Morris, Manning & Martin is pleased to announce that Partner James “Mac” Hunter will be inducted into the Gate City Bar Association’s Hall of Fame during its annual gala event on November 6. Past honorees include civil rights legend Donald Hollowell, Atlanta Mayor Maynard Jackson, Georgia governor Roy Barnes, and state Supreme Court Justices Robert Benham and Leah Ward Sears.

The Gate City Bar Association, the oldest African-American Bar Association in the state of Georgia, will honor Mr. Hunter for his contributions to society, for his efforts to give back to the community and serve others, and for being an advocate for justice, diversity and equality.
“The firm is immensely proud of Mac and his accomplishments,” said Managing Partner Louise Wells. “Mac dedicates a great deal of his time – and himself – to making our firm and Atlanta, as well as our legal community, a better place. This honor is well deserved.”

Throughout his legal career, Mr. Hunter has fought to recruit and to expand career opportunities for other African-American attorneys. Prior to joining private practice, he was a senior trial attorney with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission where he was responsible for litigating some of the first cases under the 1972 Amendment to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. He has also served as a dedicated mentor to many younger lawyers and has challenged and inspired them to advance in their legal careers while also giving back to the community.

“Over the years, Mac has been a zealous advocate for his clients, a mentor to other attorneys, and a champion for the less fortunate in our community through his civic involvements,” said colleague Clyde Mize, the Gate City Bar member who nominated Mr. Hunter for the Hall of Fame. “He is a great role model for me, as well as others in the firm. I am proud to call him both a colleague and a friend.”

For nearly four decades, Mr. Hunter has labored to improve and strengthen the Atlanta community by endeavoring to educate, inspire and enrich the lives of its residents. In addition to his support of the Gate City Bar Association, he has been actively involved with organizations such as the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, Goodwill Industries of North Georgia, Inc., and the Atlanta Workforce Development Agency (AWDA), where he serves as chairman. He is also National General Counsel for the 100 Black Men of America, Inc. (a position he has held for nearly 25 years), General Counsel for the 100 Black Men of Atlanta, Inc., General Counsel for the National Black College Hall of Fame Foundation, Inc., General Counsel for the National Cares Mentoring Program, Inc. and General Counsel for the Trumpet Awards Foundation, Inc. He is a member of Kappa Boule of Sigma Pi Phi Fraternity, Inc., the Atlanta Chapter of National Association of Guardsmen, Inc. and Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc.

About Morris, Manning & Martin, LLP
With our roots in the Southeast, Morris, Manning & Martin (www.mmmlaw.com) is a full-service law firm with national and international reach. We dedicate ourselves to the constant pursuit of our clients’ success. To provide our clients with optimal value, we combine market-leading legal services with a total understanding of their needs to maximize effectiveness, efficiency and opportunity. MMM enjoys national prominence for its real estate, litigation, technology, healthcare, intellectual property, capital markets, environmental, green industry, insurance, mergers & acquisitions and timberland & forest products practices. MMM has offices in Atlanta, Raleigh-Durham, Savannah, Taipei, Beijing and Washington, D.C. and now an alliance with FGCN in São Paulo, Brazil.

State Sen. Royce West has put out the call across Texas for members of black fraternities and sororities to become volunteer mentors with Big Brothers Big Sisters, which pairs youths with caring adults who steer them on a positive path.

West, D-Dallas, an Omega Psi Phi fraternity member, met this month with Greek organizations and other service groups at Big Brothers Big Sisters’ Dallas headquarters. He discussed how more mentors would help the many youths – particularly young black boys – who need a guiding hand.

Big Brothers Big Sisters has hundreds of youths on the waiting list for mentors. In most of their cases, Mom works outside the home and Dad is absent.

West points to the low graduation rate among black males in Texas as an issue for mentors’ attention. He said members of black Greek organizations are equipped for supportive roles. As community leaders, they have “unique power” to make change, he said in a prepared statement before meeting the groups.

“It is our duty to answer the call of our most vulnerable youth,” he said in the statement.

West’s new statewide initiative creates a mentorship pipeline for black students from third grade to their college sophomore year. The program will begin in North Texas this fall, using volunteers as “goal models” for the youths.

Groups that will work with West and Big Brothers Big Sisters include the National Pan-Hellenic Council, the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, Region 10 Education Service Center and the Texas Education Agency. To learn more, visit www.bbbstx.org or call 1-888-887-2447 or 214-467-0123.

The University of South Florida chapter of the Omega Psi Phi fraternity has been suspended while detectives investigate allegations of off-campus hazing, university officials said Monday.

Tampa police said the alleged hazing took place at 11:30 p.m. on Aug. 22 and 23 at an address on W Busch Boulevard.

Police received a report about the incident Friday night and detectives have since conducted “numerous interviews,” Tampa police spokeswoman Laura McElroy said.

“We are investigating to determine if a crime occurred,” she said. None of the suspects are current USF students, no arrests have been made and the investigation is expected to take several more days, police said.

No one received medical treatment as the result of the incident, McElroy said. But neither she nor USF spokeswoman Lara Wade would say what the nature of the complaint was.

University students, faculty and staff learned of the investigation late Monday afternoon in an e-mail from USF system president Judy Genshaft. The e-mail did not initially identify the fraternity, which set the campus abuzz.

“That was kind of a shock,” said student body vice president Spencer Montgomery, 22, a senior majoring in communication. “I was sitting at my desk (when the e-mail arrived) and it was like, whoa.”

As soon as administrators learned of the allegations, USF took what Genshaft described as the “severest possible action.” The fraternity chapter in question was suspended and the chapter’s national organization was notified so that it could begin an investigation.

The suspension means that the chapter in question is not recognized on the campus. “They can’t meet, they can’t rent rooms, they can’t operate on this campus,” Wade said.

USF has 40 Greek organizations, only some of which have fraternity or sorority houses on campus.

While the police investigation is pending, USF will suspend any students involved in the incident, and “we will respond to all hazing incidents in the same way,” Genshaft wrote.

“Hazing is illegal,” she said in the e-mail. “It is against university policy, and it is totally unacceptable at USF.”

While Genshaft said USF’s Greek organizations provide rewarding and enriching experiences to students, she added that “unfortunately, this group held a secret off-campus meeting and violated the standards and policies of not only our university, but the rights of our students.”

This is not USF’s first incident of hazing.

In December 2006, the 70-member USF chapter of Lambda Chi Alpha shut down amid allegations of alcohol and hazing violations. The chapter had already been put on probation as a result of previous alcohol violations.

In 1999, Alpha Eta chapter of the Zeta Phi Beta sorority was suspended after pledges complained that they had been beaten with a wooden paddle severely enough to inflict bruises.

Carlos A. Whitaker, a 1994 Marshall High School honors graduate, recently was promoted to director in the Investment Banking Division of Credit Suisse.

He has the responsibility for managing a team of professionals that sell and trade equities and equity derivatives for some of the largest hedge fund clients of the bank including SAC Capital, Moore Capital, Och Ziff Capital Management, York Capital, Magnetar and HBK Investments.

Whitaker also received an Investment Banking Outstanding Achievement award from the company for his skill in leveraging the bank’s resources to complete a large and complex transaction that was outside both his geographic and product coverage area for one of the bank’s largest clients.

Whitaker began working for Credit Suisse at their Houston office in 2000. After three years, he was transfered to Boston, where he worked for three years. He is currently based in the New York office.

Whitiker is a May 2000 University of Texas-Austin honors graduate. He earned three degrees – a bachelor of arts from the Plan II Honors Program; a bachelor’s of business administration in accounting; and a master’s in accounting from the Professional Program in Accounting. He was a sommerfeld Scholar for maintaining a 3.75 or better grade-point average. He is a member of the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity Inc.

Whitaker is the son of Willie and Faye Whitaker and has one sister, Angela Whitaker. He has a son, Bryce Whitaker, who is attending the York Preparatory School in New York City.

Credit suisse is a leading global financial services company headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland. The bank earned accolades during the recent financial crisis for its prudent risk management and strategic allocation of capital. In 2009, Credit Suisse was recognized as “Bank of the Year” by the International Financing Review.

The granddaughter of biologist and educator Ernest Everett Just dabbed away tears from her eyes Friday morning as a statue of her grandfather was unveiled at the Mitchellville middle school named after him, eight years after the school opened and more than six years after work for the statue began.

“This is important for the children,” said Kathryn Just, 62, of Northwest Washington, D.C. “For some it will open a discussion of why it is there. There are many lessons that can come from that statue outside.”

The 7-foot-tall bronze statue of Just holding an open book is mounted on a nearly 4-foot-tall brick platform outside near the school’s main entrance. The statue was dedicated Friday at Ernest Everett Just Middle School, one week after Just’s birth date.

The statue cost about $90,000 and was paid for by state funds, said Wesley Jarmon, president of the Ernest Everett Just Foundation Inc., a Largo-based nonprofit organization that works to promote Just’s legacy and interest students in the STEM fields of science, technology, engineering and math.

Just, a black biologist who was influential in the field of cell biology, died at age 58 in 1941. He is buried in Lincoln Memorial Cemetery in Suitland.

He also founded the historically black Omega Psi Phi Fraternity in 1911 at Howard University in the District. Nearly 30 fraternity members attended the ceremony.

The Ernest Everett Just Foundation, which was founded in 2002, petitioned the Prince George’s County Board of Education to name the school after Just and petitioned the state of Maryland to fund the statue.

About six years ago, the foundation approached Sen. Ulysses Currie (D-Dist. 25) of District Heights to fund the statue, said Currie, who secured $150,000 in state funds for the statue. The remaining $60,000 went back to the state.

“I got the statue here so we could bring busloads of kids here to tell his story,” Currie said.

Antonio Tobias Mendez, 46, of Frederick said he was contacted more than six years ago about creating the statue. Two years later, in 2006, Mendez made a computer rendering.

From November until June, Mendez worked on the clay sculpture of Just, which was then cast in bronze.

“It’s a very unique project, in that regardless of the subject, I can’t think of another public school that has a monument in front of it for their namesake,” Mendez said. “I think it’s important that anyone who visits the school learn about Ernest Just.”

Mendez said the statue has Just holding a book because Just was also an educator. He taught English and biology from 1910 to 1941 at Howard University.

The statue, which weighs between 700 and 800 pounds, sits on a nearly 4-foot-tall brick pedestal to reflect the architecture of the school and to be in proportion with its surroundings, Mendez said.

Keynote speaker Titus Reaves, an assistant professor of regenerative medicine and cell biology at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, S.C., spoke to the more than 100 people who attended the ceremony about Just’s life. Just was born in Charleston.

“[Just] was a really great man who was before his time,” Reaves said.

The Medical University of South Carolina hosts an annual Ernest Everett Just symposium to encourage black students to pursue a career in science.

The middle school’s principal, Carlton Carter, said Friday that he anticipated students to return to school on Monday and be in awe of the statue, and he would like the school to partner with the university to better understand who Just was and to pursue student scholarships.

“The statue will be a constant reminder of his legacy,” Carter said. “It’s a living, visual stimulation and a reminder to the students that nothing is impossible. I’m extremely pleased to have it for the kids. It’s all about sight.”

The Mitchellville plaque on the statue of Ernest Everett Just reads:

Ernest Everett Just

Pioneer biologist, Howard University professor, First recipient of the Springarn Medal

May the students that walk through these halls find the seeds of the spirit of learning that

Dr. Just planted to support and enhance every one’s education.

The Beta Pi Chapter of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity Inc. recently awarded the 2010 Neil A. Butler and Richard E. Dukes scholarships to Stacey Williams and Cornelius Stewart.

Williams, a graduate of Buchholz High School, will attend Webber International University. Stewart, a graduate of Gainesville High School, plans to attend Santa Fe College.

Shawn Findlater, a civil engineering major at the University of Florida, received the Cleveland Kiner Scholarship, which is awarded to the undergraduate member of Omega Psi Phi with the highest semester grade-point average.

The Florida School for the Blind 2010 graduating class included:

Arlatarel Tyvate Wills, of Gainesville, completed four vocational career education certifications in the business support services field, in food service and in housekeeping. He is the son of Denise Wills and of James and Alice Wills.

Cameron Jaquez Gardner, of Alachua, completed four vocational career education certifications in the food services field. A Deaf Department graduate and honor roll student, he is the son of Collete Gardner and Kenneth Gardner.

Christopher Brandon Hulon, of Bronson, completed a vocational career education certification in the nursery services field. He is the son of John and Jennie Shiminski.

Hulon received the Florida School for the Deaf & Blind Educational Association Merit Award.

Virginia “Ginger” Childs, chair of the Alachua County School Board, was recognized as a certified board member by the Florida School Boards Association during the annual spring conference in Tampa.

Childs completed 96 hours of voluntary training in 12 areas, which focus on the governance roles and responsibilities of School Board members.

Alexander Kaminski, band director at Buchholz High School, was recently elected to the American School Band Directors’ Association during the national convention in Orlando.

Wayne Wallace, director of the Career Resource Center at the University of Florida, was inducted into the Academy of Fellows for the National Association of Colleges and Employers.

Lauren Daley, associate director of the Career Resource Center at the University of Florida, won the Spelman and Johnson Group Rising Star award from NACE.

Farouk Dey, senior associate director for career networks, received the NACE Innovation Excellence in Research award.

Also attending the national conference from UF were: Jill Skuffe and Kevin Guthrie.

On July 28, 2010, during the 95th Biennial Session in Baton Rouge, LA, the Illustrious Most Worshipful Reverend Alexander Hendrix Smith, 33º was elected President of the General Grand Masonic Congress, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, of the United States of America. President Smith, who currently resides in Apopka, Fla., is the first person from the state of Florida to be elected as President of the General Grand Masonic Congress.

Smith was appointed as As-sistant General Recorder in 1992. While serving in that appointed capacity he expressed the desire to one day be elevated and elected to the office of Congress President. For the past 18 years he has diligently and faithfully worked his way up through various the offices within the Congress to achieve his goal. He previously served as General Grand Recorder, General Grand Secretary, and for the last six years served as 1st Vice President. When asked if he had a vision statement, his response was; “Chosen Servants of God’s Inner Circle.”

President Smith was born in Thomasville, GA., the oldest of five siblings. He was raised and educated there until the age of 14 by his grandparents.

While visiting his parents in Florida, his feet got stuck in the sand and have been here ever since.

A graduate of Orange County Schools, furthered his education at Florida A&M University receiving a Bachelor of Science degree in Agricultural Education with a minor in Horticultural Science; a graduate of Apopka’s Citizens Police Academy; a Certified Horticultural Professional by the State of Florida; and is currently pursuing a Master’s Degree from The Reformed Theological Seminary.

President Smith is married to Linda C. Smith and the father of five. He has been employed by Orange County Schools for the past 33 years. He has been selected by his peers as one of the five finalists for teacher of the year at Dr. Phillips High School for four years during his 23 year tenure; nominated by his students for Who’s Who among Agricultural Educators; held the position of President of the Orange County Association of Agricultural Educators for 12 years and is currently serving his fifth year again as President. Smith previously served as President of the Florida Association of Agricultural Educators and has served on numerous committees and advisory boards on the local, state, and national levels. He has been instrumental in recruiting minorities into his field of study by involving himself and his students alike in national publications and national videos designed to recruit minorities. He is a proud member of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc.

He has served with distinction in numerous capacities within the Masonic Organization. He is a Past Most Worshipful Grand Master of The Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge AF&AM of Florida, Inc. and the Founder and Executive Director of the Prince Hall Scholarship and Economic Development Foundation.

Not only is he an educator, but most importantly he is a child of God. Having accepted the calling into the Ministry, he is the Associate Pastor of New Hope Missionary Baptist Church in Apopka, Florida. His favorite scripture in the Bible is “If any man be in Christ he is a new creature.”

The Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge AF&AM of Florida has planned a Congratulatory Reception to honor and pay tribute to his election as Congress President. The Reception will be held on Saturday, Aug. 21, 2010 at 3 p.m. at the Grand East Temple located at 1199 Bruton Blvd. in Orlando, Fla. MW Kenneth C. Holley, 33º is the Grand Master of The MWPHGL AF&AM of Florida. The public is cordially invited to attend this celebration.

They’re recognizing their charter right here in Augusta.  The fraternity donates more than 10-thousand dollars in scholarships every year to qualified and needy student scholars.  They have about 100 members in the Augusta Chapter.  In addition to scholarships, they give to the blood drive, cancer society, and they have a mentoring program for elementary students.

Moses Norman, Sr.-Guest Speaker: “they’ve done such a wonderful job in this city over the past 85 years.  I thought it would be fitting for me to come down and join them in this activity.”

Jimmie Stevens-President of the Omega Chapter: “it’s more than an anniversary.  A more tribute to the brothers who have come after me to make this a great evening of entertainment and dedication.”

The Chapter was chartered in Augusta in 1925.

The Gary Inter-Greek Council believes in events that foster closeness among the nine historically black Greek-letter groups under its umbrella.

One of the most popular ways to promote unity is the annual All-Greek Picnic; the latest one was Saturday at Lake Etta County Park in Gary.

“The picnic has been going on for six years at this same location,” said Dharathula “Dolly” Harris, a Sigma Gamma Rho sorority member. “It was started by what is called the ‘Divine 9,’ which comprises nine organizations.”

Those are Alpha Kappa Alpha, Delta Sigma Theta, Zeta Phi Beta and Sigma Gamma Rho sororities and Alpha Phi Alpha, Kappa Alpha Psi, Omega Psi Phi, Phi Beta Sigma and Iota Phi Theta fraternities. At least two members of each served on the planning committee.

“This (picnic) is the result of the sororities and fraternities coming together for a common goal — fun, fellowship and togetherness — and to enjoy the great food,” Keisha White of Gary said.

Harris was chairwoman of this year’s picnic committee.

“This event was started as a way of thanking our members and their families and friends for their support of our programs in the surrounding areas — and just a way of having fun,” she said.

“I come to the picnic for many reasons, and one of the biggest is for the food,” Mary Walter of Gary said as she filled her plate with barbecue ribs, chicken and watermelon. “This is a great way to begin the afternoon — good food with good friends and a lot of activity afterward. I’m looking to dance; I’m ready.”

During the step and stroll competition, contestants used a five-minute time frame to entertain with steps, chants and song — sometimes in unison.

Before and after the games, disc jockey Shawn Nevins of Gary played dance tunes as well as easy listening music.

“It’s great to see everyone get up and dance, the older ones as well as the younger ones,” he said.

There was a clown and games for the children, as well as a playground area.

“This is wonderful for the whole family,” Ida Gillis of Highland said. “We have 25 to 30 of our members here today.”

Gillis is a Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority member. Her chapter, one of two AKAs in Gary, is an offshoot of the first black sorority, incorporated in 1908.

Fellow member Chelsie Fayson of Hobart served on this year’s planning committee.

“This is a great celebration — a chance to network, socialize, meet new friends and discuss some of our projects,” she said.

Those projects include fundraisers for scholarships and other community programs, Fayson said.

The All-Greek Picnic attendance grows each year, organizers said.

More than 350 people attended last year and at mid-day Saturday it looked as if that number would be matched, if not exceeded.

Harris added that the collaborative efforts of all the organizations benefit many people in the area.

“This shows we can all work together and achieve great things as a unified body,” she said. “All nine sororities and fraternities are service organizations that believe in scholarships as well as other projects, with the focus on service to our communities.”

W.W. Edwards, the first black member of the Martinsville School Board who served 26 years on that board, was remembered Thursday as a man who did a lot for people behind the scenes.

“He told me once, ‘Echols, if you’re doing something for credit, don’t do it,’” recalled the Rev. Thurman Echols of Axton. “He helped a lot of students. He helped a lot of people. … He did a lot for this community that probably a lot of people never knew about.”

Edwards, 88, of 703 Second St., Martinsville, died Wednesday at Memorial Hospital in Martinsville.

He had taught science and biology at Albert Harris High School from August 1949 until June 1955. He served on the Martinsville School Board from July 1, 1965, until June 30, 1991, according to school system records.

“He was a good man. … He didn’t seem unduly sensitive” about being the only black man on the board, said W.K. Putney Jr. of Martinsville, who served with Edwards on the school board from 1969 to 1981. “He was a level-headed guy. I really enjoyed knowing him.”

Edwards joined the school board two years before black and white students sat in the same classrooms.

Putney said that process was well-planned and implemented smoothly in the city. Members of the Mayor’s Commission on Human Values worked to ease the difficulty of integrating the schools. Putney recalled people such as Baptist minister Chevis Horne, now-retired Tultex Corp. CEO William F. Franck and then-DuPont Plant Manager Don Hartford were active in the effort.

“Many in the city took a role in trying to make integration a process that was not full of recriminations and resistance,” Putney added.

The new, integrated Martinsville High School opened in 1968. The integration of the elementary and junior high schools followed.

While Edwards said in a 1991 Martinsville Bulletin interview when he retired from the school board that integration was the most important change in the school system during his time on the school board, the toughest decision he made was to close the Joseph Martin Elementary School on Douglas Avenue, which later became the Virginia Museum of Natural History and still is used by the museum for storage.

By 1991, he said the most important issue facing the school system was to reduce the dropout rate “to zero, if that’s possible,” and to keep up with the computer age.

While on the school board, Edwards said he tried to make sure all students had the same opportunities.

“I always held an objective point of view. What’s good for one student ought to be good for all of them,” he said.

That is typical of the man Echols said was a close personal and family friend whom he met about 40 years ago. At that time, Echols was a senior in high school in Danville and Edwards worked for Joston’s Jewelry, a Minnesota-based company that sold class rings, graduation robes and related items.

Edwards grew up in Chesterfield, S.C., where his father was a Methodist preacher and educator. A school there was named for Edwards’ father, Echols said.

Edwards graduated from Livingston College in 1947 with a bachelor’s degree. He moved to Winston-Salem, N.C., where he met the former Getrude Gravely from Martinsville. After they married, they moved here and he taught before joining Joston’s.

Echols and Edwards shared an interest in community affairs. Edwards was president of the Voters League when Echols was president of the NAACP, and they worked together on committees, boards and other groups.

They also discovered they shared membership in Omega Psi Phi fraternity, which now is marking its 99th anniversary in Raleigh. Edwards joined the fraternity in 1947, the year Echols was born.

“I think of Bill Edwards as a clear-thinking individual. He was methodical in his thinking” and had sound judgment, as evidenced by people frequently coming to him for advice, Echols said. “He was even tempered. I don’t think I ever saw him angry. He wanted to make the community better.

“I learned so much from him … how to deal with people,” Echols added.

Edwards had rental property, and “he was never one to put people out in the cold. He worked with them,” Echols said.

Hairston Funeral Home is handling arrangements.