team captain for Revlon’s Breast Cancer Run/Walk.
In addition, Cash has worked as a freelance entertainment reporter, for the Black Voice News for two years, and previously for the Precinct Reporter for 16 years.
Three years ago, Cash started a nonprofit organization called The Brightest Star, Inc., thus embarking on her dream of building self-esteem and self-worth in children who are abused, neglected and abandoned to live in residential treatment facilities (orphanages) and foster homes. The Brightest Star, Inc. recruits and works with celebrities in the fields of art, television, music, sports, politics, motion pictures, radio, theater, education, community service and business.
Los Angeles County 5th District Michael Antonovich and former Lt. Governor Cruz Bustamonte have both participated in and awarded proclamations to Brightest Star, Inc. She also recently received an Honor Award from the Los Angeles Foster Care Awareness Campaign for outstanding contribution to children in the Los Angeles County foster care system.
Beulah Pitts has been a member of St. Paul AME Church for 40 years, and a deaconess there for many of them. She is a one-woman “sick committee” visiting sick people from her church at least three times a week, one of whom lives in Perris.
Two women in her church are disabled, and Pitts helps them by visiting at least once a week to pay their bills, shop for their groceries, take them to doctor’s appointments and run other errands for them as needed. She also makes telephone calls and sends get well cards to the sick and shut-in worshippers at her church, as well as birthday cards to members who are celebrating another year.
The first Friday of each month is Prayer warrior time at St. Paul, and Pitts is there before 6 a.m. to prepare and serve breakfast to all participants. She also shops for the food and cleans the reception hall.
Pitts also trained volunteers at the Westside Community Center, which was part of her job when she worked for the City of San Bernardino. She’s now retired.
Roy Mabry has extensive experience with the California Department of Corrections, where he achieved the level of Lieutenant. As former President for twelve years of the Association of Black Correctional Workers (ABCW), Mabry helped to provide training for law enforcement officers throughout the state of California and throughout the country.
Although he is now retired he continues to volunteer with and speak to the law enforcement community and the public at large about prison issues. He also speaks at schools, encouraging youth to stay away from drugs and violence and to get involved in community service.
Through his leadership he sponsors a variety of awards and scholarships for deserving high school students as well as funds for programs that cater to underprivileged children.
“As important as good law enforcement is to the community, without community involvement, it would be difficult for law enforcement officers to perform their duties to the desired effect,” said those nominating Mabry. “True leaders recognize the importance of community and do everything possible to involve the community in a positive manner.”
Mabry has volunteered since he was a young man living in the Deep South region of the United States, working with a local chapter of the YMCA. He continued with the YMCA when he moved to California. His involvement with a group of abused children from the Phoenix House enabled them to attend activities sponsored by the Association of Black Correctional Workers.
Also, as the developer of the African American achievement calendar, he assists a variety of organizations educate others in African American history. The Pomona Valley Delta sorority uses the calendar to provide scholarships to numerous recipients. Many branches of the NAACP have also participated in fundraising events using this historical calendar.
During the past two years, he designed what he describes as the key to understanding Black history, the African-American Heritage flag. This flag depicts thirteen days in each year that are significant to Black history and culture.
Mabry is also the founder of a national youth group called Continuing The Dream, and chairman of the newly formed African American Correctional Employees Association, both established in 2007.
Terrance Stone is the founder of Young Visionaries, a non-profit agency solely dedicated to eradication of youth gangs in San Bernardino County. Young Visionaries provides mentoring, after school tutoring, community outreach, arts therapy, youth violence prevention, leadership, youth employment development, and youth advocacy training.
Stone has established anti-gang programs throughout the county, especially in the desert regions. Additionally, he serves as an executive board member of the San Bernardino County Gangs and Drugs Task Force, a volunteer position that requires collaboration of numerous non-profit agencies in San Bernardino County and law enforcement.
Stone recently has helped to form a Gangs and Drugs Task Force sub-committee to deal solely with gang and drugs issues in the High Desert. He also has trained High Desert residents about the many facets of the gang and drug subculture, resulting in a better awareness and in programs designed to address the issues in the High Desert.
Stone has been invited to the Bahamas and Australia to assist with their gang prevention programs. He has partnered wit the San Bernardino Police Association to provide sports program for the youth of the community, and has been a speaker at assemblies motivating students in the San Bernardino City and Rialto school districts. He has been involved in banquets honoring community members and providing scholarships to students.
“There is no other individual in this county who has taken the steps to personalize the eradication of the gang element in this county,” read his nomination. “Mr. Stone has experienced first-hand the negative effects of this subculture and is truly making an impact in this county at the most basic level, the individual child.”
Dr. Paulette Brown-Hinds, a San Bernardino native and daughter of Hardy and Cheryl Brown, is the managing partner of BPC Media Works, LLC; Co-Publisher of The Black Voice News and Executive Director of California Black Media.
She serves her community through activities that promote diversity, cultural pride, and political and economic awareness through media, arts and education.
One project she worked on was to collaborate with the San Bernardino County Superintendent of Schools office to develop an outreach program that by creating videos, encouraged family storytelling and strengthens students’ computer and writing skills. The project also brought diverse cultures together to facilitate better understanding and sensitivity. The 10-week project culminated in a celebration where six videos were screened, and participants told how the project taught them new skills and provided an opportunity to learn more about the people in their community.
Again with the San Bernardino County Superintendent of Schools, Browns-Hind produced the “Footsteps To Freedom Underground Railroad Tour,” an educational project designed to teach educators, students and community members about the plight of enslaved African-Americans. She has helped conduct tours with more than 300 teachers, students and community members who travel from Kentucky to Canada to trace the steps of the Underground Railroad. She partnered with the San Bernardino County Superintendent of Schools, California State University, San Bernardino and the Riverside County Office of Education, to arrange the tours Brown-Hinds is an accomplished writer, publisher and lecturer who has received many personal honors and awards. Her former principal at San Bernardino High School, where she was president of the Associated Student Body, nominated her for this award.
For the last six years, Velda Griffin has been the Executive Director at Option House, an agency that works to prevent domestic violence and assist its victims. Under her leadership, the agency has expanded services to include teen violence prevention, workshops and training for men and more transitional housing for those clients who are further along in their goals of healthy lifestyles.
The agency has never been well supported with public funds, so during her leadership Griffin has put together a board to assist in raising private donations.
Caption: Carl Dameron, outside his 255 N. D Street office building, will M.C. The 19th annual Black Rose Awards with California State University San Bernardino professor Kathryn Ervin.
(SAN BERNARDINO, Calif.) – Area PR leader Carl Dameron and California State University San Bernardino theater arts professor Kathryn Ervin will emcee the 19th Annual Black Rose and Humanitarian of the Year Awards in a September 26 ceremony at the National Orange Show – Valencia Room.
The San Bernardino Black Culture Foundation presents the Black Rose Awards to honor lifetime achievement. Anyone who has done good things for the local community would be given consideration for this recognition.
The organizers of this year’s program points out these awards are an important honor. “We recognize our unsung heroes, people of all diversities who have contributed a great deal to the community,” said Margaret Hill, program chairman. “We have been presenting this honor for almost 20 years now.”
There are three categories of awards given at the ceremony: the Black Rose, the Commitment to Community Service of the Year and the Humanitarian of the Year.
“The Black Rose Awards are one of the most inspiring and vital community events,” said Ervin. “Our community is richly blessed by the many who are doing good things here without fanfare, and it is important they be given the recognition due them.”
Ervin also sees the Black Rose Awards as an opportunity to identify and acknowledge many local leaders, especially for youth, to encourage their participation in activities that help their community.
“It’s important for our young people to see that role models are right here with us,” she said. “And it’s vital for the rest of us to be reminded of the many good things people here are doing.”
Past recipients include developer John Dukes of Dukes, Dukes and Associates, Westside Action Group and Mansie Booker Jr. among others.
Dameron, president of Dameron Communications, said recipients of the Black Rose Awards have devoted their lives to helping others. “It is an extreme honor for me,” he said. “I am proud to be a part of providing these local heroes the recognition they so richly deserve.”
The Foundation is selling tickets to the awards ceremony for $50 each. Tables of 10 may be reserved for $500.
The event begins at 6 p.m. in the National Orange Show – Valencia Room, 689 South E Street, San Bernardino. It starts with a social hour, followed by dinner and the ceremony at 7 p.m.
To order tickets or reserve a table, contact Margaret Hill at (909) 864-3267.
Sister Mary McKinney is the 2007 Humanitarian of the Year
Reginald Beamon is the 2007 Community Service Award winner.
Kim Carter is a 2007 Black Rose.
Carl Jones is a 2007 Black Rose.
Brenda Dowdy is a 2007 Black Rose.
Project Action, as a group, is a 2007 Black Rose.
Lola Lee is a 2007 Black Rose.
Dixie Jourdan is a 2007 Black Rose.
(SAN BERNARDINO, Calif.) – If you know someone who gives their time to make a better community, the Black Culture Foundation wants to know about them.
It’s seeking nominees for the 19th Annual Black Rose, Humanitarian of the Year and Community Volunteer of the Year awards. It will present these awards Friday, Sept. 26 at a dinner in the Valencia Room of the National Orange Show Grounds.
“We are looking for people who are doing over and above what they are paid to do every day,” says Margaret Hill, chairman of the Black Rose Awards program. “Many of these people don’t toot their own horn, but do so much for the community, they deserve recognition.”
To give the committee time to review all nominees, nomination forms should be turned in by Aug. 22. To obtain a nomination form, contact Hill at (909) 864-3267.
Although the awards program focuses on the Black community in San Bernardino, Hill says, an award winner need not be Black, nor a resident of the city. Many community leaders in law enforcement, education and other public venues have been recognized, and people living in places such as Riverside, Chino, Rialto and Fontana have received the awards in honor of work done to benefit the Inland Empire as a whole.
The Foundation is selling tickets to the awards ceremony for $50 each. Tables of 10 can be reserved for $500. To order tickets or reserve a table, contact Hill at (909) 864-3267.
The event begins at 6 p.m. in the National Orange Show – Valencia Room, 689 South E Street, San Bernardino. (Access is on Arrowhead Ave.) It starts with a social hour, followed by dinner and the
ceremony at 7 p.m.
