30th Annual Black Rose Awards Set for Saturday, February 4, at Cal State San Bernardino Santos Manuel Student Union
SAN BERNARDINO, CALIF. The 30th Black Rose Award Winners are Dr. Juanita H. Scott, San Bernardino Valley College Foundation, Humanitarian of the Year Rose Mayes -– Executive Director Fair Housing Council of Riverside County; Black Rose Winners; Linda Wright, Moreno Valley Black Chamber of Commerce; Gloria Macias Harrison, President Emeritus, Crafton Hills College, San Bernardino Community College Board of Trustees; Deborah Robertson, Mayor of Rialto, Founder of The Women’s Conference; and three honorees for the Black Rose Founder’s Award from San Bernardino Community Hospital: June Collison President, Roz Nolan, Chief Nurse Executive Officer, and Dr. Ruby Skinner.
The awards ceremony will also make three posthumous tributes to Black Rose Senior Kings Don Griggs, Jimmy Jews, and Jesse Nichols.
The San Bernardino Black Culture Foundation’s 30th Black Rose Award Winners will be recognized at the annual banquet on Saturday, February 4, 2023, from 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm at the California State University, San Bernardino, Santos Manuel Student Union 5500 University Parkway.
In remembrance of Dr. Margaret Hill, the Black Culture Foundation has renamed its Margaret Hill Community Support Award to the Dr. Margaret Hill Black Rose Young Adults Inspiration Award. This award will present scholarships to two inspirational and outstanding San Bernardino Black young adults graduating grade 12 or in college, said Black Rose Committee Co-Chair Kristine Scott.
“This year’s Award Gala is held to commemorate Rosa Parks’ birthday,” said Black Rose Committee Co-Chair Jim King.
Black Culture Foundation President Arlington Rodgers said the foundation’s mission is to bridge cultural differences across generations through nurturing, educating, and building lasting, respectable, and encouraging communities.
“The San Bernardino Black Culture Foundation is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, founded in 1986 to honor and share the richness of our Black heritage, to recognize world diversity and inspire our youth/adults toward leadership, providing scholarships and career opportunities,” said Rodgers.
“The Foundation has prided itself on giving more than 125 scholarships to community students over the years. This is our first event since Covid, and our coffers are bare and in need of replenishment to continue providing scholarships,” said Committee Co-Chair Kristine Scott.
Bios:
Dr. Juanita H. Scott Humanitarian of the Year Award:
Rose Mayes
Rose Mayes
Executive Director of the Fair Housing Council of Riverside County, Inc. since 1993. Under Rose’s leadership, the Fair Housing Council created Mission Heritage Plaza, a mixed-used project that includes the Fair Housing office, the Civil Rights Institute of Inland Southern California, and 72 units of affordable housing.
Black Rose Awards:
Linda D. Wright
Linda Wright
As an organization design specialist, Wright has successfully helped over 70 nonprofit organizations to attain their 501(c) 3 or (c) 6 nonprofit status, 80 for-profit corporations, 15 LLCs, and 10 partnerships.
The Moreno Valley Black Chamber of Commerce that Wright directed received several awards, including Chamber of the Year three times. Wright also wrote and created several community educational programs for the Foundation that including prisoner and group home re-entry training.
Deborah Robertson, Mayor of Rialto
Mayor Deborah Robertson
On November 3, 2020, the voters of the City of Rialto reaffirmed their confidence in the leadership of Mayor Deborah Robertson, reelecting her to a third four-year term as mayor. Her public service career includes over 20 years on the Rialto Council and over 45 years of public and governmental career public service.
Mayor Robertson’s visionary leadership has thrust the City of Rialto into the national spotlight as a recognized leader in the areas of public-private partnerships, industrial environmental sustainability endeavors, first-in-the-nation grant-supported partnerships of environmental efficiency projects, as well as a partnership with alternative fuel generation return to the natural gas grid, generating local revenue outcomes, more significant business development, and a skilled job creation platform.
GLORIA HARRISON
Gloria Macias Harrison
Gloria Macias Harrison has balanced two careers plus family and community activism since the early sixties. She is one of the founders of El Chicano (1969), a community weekly that provides a Chicano voice in the Inland Empire.
Her activist history includes work with the San Bernardino City Unified School District, the War on Poverty, United Farm Workers, Operation Second Chance, and Planned Parenthood.
Harrison served as President of Crafton Hills College from 2000 until her retirement in 2012. Before that, she was Vice President of Instruction at Crafton Hills College for six years and Dean of Humanities at San Bernardino Valley College for three years and taught community college students for over 20 years.
Since 2012 she has served on the San Bernardino Community College Board of Trustees, currently as Chair of the Board and sits on the Budget and Legislative Committees. She serves on the Crafton Hills College Foundation and the California Housing Foundation.
Jim King Corporate (Founders) Award:
Don Griggs
Don Griggs
Griggs, who passed away in July 2020, pioneered the first Boy Scouts Camporee program for over 100 Black and Latino boys who experienced outdoor camping, learned first aid, and mastered scouting skills. The BSA awarded him its Whitney Young Award in 2015. As a Nordstrom manager, he ensured that people of color were hired and employees of all races were treated equitably and was a volunteer at Priscilla’s Helping Hands HUGS (Home Unity Growth Groups) program.
Jimmy Jews
Jimmy Jews
Jews broke the color barrier as San Bernardino’s first Black firefighter in 1971 and retired 25 years later, having risen through the ranks to hold the positions of a fire investigator, spokesperson, and finally, Captain in 1989. Jimmy passed away in November 2022, at the age of 79.
Jesse & Vicki Nichols
Jesse Nichols
Nichols was a business owner who founded Nichols Private Security and was a community activist who made time to help with Home and Neighborly Services’ weekly food distributions and serve as volunteer coordinator for the San Bernardino City Unified School District’s foster and homeless program and their Thanksgiving food distribution program. He passed in August 2021.
San Bernadino Community Hospital
San Bernardino Community Hospital Administration and Staff
Community Hospital has been serving Inland Empire residents for more than 100 years. As a not-for-profit, non-denominational hospital, its mission is building a healthier community and serving the needs of a diverse population.
June Collison
June Collison has served as the President of the Community Hospital of San Bernardino since 2012. As the leader of this 343-bed acute care hospital, she is working to meet the demands of health care reform and the challenges of the local economy.
Roz Nolan is the hospital’s Chief Nursing Officer and Dr. Ruby Skinner is the Chief Medical Officer. With Ms. Collison, both serve on the hospital’s leadership team.
Individual tickets are $75 each. For more information or to purchase tickets go to: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/30th-black-rose-awards-banquet-tickets-491089169927.
For additional information please contact our Co-Chairs: Kristine Scott at (909) 809-0317, kscott@socalgas.com, or Jim King at p:(760) 239-8200, / jimking5000@yahoo.com.