Page 7 - Florida Sentinel 6-28-19

Local
FAMU Foundation Announces Arthenia L. Joyner Endowed Scholarship
BY IRIS B. HOLTON Sentinel City Editor
An idea to name a schol- arship in honor of a local pi- oneering attorney became a reality earlier this week. The FAMU Foundation an- nounced the Arthenia L. Joyner Endowed Scholar- ship.
Attorney Arthenia Joyner said the funds for the scholarship are the cul- mination of donations from people from all walks of life, organizations, and corpora- tions. It began with a $5,000 contribution spearheaded by Deveron Gibbons, Vice President of Public Affairs & Business Development, AM- SCOT Corporation, in 2012. Since that time, 32 donors, including individuals, corpo- rations, and organizations, have raised the scholarship to $112,000, FAMU Presi- dent Larry Robinson, Ph.D., said.
President Robinson
further stated, “I’d like to personally thank Vice Presi- dent for Public Affairs and
Nicky Boothe Perry, Interim Dean FAMU Law School; Dr. Larry Robinson, FAMU President; Senator Arthenia Joyner; Deveron Gibbons, VP Public Affairs, AMSCOT; Shanwnta Friday-Stroud, Provost & Dean Of School of Business & Industry at FAMU.
two-time alumna of FAMU, graduating in 1964 with her Bachelor of Science Degree in Political Science, and be- coming a graduate of the FAMU College of Law, in 1968.
At the time, Attorney Joyner met with obstacles during the early years of practicing. When she at- tempted to find employment, she quickly found that no one would hire her.
Instead of abandoning her dream of becoming a practicing attorney, she opened her own law firm. This resulted in her being the first Black woman to practice law in Hillsborough County and the first Black to practice law in Polk County.
This was the start of a se- ries of “firsts” that has in- cluded becoming the “first” African American woman from Hillsborough County elected as a State Represen- tative. After term limitations ended her term, she was elected as the first African American woman to serve as a State Senator.
Her most recent “first” was the celebration of 50 years as the longest, continu- ously practicing Black female attorney in the history of the State of Florida.
Of the scholarship, At- torney Joyner said she wanted it to be earmarked for a young, African American female with a desire to be- come a practicing attorney. The recipient must have a commitment to social justice and a history of community or public service that mirrors Attorney Joyner’s dedica- tion to justice, public service, Civil Rights, and women’s rights.
It will be awarded annu- ally to a young woman who meets the requirements.
Attorney Joyner said, “Fifty years is a great time to celebrate being alive, being a lawyer and being able to give back to my University.”
The announcement was made Monday at the FAMU College of Law in Orlando.
For more information about the FAMU College of Law, visit law.famu.edu.
Business Development with AMSCOT Deveron Gib- bons for his company get- ting this endowed scholarship started and all of the contributors for raising it to its present value.”
About Senator Joyner
A native of Lakeland, At- torney Joyner graduated from Middleton High School. She continued her education at Florida A & M University. Attorney Joyner became a
New Organization Being Formed
Chief Financial Officer To Leave Post
BY IRIS B. HOLTON Sentinel City Editor
Eight years ago, former
Mayor Bob Buckhorn
hired the first African Amer- ican to serve as the Chief Fi- nancial Officer for the City of Tampa. Earlier this week, Mayor Jane Castor an- nounced that Ms. Sonya C. Little is resigning her post to pursue other interests. She will leave on August 1st.
Ms. Little said, “My tenure with the City of Tampa has been one of the greatest opportunities in my professional career. I could not be more appreciative to Mayor Castor and her ad- ministration for all that we have done together and all that they will continue to do for the City.
“I also owe a debt of grat- itude to Mayor Buckhorn for having confidence in my ability to fulfill this role for the past eight years. My team and the entire City of Tampa staff are world class and the
MS. SONYA C. LITTLE CFO, City of Tampa
best is yet to come. It has been a great honor to serve the citizens of this great com- munity and I look forward to this next opportunity.”
Mayor Castor said, “We could not have asked for a better CFO to lead this great City out of the recession.
“She is leaving the City with some of the best finan-
cial footing we’ve had in decades, including 13 consec- utive credit rating increases. Her talent goes far beyond the budget books and the void she will leave will be hard to fill.
“That being said, in my career I’ve made it a point to never stand in the way of someone else's success. Al- though it will be difficult to see her go, I am proud of her contributions to the City and want to thank her for her un- wavering commitment to her role overseeing our budget and her participation in my transition advisory teams.”
Ms. Little earned her Bachelor of Science Degree in Business from the University of South Florida. She previ- ously held an NASD Series 7 Registered Representatives License and Series 63 Securi- ties License while serving as an investment banker with a nationally recognized invest- ment bank.
Ms. Little was hired in May 2011.
An organization called the East Tampa Neighbors Against Gentrification (NAG) has been established, and will be seeking partners and other individuals to join. They will be looking for partners with experience in: finance, prop- erty development, and knowl- edge of the Community
Redevelopment Agency (CRA) and how it works, and Tax Increment Financing (TIF) and how it works and should benefit the residents in the CRA District.
This partnership will bid on City of Tampa properties. A town hall meeting will be announced soon.
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