The New Tri-State Defender
LEGACY
February 26 - March 4, 2015
Page 13
COMMUNITY
‘Father’ to many, Barron McGlothin passes at 53 by Wiley Henry
whenry@tsdmemphis.com
The pastor of New Beginning Ministries, Bishop Bettye Alston was among those saluted on Feb. 12th during the 28th Annual Dr. Henry Logan Starks Scholarship Dinner & Awards Ceremony at the Hilton Memphis. Bishop Alston died Tuesday. (Photo: Tyrone P. Easley)
Dr. Bettye J. Alston – ‘Always uplifting’ The New Tri-State Defender Staff
Dr. Bettye J. Alston lived her life in a humble manner that reflected sincerity, loyalty, devotion and the belief that the joy of living was a thing to be shared as widely – and as often – as possible. The pastor of New Beginning Ministries, which she founded 25-plus years ago, Bishop Alston was the owner of Inside & Out Wellness Center and President/CEO of New Beginning Counseling Center. She died Tuesday at age 76. On Feb. 12th, Bishop Alston, a graduate of Memphis Theological Seminary, was among those MTS saluted during its presentation of the 28th Annual Dr. Henry Logan Starks Scholarship Dinner & Awards Ceremony. As he often did, Tyrone P. Easley, freelance photographer for The New Tri-State Defender, was there capturing her images. “She was an extraordinary personality and a magnet of positivity,” said Easley, who was in the TSD office attending to paperwork associated with his photos of the Starks ceremony when he learned of Bishop Alston’s passing. He dropped his pencil and bowed his head. Later, he said, “She kept something going that was always uplifting. She was a people-pick-upper.” So many would agree! The widow of renowned minister the Rev. Neasbie Alston, Bishop Alston was 41, single and a minister in the AME Church when she married Rev. Alston, who was a 58-year-old widower and a Baptist church minister, on Nov. 29, 1980. Rev. Alston died in 2012 at age 90. Their family included eight children and a host of grandchildren and great-grandchildren. “Our prayers are with the family of Dr. Bettye Alston. She and her late husband, Neasbie, were a power couple in the local religious community,” said Mayor A C Wharton Jr. “After his death a couple of years ago, she continued to be a strong force for good. Bishop Alston will be missed.” A registered nurse and certified counselor, Dr. Alston earned her Ph.D. in counseling psychology, a doctorate of ministry from St. Paul School of Theology, and a masters degree in divinity. She retired as director of nursing education from The Regional Medical Center (now Regional One Health). Wellness on every level was a big deal to Dr. Alston, who moved earnestly to make it so for others, helping many with weight loss and fitness and demonstrating an ongoing concern about the prevention of childhood and adult obesity. She had owned the Inside and Out Wellness Center at 1024 S. Cooper since April 2000. A member of the Leadership Memphis class of 1991, Dr. Alston was a proud soro in Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. The longtime owner of Miss Be Nea’s House Of Fashions, her many hats included being an author, having penned “Building Bricks Without Straw. The Impossible Mission.” This online description of the literary work provides some insight into its author: “A personal vision and mission enhancement that will help the reader become committed to succeed in any and all pursuits and endeavors. It is an excellent how to book with a Christian perspective. The book begins as a network marketing how to book from the view of a senior citizen who had no knowledge of what to do and how to do it. The task of building a team appeared to be impossible until the writer prayed and God revealed the way to success.” A Melrose High School graduate, she was consecrated Bishop in 2007 and was the recipient of numerous honors and awards, all of which she accepted with noted humility. Although some knew she had been contending with illness, word of Bishop Alston’s passing was jarring nonetheless. Her Facebook page reflects how so many felt about her. “A force of nature has moved on...A star in the sky has turned to light another way...I will forever miss Bishop Bettye J. Alston,” posted the Rev. Rosalyn Regina Nichols. “I walk the path she blazed. I am able because she came my way.” After the salute at the Dr. Henry Logan Starks Scholarship Gala, this revealing exchange unfolded on Facebook: Crystal Brown to Bishop Bettye J. Alston: “Congratulations on your vision continuing to be fulfilled with Memphis Theological Seminary’s … Dr. Henry Logan Starks Scholarship Gala. … Now, OAN, where did you get those STOCKINGS???!!!???” Deborah Thomas: “Baby, she was too sharp!!!!” Crystal Brown: “......than a TACK!!!!” Bishop Alston: “….y’all are just too kind. Thank you. You must love me. LOL” Crystal Brown: “Yes ma’am.” (Services were pending at TSD deadline.)
The man affectionately known as “Baba” was kind, affable, civil and never forgot where he came from. He even assured his mother that he would make her proud some day. Barron Keith McGlothlin made good on that promise. He’d become a consummate educator, businessman, executive, events planner, community servant, church worker, family man, and managed some of the industry’s top gospel artists. “I mostly raised him without a father,” said Paralee Cager. “He never forgot the struggle that I had to go through. He loved me and always tried to see about me.” McGlothlin loved God, too, and never forgot the church, said Cager, struggling with grief after losing a second son in less than two years. Darron McClothlin, her eldest, died in June 2013. On Friday, Feb. 20, McClothlin was found unresponsive in a running Cadillac Escalade in an unlit area not far from the Memphis International Airport. There were no signs of foul play, Memphis police said. The cause of death is still pending. McGlothlin was 53. Despite the circumstances surrounding her son’s death, Cager said, “I love my son. If I could change things, he would be with me today. God lent him to me for awhile and came back to pick up one of the best.” McGlothlin loved his family, too, his brother said. Although 11 years separated them, “his passing was an eye-opening experience,” said the Rev. Fredrick Cager, senior pastor of True Authority Church in Cordova. “A piece of my life is gone…a piece of the world is gone,” said Rev. Cager, who was left with the responsibility of tending
his brother’s personal affairs. “I miss him, but I haven’t had the opportunity to grieve. I haven’t had the time to register that he’s passed.” Reflecting on what his brother meant to him, Rev. Cager said, “My family was raised in poverty in North Memphis. He was the first to go to college, the first to leave Memphis, the first to branch outside the restraints (of poverty). So I attribute to him the things I’ve received (in life) by watching him.” McGlothlin was always enlarging his territory, his brother said – for example, as an executive staff member of the Church of God in Christ’s International Music Department, as the administrative aide and business manager to the late national recording artist O’landa Draper, and as a productive member of Greater Community Temple COGIC. “He served in many capacities such as events planner, director of Community Relations, director of our annual 10-week summer camp called ‘Camp Porter,’ where he hired certified
instructors and others to provide a safe, fun and educational haven for children ages 4-15,” said Bishop Brandon B. Porter, GTC’s senior pastor and jurisdictional prelate of COGIC’s Tennessee Central Jurisdiction. Bishop Porter also said that McGlothlin was responsible for coordinating the church’s annual picnic and worked very closely with the community benevolent outreach ministries that delivered food, clothes, toys, etc., to thousands of families in need. The Rev. Ricky Floyd, pastor of The Pursuit of God Transformation Center, said, “On the first day Baba and I met, we instantly became family and friends.” That was 3 ½ years ago, said Floyd, when Kingdom Alliance Entertainment presented McGlothlin, Tracy Bethea of 95.7 Hallelujah FM, and Floyd with a “Kingdom Shaker and Mover Award” for their work in advancing the “Kingdom.” Over the course of their friendship, the clergyman noted that McGlothlin helped his son with his rapping career and
Omega-3 results show local need to eat more seafood by Wiley Henry
whenry@tsdmemphis.com
If the level of Omega-3 fatty acids in your red blood cells is at 8 percent, there is an 80 to 90 percent risk reduction of sudden cardiac death than someone whose Omega-3 level is around 2 to 3 percent. Omega-3 fatty acids are key to good health. However, of the more than 300 people who tested in October at the Church Health Center, 64 percent were in the low 2 to 3 percentile. The grim report is an indication that Memphians do not eat enough seafood that contains the necessary amount of Omega-3 fatty acids to ward off a number of serious diseases and reduce the risk of heart attacks. “Memphis has the highest incidents of heart disease,” said Linda Cornish, executive director of the Seafood Nutrition Partnership (SNP), a nonprofit based in Washington, D.C., which raises awareness about the essential nutritional benefits of eating seafood. SNP chose Memphis and Indianapolis as pilot cities to launch its public health education campaign to encourage more people to eat at least two servings of seafood each week as recommended by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Dietary Guidelines. Participants also were encouraged to take the Healthy Heart Pledge for four months and given samples of salmon, tuna and Omega-3 capsules. Antionette Marmon had never liked salmon and certainly didn’t like the way it looked until she decided to make a meal of it for she and her husband. “It was really, really good,” said Marmon, 57, a health fair recruiter, who took the pledge and tested to determine the per-
CELEBRATING 107 YEARS
Claribelle H. Weaver was honored for 75 years of service as Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. celebrated 2015 Founder’s Day at First Baptist Church-Broad on Sunday (Feb. 22).
Barron Keith McGlothlin (second from right), aka “Baba,” was seated next to Gospel star Dottie Peoples during the Billy Rivers and The Angelic Voices of Faith 35th Anniversary at Golden Gate Cathedral last August. (Photo: Wiley Henry)
helped his other son grow his graphic’s business. He also worked with notable gospel singers such as Perfection, 4 Given, Change, Josh Bracy, The Clark Sisters, Dottie Peoples, Yolanda Adams, Kurt Carr, Kathy Taylor Brown, Crystal Rucker, and others. Gwendolyn Turner, co-founder of the Angelic Voices of Faith, remembers having dinner with McGlothlin at a restaurant where the general manager offered to define McGlothlin’s nickname. “He said baba in his country means father,” said Turner, using the meaning to reference McGlothlin’s multifaceted career and his intense relationship with friends and loved ones. “Baba fathered so many of us,” she said. “He fathered us in how to treat each other; he fathered us in the ways of business; and he fathered us in music ministry. There was no one he would not help, advise, or counsel.” McGlothlin used those inherent qualities to advance the thinking of his students in Memphis and Shelby County Schools as well, which earned him the honor of being an “Outstanding Black Educator” and “Teacher of the Year.” “He was very smart,” his brother said. McGlothlin’s absence is causing hearts to break. “Our faith in God will help us get through this,” said Teresa McGlothlin, an aunt. Visitation is Friday, Feb. 27, from 5-7 p.m. at Greater Community Temple COGIC, 5151 Winchester Rd. The funeral is 11 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 28, also at the church, followed by the interment in Southwoods Memorial Park, 5485 Hacks Cross Rd. N.J. Ford and Sons Funeral Home has charge.
Actress (and AKA) Loretta Devine was a special guest and rendered a musical selection during the celebration presented by the Beta Epsilon Omega, Beta Tau, Epsilon Epsilon and Mu Epsilon chapters. (Photos: Tyrone P. Easley)
Joan Franks, a member of the Church Health Center, gets her blood tested for its percentage of Omega-3 fatty acids. (Photo: Lauren Evans/The Carter Malone Group) centage of Omega-3 fatty acids in her red blood cells. “People take their health for granted,” she said. “Anytime you can take a test for free, there is no reason not to do it.” Vickie Johnson, an event management consultant, took the test as well to ascertain her percentage of Omega-3 fatty acids, but wasn’t too enthusiastic when she got the results. “It showed I needed an increase,” said Johnson. “It was about 3 percent.” “Most Americans have 2 to 3 percent of Omega-3 fatty acids in their red blood cells,” said Cornish. “Eighty percent of Americans don’t follow the USDA guidelines and 20 percent of them eat seafood at least twice a week.” Those who were tested in October and pledged to eat more seafood are scheduled to be retested Thursday (March 5) at the Benjamin L. Hooks Central Library between 5:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. “We’re inviting people who were tested in October to come back to be retested,” said Cor-
nish. “It’s an indicator of whether you’re eating enough seafood or not.” “I think it’s a great opportunity to get retested to find out what’s going on in my body,” said Marmon. Studies have been conducted to determine the benefits of increasing one’s Omega-3 fatty acids in the blood to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and other maladies. Memphis, however, is not foreign to studies of one kind or another. In 2012, for example, one third of the population in Memphis was considered obese, according to Newsweek magazine, which listed Memphis as the fattest city in the nation. High blood pressure and diabetes are also prevalent among Mid-Southerners. Johnson was previously diagnosed with high blood pressure and is taking the prescribed medication for it. “I’m no longer taking the medication,” she said. Johnson had concerns about her health prior to participating in the seafood campaign; however, she felt it necessary to take the pledge. She’d been eating sea-
food at least 3 to 4 times a month, but increased her consumption after receiving her score. “I was eating fish and shrimp,” she said. “Now I eat more tilapia, and I increased my tuna intake as well. I either grill it bake it or put it in the oven.” A divorcee, Johnson has two adult daughters. She encourages them to eat healthy as well. “My younger daughter, who is in college, is more aware of Omega-3,” she said. “We’ve had discussions about it.” Marmon said eating healthy and increasing the percentage of Omega-3 in her blood is an important step – not just for herself, but for women in particular. “It is extremely important for females. As you get older, you have to maintain your body.” Early detection is everything, she added. Cornish said help is available for women who want to learn more about heart health and eating healthy. “We want to make every day heart healthy,” she said. “ We want more people to sign up for the healthy heart pledge by going to the website www.seafoodnutrition.org.” Because there has been a good reception in Memphis and Indianapolis, Cornish said the SNP would launch a 3-year national campaign in October and add six more cities to encourage more people to eat more seafood. Marmon said she and her husband have eaten fish at least once a week before Memphis was chosen as a pilot for SNP’s public heath campaign. “I don’t have a problem with increasing it to twice a week,” said Marmon, who is also using the Omega-3 capsules as a supplement. “I’m taking 1,000 milligrams and I will continue to take them,” she said.
For life-long service… Judge D’Army Bailey was presented the Service of Honor Award by Bishop K.D. Johnson, pastor of New Macedonia Church, during the observance of African American History Month. (Photo: Tyrone P. Easley)