June 14, 2014 - June 20, 2014, The Afro-American
From left, Dr. DeVance Walker Jr., Debbie Tijani, Chandra Walker Holloway; Douglas Dillon accepting award on behalf of B. Doyle Mitchell Jr. and Patricia Mitchell of Industrial Bank; PVAC Fund member Joel Parker, Debra Thomas
Shani Waugh, chapter member Sheila Ogilvie, award recipient Patricia Randolph, Ph.D., chapter members Shirley Miller and Erma Withers, Yvonne Chaney-Harrison
From left, Vonda Kemp, chair of Economic Development Committee; Sol Graham, Quality Biological, Inc.; Debbie Tijani, chair of Potomac Valley Alumnae Chapter Fund; Montgomery County Councilmember Nancy Floreen; Debra Thomas, president of Potomac Valley Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority
Music selection rendered by Young Entrepreneurs Grant/ Scholarship recipient, Chelsey Green of The Green Project
The Potomac Valley Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority and the Potomac Valley Alumnae Chapter (PVAC) Fund hosted the Fourth Annual Minerva Entrepreneurship Awards Ceremony and Networking Reception April 30 at the VisArts Center in Rockville, Md. The event was well attended by guests from the surrounding metro area, including Councilmembers Nancy Floreen and Cheri Branson; Congressman Chris Van Hollen’s representative, Danielle Perry; Congressman John Delaney’s representative, Kevin Mack; and Dr. DeVance Walker, Jr., Manager of Small Business Services of Montgomery County Department of Economic Development. Named for Minerva, the Roman goddess of commerce, wisdom, and skill, the Entrepreneurship Awards honor African-American owned businesses operating within Montgomery County, and other businesses that empower the African-American community. The 2014 Award recipients were: Patricia Randolph, Ph.D., Community Audiology Services (Sisterhood Business Award); B. Doyle Mitchell, Jr. and Patricia Mitchell, Industrial Bank (Empowerment Award) which Douglas Dillon accepted on their behalf; John Stephenson, Inspiring Minds, LLC (Small Business Award); Kelly Leonard, Taylor Leonard Corporation (Woman Owned Business Award); Jason Miskiri, The Society Restaurant and Lounge (New Business Award); and Marjorie Ann Goode, Start Early: College & Career Planning Service (Micro Business Award). Recipients of the 2014 Young Entrepreneurs Grant/Scholarship were: Brennan Gerald, Dffrnt Wrld and Chelsey Green, The Green Project, both second year awardees, as well as Travis Mitchell, Venture U, a first year recipient; first time awardee Joshua Sommerville, His W.I.L.; and second year awardee Chyna Jones, Chyna’s Doll House will be honored at the PVAC End of the Year Luncheon, June 14 at the Rockville Hilton. The 2014 Young Entrepreneurs Grants/Scholarships are funded by the following corporate named scholarship donations: Eugene Profit, Profit Investment Management; Sol Graham, Quality Biologica; David and Suzanne Hillman, Southern Management Corporation’s Hillman Family Foundation; Sweet Sensations by Shirley; Hope Brown, Charlotte Elizabeth Yancey Eights Charitable Trust; and Mayor Jeffrey Slavin, Sanford and Doris Slavin Foundation. Additional corporate sponsors include Knowlton Atterbeary, KRA Corporation and Marcus Johnson, FLO Brands.
By White House Blogger Eric Waldo Special to the Afro As honorary chair of the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities (PCAH), first lady Michelle Obama
2014 Minerva Entrepreneurship Award Recipients: From left, Patricia Randolph, Ph.D., Douglas Dillon accepting award on behalf of B. Doyle Mitchell Jr. and Patricia Mitchell of Industrial Bank, Kelly Leonard, Marjorie Ann Goode, John Stephenson, Jason Miskiri
2014 Young Entrepreneurs Grant/Scholarship Recipients along with Corporate Donors: From left, Adenia Bradley representing Southern Management Corporation’s Hillman Family Foundation; award recipient Travis Mitchell; award recipient Chelsey Green, Sol Graham of Quality Biological, Inc., award recipient Brennan Gerald and Hope Brown of Charlotte Elizabeth Yancey Eights Charitable Trust
Members of Potomac Valley Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority with member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc., Patricia Randolph, Ph.D., center
From left, Dr. DeVance Walker Jr., Montgomery County Department of Economic Development; Debbie Tijani, Potomac Valley Alumnae Chapter Fund Chair; award presenter Sheila Shears; award recipient Patricia Randolph, Ph.D; PVAC Fund member Shirley Miller; Debra Thomas, president of Potomac Valley Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority
From left, committee members, Amanda Wilson and Janis Nix, 2013 Minerva Entrepreneurship Award recipient; Marcus Johnson of FLO Brands, committee members, Monica Talley, Pamela Byrd, and Mildred Bell
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FLO Brands Wine Tasting: 2013 award recipient Marcus Johnson of FLO Brands; Debra Plummer, 2013 award recipient; and Greg Plummer of Plum’s Hair Gallery
Guests from the surrounding metro areas to honor AfricanAmerican owned businesses operating within Montgomery County, Md.
Members of Potomac Valley Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority along with Krista Bradley, executive director of BlackRock Center for the Arts, center Photos by Rob Roberts
troubled schools. We know the arts inspire young people to reach higher and that students involved in the arts do better in school and are more likely to enroll and complete college. The Turnaround Arts program has been so successful in these difficult to serve communities that it will quadruple in size. This fall the program will add 35 schools in 11 states, ultimately serving over 10,000 students. The talent show had something for everyone. Elementary school students from Oregon shared the stage for a song and dance with arts enthusiast and actress Sarah Jessica Parker; middle schoolers banged away on giant xylophones to Caribbean beats; award-winning actress Alfre Woodard shared the stage with student musicians from New Orleans with a spoken word and music performance about life after Katrina; and elementary school students from Boston danced and sang to “Wake Me Up!” by Avicii, all to the audience’s delight. If the show was any indication, the talent coming out of these schools will make for a hot ticket for years to come.
welcomed student performers from across the country as they took the stage in the East Room for the first-ever White House Turnaround Arts Talent Show. This wasn’t just any talent show. These performances were part of a larger administration effort to leverage art, artists, and significant Department of Education resources to turnaround the nation’s worst performing schools. The President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities partnered with the Department of Education’s School Turnaround program to bring the arts to some of our most
Students from Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School in Portland, Ore. perform with actress Jessica Sarah Parker.
First Lady Michelle Obama welcoming all of the guests
Celebrity artists Jessica Sarah Parker and Alfre Woodard
Actress, producer, writer, and political activist Alfre Woodard makes an introduction The president extends words of ‘thanks’ to the first lady for hosting the talent show
The Lame Deer Junior High School performance from Lame Deer, Mont with Chritina Pato on Bagpipes; Shane Shanahan on drums, and celebrity artist Damian Woetzel Washington, D.C.’s Savoy Elementary school
Performance by The Orchard Gardens K-8 pilot School from Boston, Mass. Alfre Woodard (far left) with the ReNew Cultural arts Academy, New Orleans, La.
First Lady Michelle Obama and President Barack Obama mingling with the students
John Lloyd Young (far right), an actor/singer performing with The Noel Community Arts School from Denver, Colo.
The first lady jamming with the students Photos by Rob Roberts