One Columbus — Items Of Importance

Dare To Dream Summit

85 students from eight Muscogee County schools participated in the Dare To Dream Summit for 2012 on Thursday, January 19, 2012 at the Columbus Convention and Trade Center. The program, sponsored by AFLAC, provided an opportunity for sophomores and juniors from these institutions to participate in a dialogue with young community leaders from the Greater Columbus area.

Students from Carver, Columbus, Hardaway, Jordan, Kendrick, Northside, Shaw, Spencer, Early College, and Rose Hill had an opportunity to interact with facilitators about some of the challenges that they face in school, at home, and in the community.

Facilitators for this year’s Summit included Alida Davis-Abdullah, Katonga Wright, David Britt, Lanitra Menefee, James Allen, Curtis Bryant, Jed Tuiolosega, Rashad Hassan, Sergio Montes and Nikia Mapson.

Following the three concurrent workshops replicated so that each of the students had an opportunity to interact with all of the facilitators, a welcome at the luncheon was offered by One Columbus board co-chair Jorge Vega. Superintendent Susan Andrews welcomed the audience and encouraged the students to be attentive to the opportunities which are presented in the Dare To Dream Summits and thanked One Columbus for these kind of motivational experiences for the students in the MCSD.

Revealing the most intimate negative and positive challenges which faced her during her youth, keynote speaker Yvonne Harvey-Williams held the students’ attention with a story told in rapid-fire staccato that kept them mesmerized for the duration of her presentation – an experience that will not soon be forgotten.

Ken Crooks, executive director of One Columbus, thanked the speaker, chair of the Summit Brandi Dawson, MCSD liaison Dr. B. J. McBride, Dr. Susan Andrews, the facilitators, the counselors who made it possible for the students to come, and all those in attendance.

Contact: Brandi Dawson 706-225-9217

Diversity Forum — Another WTVM success

On Thursday evening January 19 beginning at 7 PM, Barbara Gauthier and Jason Dennis served as cohosts for the live WTVM production from the RiverCenter for the Performing Arts. Billed as a live, audience-participating event discussing civility and issues affect youth and their elders, the event featured Shaw high school students addressing issues of civility, bullying and how these and similar challenges affected their lives. From the four consultants on the platform and statements and reactions from the audience, comments about how we raise our children, the influences that they find in their environments, challenges about discipline, church and organizational involvement and some questions about politics provided an evening of both entertainment and learning.

The churches, synagogues, and mosques that sponsored the Diversity Forum in support of One Columbus programs, are thanked for their support.

Contact: Lee Brantley 706-494-5400

Fourth Street’s “A Call to Talk” features The Poverty Crisis

Saturday, February 18 – 9:00 AM

One of America’s impending crises is the rapidly increasing number of individuals and families who are poverty stricken. This crisis, if not addressed, can be America’s downfall says Morton Harris, an attorney at the law firm of Hatcher Stubbs in Columbus.

The Fourth Street Missionary Baptist Church has been sponsoring “A Call to Talk” for many years and presents educational, political, social, and religious programs that are designed to be thought provoking and open to the public. The issue of poverty and its impending stranglehold on America is so important that One Columbus will cosponsor the program on February 18.

Contact: Fourth Street Missionary Baptist Church 706-324-2055

DOWN THE ROAD

One Columbus March Calendar:

Max Roth E Pluribus Unum Lecture Series

A ‘Third Thursday’ Event

A Regional Diversity Conference