|
[ Voices Home ] [ Voices News ] [ Features/Columns ] [ Our Viewpoints ] [ Healthy Living ] [ Comm-Unity Photos ] [ Current VOICES Pages & Archive ] [ Reflections On Dr. Martin Luther King ]
January2012
Today Not Tomorrow Fall Water Bearer Awardees
We Salute You For Giving the Greatest Love of All
Pamela Gates is a UW graduate who moved to south Madison in
1969. While raising a multiracial family there, she volunteered and
then worked at her kids' daycare center and volunteered at Franklin
School when her kids went there.
In the mid-'70s, Pam began volunteering at the Madison Literacy
Council, now the Literacy Network, teaching adults to read and write.
She became the Council's first paid employee and was its first
executive director from 1980-1988.
She began working as a copy editor for The Madison Times in 1994 and
eventually began reporting. She also writes for the Bay Creek Bulletin
and Southern Exposure.
Pam is a member of the Friends of Goodman South Madison Library, the
Odyssey Project board, St. Mark's Lutheran Church Council and choir,
and the St. James Praise Choir. Last fall she became a cultural mentor
(sponsor) for a refugee family from Bhutan, which has been a very
interesting experience.
Mario Garcia Sierra is the Director of Programs at Centro
Hispano. He has played a key role transforming the agency to become
youth and family centered, partnering with key institutions and
community organizations to address the root causes of the issues
affecting the lives of Latino youth and their families in Dane County.
Mario was born and raised in Guatemala City. He began working in
popular education in 1995 as a youth leader using Paulo Freire's
methodology for youth organizing and literacy teaching with urban-poor
and marginalized people.
Mario moved to Madison in 2003. Since then Mario has been a
predominant leader in the immigrant's rights movement. He has
organized primarily with Voces de la Frontera, a workers center for
low-income immigrant families. He has lobbied at the national, state,
and local level for immigration reform, the D.R.E.A.M. Act, and
policies that will improve the well-being of poor communities of
color. Mario serves on the Board of Directors of Freedom Inc. and
Madison Prep Academy.
Michael Johnson currently serves as the CEO of Boys & Girls
Clubs of Dane County. He previously served as the Deputy Recreation
Commissioner for the City of Philadelphia, managing 163 recreation
centers, 74 swimming pools, 240 athletic fields and 74 community
parks.
Michael also worked as the Special Assistant to the CEO for both
Philadelphia & Chicago Public Schools. Johnson holds a MBA in Global
Management from the University of Phoenix, a BA in Business Education
from Chicago State University and Certifications in Fund Raising
Management from the Center of Philanthropy at Indiana University and
Certifications in Human Resource Management from Cornell University in
New York.Michael is husband to Toya, and father to Michael, Jr. and
Micayla.
Oscar Mireles has received numerous awards for his community
service and activism. In 2011 he was selected 'Literacy Advocate of
the Year" by Wisconsin Literacy. He was selected as the Martin Luther
King Recognition Award by Dane County in 2009 and the Citizen of the
Year-Citywide by Madison Metropolitan School District.
Wayne and Terri Strong are both natives of Racine , WI. Terri
graduated from UW- Milwaukee and since 1996, Terri has worked as an
Early Care and Educational Specialist for the City of Madison.
Wayne attended the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, earned a
Bachelor of Arts Degree in Criminal Justice in 1982. In 1989, Wayne
relocated to Madison and has been an employee of the Madison Police
Department ever since. In 2011 Wayne, became the Criminal Justice
Program Chair and Adjunct Instructor at Globe University.
Wayne is an active volunteer in the community where he serves on
various boards and work with a number of educational and social
organizations.
Terri has always known the importance for giving back to the
community. She supported the mobile food pantry at S.S. Morris
Community A.M.E Church, collected and donated school supplies,
volunteered at various community events, and promoted early literacy
and math awareness for early care and education teachers. Most
recently, after much urging from Wayne, Terri helps with the Southside
Raiders Cheerleading and Football program in the concession stand.
Terri and Wayne are the parents of Jessica and Byron Strong. Jessica
is a December 2009 graduate of the University of Minnesota. Byron
continues his studies in criminal justice at UW Platteville.
Sheilia Stubbs, a graduate of Beloit Memorial High School
attended College in Tougaloo, and Jackson Miss. She also attended
Mount Senario College, and Cardinal Stritch University in WI. Sheilia
obtained a BS Degree in Criminal Justice Administration; a BA in
Political Science; and a Masters of Science and Management.
Sheilia is extremely active in the community in providing leadership,
mentoring and volunteer services. Currently, she serves as the
First-Vice President of the NAACP Madison Branch. Mrs. Stubbs is very
excited about her political career. She was elected as the Dane County
Board of Supervisor, District 23-South Madison on April 18, 2006 and
continues to hold that seat. Sheilia is the wife of Pastor Godfrey A.
Stubbs, mother of a 16 month old daughter, and the Co-Founder of the
End Time Ministries International Church.
Today Not Tomorrow, honors 6 individuals twice a year, that give of
themselves, by bringing energy and life to the community, and do so
without seeking recognition.
This fall we also surprised a young community activist with the 2011
Love and Loyalty Water Bearer Award! See pg. 7 to find out who that
awardee is!
[ Voices Home ] [ Voices News ] [ Features/Columns ] [ Our Viewpoints ] [ Healthy Living ] [ Comm-Unity Photos ] [ Current VOICES Pages & Archive ] [ Reflections On Dr. Martin Luther King ]
[ Top ]
Extended Web Coverage & Links to More Resources:
[Alcohol Awareness]
[Brain
Matters]
[Career
Exploration] [APA
History]
[Math Matters]
[Women's History] [African American Heritage]
[Homage to
Coretta Scott King]
[The Children's March]
[School Matters] [Celebrate Dr. Martin
Luther King]
Kwame McDonald:
“A Giver of Life’s
Opportunities” by Betty Banks
How does a person become an icon, a legend, and
someone who belongs in the annals of time? I thought about this when
my oldest brother, Kwame, JC McDonald passed this past October.
He was the oldest of the Mitchell/Miller/Johnson
cousins and the one who we all looked up to. He was the first to
graduate from an historically, black college, the first to pledge a
fraternity, the first to go to graduate school and the first to get
married. Yes, he was our hero.
We knew he loved the same things we did, education,
family and God. But what we came to know, especially after he died,
was the extent of his love for young people and his commitment to the
African American community. All of us recognize, cherish and want to
build on the legacy of our grandparents, Wm and Anna Mae Miller.
Each of us does it in his and her own style.
Kwame's style was passionate, radical and he strongly believed in and
fought for justice. He was a warrior who never backed down and even
when members of the older generation of our family sometimes
questioned his behavior, he stood for what he knew they may not have
quite understood, after all, he was raised by those who, in their day,
did not "back down", but stood for social justice and fought racial
inequality.
Although he held several leadership positions over
the years in several communities, my big brother was most proud of the
work he did with youth. His strategy of identifying young people who
had overcome challenges to talk with younger students was always
effective. And, although he had a keen interest in sports, he
encouraged young athletes to do well in the classroom and develop
personal integrity. He was known to help young men and women "achieve
far more on and off athletic fields than they thought possible", wrote
Joe Nathan in minnpost.com. Others referred to him as a living legend.
He was all that and more to us, his younger
brothers, sisters and cousins. We laughed at his jokes, listened to
his stories and learned from him. As we sat at his Memorial Service
listening to those who were honoring him, we were washed in sweet
sadness. We agreed with those who said “he was a giver of life’s
opportunities.
[ Voices Home ] [ Voices News ] [ Features/Columns ] [ Our Viewpoints ] [ Healthy Living ] [ Comm-Unity Photos ] [ Current VOICES Pages & Archive ] [ Reflections On Dr. Martin Luther King ]
[ Top ]
Extended Web Coverage & Links to More Resources:
[Alcohol Awareness]
[Brain
Matters]
[Career
Exploration] [APA
History]
[Math Matters]
[Women's History] [African American Heritage]
[Homage to
Coretta Scott King]
[The Children's March]
[School Matters] [Celebrate Dr. Martin
Luther King]
|
