2010 FREEDOM Fund Celebration
Friday, May 21, 2010
6:00 PM
COLUMBIA CONVENTION CENTER
1101 Lincoln Street
Columbia, SC
————————————————–
————————————————–

For Sponsor/Donor Information please call Gladys Wallace at (803) 754-4584 or send an email to ffcsponsors@scnaacp.org

NAACP HOSTS FORMER UN AMBASSADOR

ANDREW YOUNG AT 2010 STATE FREEDOM FUND EVENT

Eight Selected for 2010 Presidential Citations

Columbia, SC – The South Carolina State Conference NAACP will hold its Annual Statewide Freedom Fund Celebration on Friday, May 21, 2010 at the Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center in Columbia, SC.  Headlining the event will be Ambassador Andrew Young.  A former, United States Ambassador to the United Nations, Young is a founding principal and Co-Chairman of GoodWorks International.  Ambassador Young has held a wide variety of leadership positions over the past several decades.  Beginning his career as an ordained minister and top aide to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in the civil rights movement, he went on to be elected to three terms as a United States Congressman.

“We have the highest regard for the contributions Ambassador Young has made to the world community”, stated Marian Miller, vice president of the South Carolina State Conference.  “He offers a unique perspective on our civil rights history, corporate responsibility, and public service—a rare and valuable combination.  We believe he will provide the perfect linkage to our theme: One Nation, One Dream.”

The NAACP has also chosen eight outstanding citizens for special recognition during the Freedom Fund Celebration.  While some of the award recipients are well known throughout the state, others have made an impact on a smaller but still significant scale.  Each honoree is expected to attend the gala to accept the award.

“We started a new annual tradition of highlighting average citizens for their selfless service ten years ago”, said Lonnie Randolph, president of the South Carolina Conference NAACP.  “While the annual dinner commemorates our triumph over official racial segregation in South Carolina, these awardees represent the sustained and often subtle work performed by many hands to foster positive human relations in the state.”

Amanda Burnette, a former principal specialist in Dillon County, helped raise millions of dollars in support while leading efforts to focus national attention on the debilitated condition of JV Martin School.  She currently works at the South Carolina Department of Education as the Director of the SC Turnaround Schools Initiative and the Project Leader for the 21st Century Campus project.  Senator John W. Matthews, Jr., a member of the South Carolina Legislature since 1975, has long been an advocate for economic growth, job development and educational opportunities in rural South Carolina.  He is the leading advocate in the senate to enact a constitutional amendment to provide a high quality education for all children in South Carolina. Brad Dean, president and CEO of the Myrtle Beach Chamber of Commerce, has taken on the role of helping South Carolina leaders to embrace inclusion of our State’s diverse peoples in shaping a prosperous future for all South Carolinians.  Brenda C. Williams, MD is cofounder of Excelsior Medical Clinic, PA in Sumter which launched in 1982.  Through organizations like the Family Unit Organization and the Do Right Project, Williams has helped improve the lives of thousands of impoverished families and sponsored initiatives to curb recidivism through job creation and homeownership for former inmates.  Congressman John Spratt, first elected to Congress in 1982, is now Chairman of the House Budget Committee.  Regarded as a “workhorse” by many of his peers and staffers in Washington, Spratt was instrumental in passing the Balanced Budget Agreement of 1997, which put the federal budget in surplus for the first time in thirty years.  More recently, he helped shape fiscal strategy toward passage of the American Health Reform Act. Corporal Ryan Fackey made a life changing decision when he donated a kidney to save the life of Columbia teen Dani Jones.  Driven by a keen sense of patriotism, Fackey, a fourth generation Marine, volunteered for tours in Iraq where he saw countless children who had endured harder lives than his.  He referred to his gift to Dani his way of “really making a difference now”.   Ron Morris, a sports columnist with The State Newspaper, is current president of the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association and a four-time winner of the South Carolina Press Association award for best sports columns.  He has written extensively over the years about the Confederate Flag controversy.  Representative Leon Howard of Richland County has distinguished himself as a people’s champion for his outspoken advocacy on behalf of working families and the less fortunate on issues ranging from health care, civil rights, education and community development.  Howard has been Chairman of the Medical, Military, Public and Municipal Affairs Committee since 2007.

The Freedom Fund Celebration, which includes dinner at 6:00 PM, will take place at the Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center, 1101 Lincoln Street.  Ushers will begin seating at 5:30 PM.  The event is open to the public.  Additional information is available at the South Carolina NAACP, 803-754-4584.