Triumphant Magazine AUGUST 2018
Percy Williamson
Why Williamson is running for State Representative District 26 Starts on Page 7
Time is Ticking August 28th, 2018 PLUS: FAYE HENDERSON AND GOSPEL PRAI SE, SANFORD, FLORI DA - PAGE 14
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This magazine was made possible through Jesus Christ, the great almighty, and for that I am totally grateful. Our hope is that this August 2018 issue of Triumphant Magazine would encourage you to continue to press towards the mark of a higher calling in Christ Jesus. May each article and story allow you to be Triumphant daily. Psalms 121:1 says, "My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth." Quote by Nelson Mandela "It always seems impossible until it's done"
VOLUME NINE TABLE OF CONTENTS
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Don't Go Down Without A Fight - Dr. Evelyn Bethune Interview with Percy Williamson, and why he is running for State Representative District 26 CATALYST - Felicia Beno Biography of Milton McCulloch - Founder of Conversations Literacy Series, Poet, Author and Playwright Faye Henderson and Gospel Praise, Sanford, Florida Redefine yourself with clarity - Dr. Primrose Cameron
Percy Williamson for state representative district 26 Theresa: Percy, can you please tell us a little bit about yourself? Percy: "In order for me to tell about myself, I would have to describe a decision that ultimately shaped and changed my life. It's something, I had completely no control of. So, let's start there. I was born in Whittier, North Carolina a small farming community the western portion of North Carolina." "My Great-grandfather was a sharecropper, my grandfather was sharecropper and my father was a sharecropper. If you understand anything about sharecropping, you have big families and when your sons come of age, they go to the fields. My father, once he completed the third grade went out into the field to help his father. I'm one of six children, and I have two brothers and three sisters. We are roughly two years apart. He came home one day to his young wife and six children, and he said to her,"There's a better life somewhere else." So with very little education My father wanted a better destiny for himself, his children and family. He decided to put us on a Greyhound Bus and move his family to Daytona Beach, Florida. He didn't know anybody, had no job, and no place to live. He didn't have anything, but Faith. He heard that this was place that his family could get a new start. There was work for him to have, and he could change his destiny." "The people of Daytona embraced my family when we got here. The year was 1958, I was three years old when we arrived in this city. It takes village. We were essentially "homeless." Village is term that back in the day meant everybody took care of everybody. There was always a sense of family. Although we were new in town, people wanted to help you out. That spirit of community was ingrained in me and all of my brothers and sisters. Even though my father had very little education, my mother embraced the idea of education being the great equalizer, and that proved to be the catalyst to change our destiny."
Jake and Mel have patched things up
PICTURES BY TASIA AKUA, FLORIDA
Theresa: Percy, it really did change your destiny? "Percy: It really did because I could be sharecropping today. That change and the installation of what my parents gave to me and what was given to us by members of our community had a wonderful effect. It's in my DNA today! That is how I got to be in the State of Florida, and that's how I got to be in Volusia County." "From that point, I was educated in public schools in Volusia County culminating with my graduation from Seabreeze High School in 1974. Growing up as I did and having such a large family as mine there is always competition just within the family for everything. That is where I believe my competitiveness and my leadership qualities came from. I was blessed to have some athletic talents that got me to college on a full athletic scholarship to play basketball. I was the smallest kid in school, and when I got to college I was 5 feet 6 inches tall, I was the smallest player in the conference. The fact is basketball was my passion and drove me to heights that I could not then imagine. Basketball drove me at the time, so when young people gravitate to something they love, let them stick
PERCY & CARMEN WILLIAMSONÂ
to it. If you have a passion for something, then by sticking to it, it becomes your natural love and will carry you through. That's what basically carried me, I couldn't see myself not being a basketball player. I figured it could get me certain places. It is funny because basketball, and the messages and lessons I've learned from my parents said that, if I wanted something that I loved that I had to take care of the other things that wouldn't impede me. That meant, I had to get good grades, and take care of my academic and educational business, if I wanted to continue doing this." "Obviously, I had some basketball talent to get a scholarship to go to college. Even though I had God given talents , I had other talents that needed to be explored, formed, and matured. That is what happened, when I went to college, not that I didn't anything less on the athletic side, but the social, culture and academic side out grew the basketball. It was no longer #1. It was always a vehicle to get me where I needed to go. I performed at a very high level on the athletic standpoint, winning the championship in my junior year and was named All Conference two years in the row but I also had highest-grade point average on the team." "Bright Flight is when bright young folks leave here, and they go other places to find opportunities. When I graduated from Bethune, I went to New Orleans just to relax, and within the third day of my trip, I decided that is where I wanted to be. So, I found a job in New Orleans. My first job was assistant store manager for Walgreens Drug Store, and that got me on my way. I stayed with Walgreens for 5 months. I navigated into the banking and finance industry which was a major part of my field of study in college. Sometimes you must step out on faith, and rely on those God given talents that he has blessed you with. Those talents can't come forth front unless you in fact take a chance to step out on faith." "New Orleans is a different place and it's an interesting kind of place, and I would probably still be there. In the early 1980's, the oil industry crashed and the times in the State of Louisiana, Texas and Oklahoma were terrible particularly within the banking industry and finance industry. I made a conscious decision, I was going to move back to Florida, and I looked around the state. I looked at Jacksonville, Tampa, Fort Lauderdale, but I never looked at Daytona. I decided I would move to Jacksonville, after being 5 years in New Orleans." "To fast forward, I've spent 25 years in banking with a few banks, but primarily with Wells Fargo and Bank of America. With Bank of America, I had the position of Statewide Manager of the Community Development Finance Group. It covered the entire State from Pensacola to Key West. I dealt with cities and municipalities to help communities grow, build churches community centers and shopping centers. I gave attention to areas that needed help and assistance to grow. My private sector experience led me to be interested in politics. Even though, this is my first-time running for public office. I have been interested in government and I have been in partnership on the private sector business side of the table for quite some time. One thing my background brings is my ability to get things done. "One of my mentors from way back, Yvonne Scarlett-Golden, reached out to me while I was still at the bank, and ask if, I would apply for a position in Daytona Beach."
"She was already, the zone 5 City Commissioner in Daytona Beach, and she was planning on running for mayor. "I am going to run for mayor and when I do, I am going to win, and I am going to need your help." Being the woman that she is, she was true to her word. I did apply for the position, and I did get it. I become the Director of Leisure Services for the City of Daytona Beach, which was at that point the third largest department within the city government. When I got there, they had 150 employees and there was a multimillion dollar annual budget. It covers all recreational programs and community centers, The Peabody Auditorium, The Bandshell, The Halifax Harbor Marina. The department managed the Municipal Stadium, the Jackie Robinson Ball Park, the Florida Tennis Center, two 18hole Golf Courses." "My business background in management is one of the reasons they brought me to city government. I came home to Daytona Beach in 2003, and Yvonne Scarlett-Golden was elected Mayor in 2004. She was elected to get control and manage Spring Break and Black College Reunion, so the day after she was elected she called me in and said, "You came here for a reason, and then she turned the Spring Break & Black College Reunion resolution project over to me." We sought to get control of it, because it was completely out of control. From a management standpoint, and to get beyond racial discrimination. When people hear race, they get nervous, and they get apprehensive, but to resolve any problem you must have an honest discussion. To this day, the political campaigns never want to talk about that. It makes people uncomfortable to discuss the history of Daytona Beach, Volusia County. We must understand how we got to this point to make it better. My plan at the time was to be there for 3 years, but 14 later I am still there." "My motto is to always invest in our youth on the front-end of life not the back end. Our city, county and state government are constantly investing critically needed resources on the wrong end. Our youth need the front-end investment to help guide and, direct and in many instances change their young lives which in turn will change our communities." What have you done with the Seniors? "We can't forget our seniors; we want to make the quality of life better. A young lady came to me and said, "My mother wants some things to do outside of going to church on Sunday. That is her social hour, and there should be some things, seniors should be able to do during the week." I took this young lady's mother and her mother's friend and started in Daytona Beach, what we call "Senior Oasis" at the Dickerson Center. It is a program where seniors meet weekly, we provide entertainment, speakers and things that would benefit the seniors. We partner with companies to come in and buy them lunch, and give them presentations about issues that is important in their lives. From those two ladies, the program grew and expanded. Now, we have four chapters senior oasis around the city and they meet various days of the week. The seniors meet in the cities four main community centers including the new 6.8 million dollar Midway Cultural and Educational Center and 2.5 million dollar Yvonne Scarlett-Golden Cultural and Educational Center both of which I designed over saw the construction of and instituted universal programming within. Percy Williamson is married to Carmen Oliver Williamson and they are the parents of 3 adult children. Make your vote count in this upcoming election on Tuesday, August 28th, 2018. Please visit PERCYWILLIAMSON.COM for more information, or you can contact Percy at (386) 795-6708
YVONNE SCARLETT GOLDEN
Y.E.S. - Youth Employment Program for the Summer
FRESH BOOK FESTIVAL WILL BE HELD, FRIDAY, JANUARY 11TH, 2019 & SATURDAY, JANUARY, 12TH, 2019
Felicia Benzo is the founder of the CATALYST Global Youth Initiatives, Inc, and the MENTORING PROGRAM was created first CATALYST is acronym for Children AND Adults Together Achieving Leadership Inspiration, Success and Trust. It is a 501C3 since 2010. All of the programs are created to inspire children to greatness by focusing on their social and emotional development. We provide them with the tools that they need to become independent contributing and successful adults. We have three programs now. The 1:1 mentoring CATALYST Mentoring which is starting its 9th year serves 27 of the 72 VCS served 300 students. Ages 8-18 last year. DREAM (Dynamic, Responsible, Educated, Achieving, Men) is for middle school males only and currently in 4 middle schools. The CATALYST Summer Literacy and Leadership Academy which serves youth ages 0 to 15. We have multiple awards for our work with the youth. We led the initiative among the youth organizations in Volusia call for Volusia Youth Organization Summit.
For Bookings and Upcoming events, Milton can be reached at miltonmcculloch@hotmail.com or (321) 279-3637
Milton McCulloch is an author, poet, songwriter and playwright who was born in Kingston, Jamaica. He migrated to the United States in 1992 and has lived mostly in Central Florida, where he currently resides. He is the father of a son, Rodney and a grandfather of baby Nora. McCulloch was the featured poet at the 2011 Orlando’s Florida Juneteenth Festival and the 2013 Fresh Book Festival. He has authored two books of poems, A State of Life, Man, Woman, Child in 2010 and I’m Just Saying, Unfiltered, A Poetic Prescription in January 2016. His third book of poems titled Love and Emancipation is scheduled for release in 2018. He has also written several plays including “Tomorrow”, performed at the Orlando Repertory Theatre and at The Orlando International Fringe Festival. McCulloch has performed in several plays including the role of God in the play “The Devil and Creation” at the Zora Neale Hurston Festival. He is the founder of the monthly Conversations a Literary Series that features Authors and Poets. Currently he shares co-host duties on The Sweet Tea with a Chaser blogtalkradio.com Talk Show. He is a lover of life and all of its challenges, surprises, and lessons. This is his inspiration and is the common theme that is very present in all of his work.
Faye Henderson and Gospel Praise Biography On May 22, 2011, Faye Henderson and Gospel Praise celebrated their ninth anniversary and first Gospel CD release, “God Did It” which is available at Bethel Bible and Book Store, www.cdbaby.com, Amazon.com, music.napster.com, itunes.com, emusic.com, tradebit.com, and greatindie.com., you listen to the entire album before purchase. For bookings: Faye Henderson and Gospel Praise, can be reached at (407) 692-6044. The group, Faye Henderson and Gospel Praise was formed on May 20, 2002 by Elder Johnaaron Henderson, pastor of Word of Life Ministry and former drummer for gospel quartet, The Singing Kings of Joy of Central Florida. With the advice of friends, Dr. Theory Stringer, Bishop Karl Redmond, Sr. and the prayers of First Lady Flora Redmond the group started its journey. The first to come aboard with the Henderson’s was Karl Redmond, Jr. on keyboard. The second to join was guitarist Maurice Fields, Sr., then Sheneka Perry, Josephine Chandler, Sheila Gibson, Zack Grant, Destiny and Pamela Herrings. The group has many years of experience, Faye is a former member of Mattie Howard and The Spiritualettes and The Collegiate Allstars of Daytona Beach. Maurice has shared the stage with many great singers and musicians. John has played drums for The Blind Boys of Alabama, The Holy Lights, and was asked by The Brooklyn Allstars to become their drummer. They have traveled from church to church and where ever they could take the gospel of Jesus Christ. Performed in concerts, conducted revivals, the 2004 Lincolnville Festival in St. Augustine, award ceremonies, hosted a radio ministry, and were guest on The Chambers of Gospel Television Show in the Central Florida area and The Minnie Williams Television Show in Jacksonville, Florida. The group has opened for the famous McDonald Sisters of Fayetteville, North Carolina, Luther Barnes, Swanee Quintet of Augusta, Ga., Lucille Pope, Dorothy Norwood, Joe Ligon and The Mighty Clouds of Joy, Television and Radio Personality Grace Worthy, and countless others. Faye performed in the Theatrical production of Crowns in Sanford, Florida in 2013 and 2014 at The Wayne Densch Performing Arts Theater. Most of all, the group live every day of their lives doing God's will. Members: Faye Henderson - lead vocalist, writer, arranger, and tambourine. Joh'naye Henderson – background, flutist. ErinMarie Henderson– Background, violinist. Karl Redmond, Jr. - Keyboard and studio engineer. Doug Miller, Sr. - Lead guitar John Henderson-drums, saxophone, background, and manager Awards: SWEET HARMONY CHAPTER 388 Special Recognition for Dedicated Service - November 11, 2012 Seminole High School Orchestra Hall of Fame ErinMarie Henderson 2013-2014 NAACP Community Service Award - June 7, 2014 The Earl E. Minott 2016 Maestro Award
Redefine yourself with clarity Chapter 3 of the book "Time to reset!" by Dr. Primrose Cameron Put the vision board down (momentarily), put the list of resolutions back in the drawer and let's talk. Some of you may have brought in the new year, new season, new month with a bang. Maybe you decided to attend a faith-based service more often, spend more time with your family or lose a few pounds. You may be wondering what to do next with your life. Should you activate an exercise regimen, reignite your marriage/relationship or reconnect with old friends? Maybe you're considering a career move or pursuing higher education. Maybe it's time to strengthen your faith or connect with a church home. The good news is you have a grand opportunity at being the best you each day that you have breath. This is truly a time for refinement or at least it can be depending on your next move. Take this time to redefine yourself with clarity. There may be those that will not understand your purpose, not approve of your changes, or agree with your growth but remember this is about you. This is your call towards urgency, not theirs. There are many takeaways from 2017 and 2018. Whether good or bad we have all learned true lessons that have led us to where we are now. But who is that person? Define yourself with clarity, not for the public eye but for the inner you. Set clear attainable goals that weigh profitable unto your many strengths. Are there things that you have not tried due to fear of criticism? Let this be the time that you write a book, take part in spoken word, or establish a mentoring group for young girls or boys. Be willing to share your gifts with others unconditionally. Have you been holding back from your true purpose? Are there those that seek your guidance and you have been avoiding your calling? Redefine yourself with clarity unapologetically. Remember the social media craze: “Sorry, not sorry.” I remember thinking to myself, when I first heard it: “How rude.” But after constant reminders of others saying sorry, but not really meaning sorry, I began to analyze the concept as it pertains to my own life. How many times had I apologized for what others wanted from me, but I didn’t have it to give. How many times had I “acted accordingly” due to my marital status and/or title. How many times have you done the same? When I decided to model for two years and became a more active leader in the community, redefining myself with clarity became a full-time job. I started going to casting calls, photo shoots and fashion shows weekly. I spent more time meeting fabulous models of all types, sizes, shapes, educational background, and ethnicity then I did talking about who I was and what I did as a profession. This industry taught me how to be free and openly work through the kinks of living. Have you ever watched a runway video where the model trips, stumbles or falls? What is one of the first things the professional model does? He or she gets back up of course. That’s what redefining yourself with clarity is all about. It is about the times that you get back up, stand tall and walk the walk that says it all. No one from the audience says to the model: “what are you doing.” They all know to sit back and watch the show. Often, defending my purpose was parallel to the redefining stage. I would go home exhausted at the end of the day not remembering who I had spoken to or why. I even questioned the “new me” and my relevancy in our world. When you have lived your life as an only child, as I have, only answering to my parents, it becomes challenging to now have to define your self-expression. I did it ungrudgingly, in hopes that it would allow others to “just live.” However, I decided to live outside of the intentional box of living. I pursued my own happiness by not sticking with societal values, but my own. Just because I had earned a doctorate degree, did not mean that I had to streamline my strengths or passion in certain areas. If I wanted to host a fashion show or rock the runway myself (I can’t really rock the runway, but you get the point). I did it, if I wanted to emcee an event, I did that too. Then of course, I woke up one day and realized that I was a public figure. Not because I made a lot of money or had television fame, but because I openly cared about the welfare of others and stopped at nothing to ensure there were various opportunities for growth in our community. There is the small detail of when people start talking about public figures, that is how you know you are one. Others talked about me whether I was present or not and whether it was positive or negative comments were left up to the audience and atmosphere. At first, I thought that someone was playing a joke on me. I couldn’t imagine why people wanted to talk about my boring life. I kept looking for the cameras when others shared the message with me. I was questioned why I smiled. I was questioned why I laughed. I was even questioned why I was never seen in public angry. I spent a lot of time wondering why others weren’t doing these things and why it was such an anomaly. I am glad that I later learned that my actions helped others to push through and feel empowered. I am also glad that I never took it personally because a lot of times people mean no harm, they are just inquisitive and that’s a human trait. I am extremely grateful that I learned to embrace being the public figure previously described. Are you trending? Are you accepting your call to redefining yourself with clarity? Have you made up your mind to activate the urgency on your life? If not, are you ready to press reset.