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Joli Cooper-Nelson Elected 25th National President Jack And Jill Of America, Incorporated
3rd Bay Area Woman Elected To National Office
Mrs. Joli Cooper-Nel- son was recently elected Na- tional President of Jack and Jill of America, Incorporated, at the 42nd National Conven- tion held in Palm Desert, Cali- fornia.
Mrs. Cooper-Nelson
now becomes the 25th National President of the organization considered the premier organ- ization for African American families.
Jack and Jill of America, Incorporated is an organiza- tion founded in 1938 with the mission of nurturing future African American leaders by stimulating the growth and de- velopment of children through educational, cultural, civic, recreational, health and social programs inspired by mothers.
Each chapter plans activi- ties guided under a national theme. Through its 235 chap- ters organized in seven regions across the United States, the organization consists of more than 30,000 family members which includes, mother mem- bers, fathers and children, ages two through 19.
MRS. JOLI COOPER-NELSON ...Elected National President, Jack and Jill of America, Inc.
Jack and Jill of America Chapters also support non- profit organizations through its philanthropic arm, the Jack and Jill of America Founda- tion, among the first founda- tions established by African American families in the United States. Since its found- ing in 1968, the Jack and Jill of America Foundation has granted millions of dollars to worthy causes supporting chil- dren and families.
Prior to being elected Pres- ident, Mrs. Cooper-Nelson previously served as National Vice President and has served as Regional Director, Regional Secretary-Treasurer, and Re-
gional Program Chair of the Southeastern Region.
She also chaired the Na- tional Advisory Council, and served on the National Budget & Finance Committee, and Na- tional Program Committee.
Professionally, she is a founding member of CSW Pri- vate Equity Investments, LLC, a New York-based private eq- uity firm.
Mrs. Cooper-Nelson is an active member of the Greater Tampa Chapter of Jack and Jill of America, In- corporated, where her family, husband, Tony Nelson and three children, Ashley, Alana, and Anthony, are ac- tive participants.
To learn more about Jack and Jill of America, Inc., please visit www.jackandjillinc.org.
Within the past few years, 3 African American females in the Bay Area have been elected to lead national organizations: Atty. Carolyn House Stew- art, past International Presi- dent, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.; Dr. Paulette C. Walker, current National President, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.; and now Mrs. Joli Cooper-Nelson.
Ex-Hospital Employee Gets 3 Years For Tax Fraud
On Wednesday, a Tampa woman was sentenced to 37 months, (3 years, 1 month) in federal prison. She pleaded guilty to wrongful disclosure of individual identity health infor- mation and wire fraud.
According to the plea agree- ment, Ms. Shanakia Benton was employed at Tampa Gen- eral Hospital in a clerical ca- pacity between June 2011 and December 2012. Ms. Benton used her position to obtain the personal identifying informa- tion of 644 patients and printed out the information without authorization.
Ms. Benton and others then used the information to file fraudulent federal income tax returns. Officials Ms. Ben- ton and her co-conspirators used the names of at least 29 patients to file the tax returns in a scheme to obtain $226,000.
In actuality, officials said
SHANAKIA BENTON
fraudulent tax returns in the names of at least six people were deposited into Ms. Ben- ton’s personal bank account. Officials said overall, Ms. Ben- ton received a total of $77,239.19 by filing the false income tax returns.
The individuals whose names were used never author- ized Ms. Benton or anyone else to use their information for the purpose of filling federal in- come tax returns.
Reward Offered For Information On Murder Suspect
On July 6th at 10:30 a. m., according to witnesses an unknown male shot Mar- quette Dames, 24, near Fowler Avenue and 15th Street. Dames was taken to a local hospital where he died as a result of his injuries.
The suspect is described as a Black male with a medium build. He fled on a bicycle that was later found abandoned.
Crime Stoppers of Tampa Bay is offer- ing a reward of up to $3,000 for informa- tion that leads to the identification and arrest of the unknown suspect responsible for the murder of Dames.
MARQUETTE DAMES
Anyone with any information regarding the identity or where- abouts of the suspect, and who wants to be eligible for a cash re- ward, is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-873-8477, report anonymously online a www.cimesopperstb.com, send mobile tip using the “P3 Tips Mobile” application, which is a free download for iPhones and Droids. Crime Stoppers must be contacted first in order to be eligible for a cash reward.
Also contact Tampa Police Detective Rachel Cholnik at (813) 276-3668.
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