Page 19 - Florida Sentinel 2-4-22

Polk County News
Lakeland Has 18th Dr. King Prayer Breakfast
From left, Dr. Shandale Terrell, El Shaddai Full Gospel Church of Lakeland Pastor and founder of She Wears My Name Pageant, Ronda Edwards; and Without Walls International Church of Tampa Lead Pastor, Anthony J. Brown.
Checks Presented To FAMU For Homeless Or Students Facing Homelessness
Martin Luther King, Jr., Prayer Breakfast was held on Monday, January 17th at the Rhema World of Faith International Church in Lakeland, Florida. The theme for the program was: “Unity, Com- munity And Opportunity.” The guest speaker for the Prayer Breakfast was the Honorable Commissioner of the City of Lake- land, Phillip Walker.
The Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Prayer Breakfast was sponsored by the Interdenominational Min- isterial Alliance of Lakeland, Inc., (IMA). The president of the Inter- denominational Ministerial Al- liance of Lakeland, Inc., (IMA) is New Bethel AME Church of Lake- land Pastor, Eddie Lake.
The Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Prayer Breakfast was well at- tended by political and commu- nity leaders: David Baker, Beverly Boatwright, Anthony J. Brown, Terry Coney, Mike Cooper, Jeff Cox, Ronda Ed- wards, Gow Fields, Ruben Garcia, Ken Glover, Bishop T. Hall, Jr., Joe Halman, Jr., Alex Harper, Reid Hensar- ling, H. B. Holmes, Bob Johnson, Stephanie Mad- den, Chad McLeod, Larry Mitchell, Bill Mutz, Larry Rankin, Shandale Terrell, Christian Walker, Phillip Walker, and over 95 plus citi- zens attended the outstanding program.
Florida A&M University stu- dents experiencing homeless- ness received a major boost during Florida Classic week fes- tivities. At the Florida A&M Uni- versity National Alumni Association Distinguished Awards Banquet Friday, event chair Doris Hicks presented a $10,000 check to assist the more than 300 Florida A&M Univer- sity students who are homeless or facing homelessness.
Doris Hicks said she was in- spired to do more to assist fi- nancially struggling students after an encounter with a church bus filled with homeless men and women in her hometown, Lakeland, Florida. Afterwards, Doris Hicks, president of the Florida A&M University, Polk County Alumni Chapter and Florida A&M University Na- tional Alumni Association, Na- tional Scholarship Program chair, inquired and learned that more than 300 Florida A&M University students are home- less. Doris Hicks donates monthly to the Student Emer- gency Fund and wanted to do more.
“I started raising money after seeing those homeless people,” she said. “I sent letters; I called my friends; I asked everybody; I met with people I knew and peo- ple I didn’t know. It is important to me.”
Minutes after Doris Hicks presented the big check Friday
From left to right: Florida A&M University National Alumni As- sociation President, Col. Gregory Clark; Florida A&M University VP of Advancement, Shawnta Friday-Stroud, Ph.D.; Florida A&M University Event Chair, Doris Hicks; Florida A&M University President, Larry Robinson, Ph.D.; Florida A&M University VP of Student Affairs, William E. Hudson, Jr., Ph.D.; Florida A&M Uni- versity former National Alumni Association President, Jemal Gibson; Tommy Mitchell and Florida A&M University Board of Trustees Chairman, Kelvin Lawson.
Polk County Educators Present Check
night, Miami-Dade Commis- sioner Oliver Gilbert stepped forward and offered $5,000 to assist students in need. Gilbert, who spearheaded the revival of the Orange-Blossom Classic this September, 2021, said he experienced homeless- ness while he was a Florida A&M University student. “I slept in my car for a semester,” Gilbert said.
Donations are greatly appre- ciated because the COVID-19
pandemic has increased the hardships experienced by stu- dents, said Shawnta Friday- Stroud, Ph.D., Florida A&M University, Vice President for University Advancement and Executive Director of the Florida A&M University Foundation. “We are hearing about more cases of students who are either homeless or near homeless,” Shawnta Friday-Stroud, said. “This makes a big differ- ence.”
Polk County Retired Educators Association Unit II presented a check for $300 to David Waller, coordinator of the Polk County Toys for Tots Holiday campaign on November 30, 2021. The Polk County Toys for Tots campaign is conducted in con- junction with the Marine Corps League Heart of Florida Detach- ment #1107. Toys for Tots cam- paign provides toys, books and other gifts during the holidays to less fortunate children in the Polk County community. Polk County Retired Educators Association Unit II contributions assist in bringing joy to less fortunate chil- dren in Polk County.
The goal of the Polk County Re- tired Educators Association Unit II is to assist the community by providing scholarships to gradu- ating high school students who plan to major in education, books for children, educational and health related information for members of the community, edu- cational monetary grants for teachers, food items for the needy members of the community and social support for retired educa- tors.
Membership in the Polk County Retired Educators Associ- ation Unit II is open to everyone
Inaugural ‘She Wears My Name’ Pageant
From left to right: Polk County Retired Educators Asso- ciation Unit II President, Nor- man Wilderson; Polk County Retired Educators Association Unit II Treasurer, Ella Wilder- son; Polk County Retired Educa- tors Association Unit II Toys For Tots Coordinator, David Waller; Polk County Retired Educators Association Unit II Legislative Chairman, Herbert Woodard, and Polk County Retired Educa- tors Association Unit II Mem- bership Committee, Betty Woodard.
who retired from service with the K-12 Polk County Schools System. For more information about the Polk County Retired Educators Association Unit II, please call: Betty Woodard, Membership, Committee at: (863) 324-0214, or Norman Wilderson, Presi- dent, at: (441) 417-7724 or (863) 324-0214. The mailing address is: 5029 Pebble Beach Blvd, Win- ter Haven, Florida 33884.
The Inaugural, “She Wears My Name” Pageant was held on Saturday December 18th at the Kingdom Builders Christian Center in Lakeland, Florida. The pageant was under the direction of Pastor Rhonda Edwards. The Program Producer of “She Wears My Name” Pageant and Mistress of Ceremony was Dr. Omega Auntie Mothersill.
The pageant celebrated: so- phisticated, elegant and Godly women, ages forty through eighty. The Judges for the Pag- eant were: Dr. Shandale Ter- rell, Kiki Washington, Freddie Mitchell, Breanne Pendleton and Dr. Samuel Simmons.
The 2021 “She Wears My Name” Pageant Optional Com- petition Winners were: The Best Decorated Tissue Box - Gloria Smith; Miss Photogenic - Peggy Earle; Fashion Runway DIVA - Peggy Earle; Beautiful Hat Contest - Peggy Earle.
The Special Award Winners: The Best In Jazzy In Jean - Erma Lee; The Best In Church Flare - Peggy Earle; The Best
From left to right: Program Producer of the 2021, “She Wears My Name” Pageant, Dr. Omega Auntie Mothersill and Head Judge of “She Wears My Name” Pageant, Dr. Shandale Terrell at the Kingdom Builders Christian Center in Lakeland, Florida.
In Gown - Gloria Robinson; and the Best On-stage Ques - Peggy Earle.
Superlatives Winners: Miss Congeniality - Vicki Davis; Di- rector's Choice - Erma Lee; and People's Choice - Peggy Earle.
The 2021 Miss SWMNP Royal Court winners were: The Miss 2021 SWMNP winner, Peggy Earle; 1st place Runner-
up, Erma Lee; 2nd place Run- ner-up, Vicki Davis; 3rd place Runner-up, Gloria Robinson; and 4th place Runner-up, Glo- ria Smith. [Omega Auntie Mothersill is also the owner of her own pageant: Women Busi- ness Leaders & Entrepreneur Pageant (WBLEP), a pageant program that celebrates women in business. Website informa- tion: http://www.wblep.com/]
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