Page 4 - Florida Sentinel 1-29-19

Kappa Alpha Psi Member Fired For Embezzling More Than $1 Million
According to Philadelphia Magazine, Kappa Alpha Psi fra- ternity member and former fi- nance director, Curtis Anderson has been caught in a financial scandal after admit- ting that he embezzled over $1 million funds.
Anderson, who served as a finance director at the frater- nity’s international headquar- ters in Philadelphia for 20 years, was fired three days after admitting to his fraudulent ac- tivities.
Investigations from agen- cies such as the Secret Service and FBI found that Anderson had been embezzling money for over a year. Anderson cashed checks for almost $400,000 from the fraternity’s Santander bank account and at least $978,000 from the fraternity’s Wells Fargo account.
Suspicions arose when San- tander Bank contacted John
CURTIS ANDERSON
Burrell, the fraternity’s exec- utive director about “suspicious activity.”
Once Burrell received the notice, he and Thomas Bat- tles, the fraternity’s national president visited the bank to address the issues. While there, Anderson walked through the bank’s door, unaware the two would be there.
Kamala Harris' Secret Weapon: The Sisters Of AKA
Undated photo, Harris with her AKA line sisters. Tampa native, and now Washington, D. C. resident, Karen Hayes, 2nd from left, was a line sister of Kamala Harris.
WASHINGTON DC - As Kamala Harris sets her sights on the White House, there is perhaps no network better positioned to power her early launch than the women she addressed Friday night in South Carolina: her sisters in Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated -- the nation's oldest black sorority.
Formed in 1908 by nine determined women at Howard University who be- lieved that college-educated black women could represent "the highest -- more educa- tion, more enlightenment, and more of everything that the great mass of Negroes never had," they set out with a credo to be "Supreme in service to all mankind."
That mission has stood the test of time as the sorority has expanded to some 300,000 women on college campuses across the country and several continents. Now one of their own is running for president.
Harris will debuted in South Carolina Friday night as a newly-minted presiden-
tial candidate when she ad- dressed more than 3,000 of her Alpha Kappa Alpha sis- ters at the Pink Ice Gala in Columbia, an annual event that raises money for scholar- ships.
These women could be- come the foot soldiers of a powerful voting bloc. CNN exit polling shows black women supported Democrats more than almost any other voting subgroup, helping drive Democratic wins in last year's midterms. In Harris' case, the sisters of Alpha Kappa Alpha could help her organize in states across the country and open up a unique pipeline for her fundraising appeals within their regions.
"We're talking about polit- ical power, and we have it," said Lorri Saddler Rice who pledged AKA with Har- ris at Howard in 1986. "We have it and we're going to leverage it. You'll see it's going to make a difference."
At a tea last Saturday (January 2019) in the out- skirts of Washington, DC, where 15 of Harris' Alpha
Kappa Alpha line sisters gath- ered for one of their many re- unions, several sisters snapped their fingers during interviews with CNN when asked how quickly they ex- pected the AKA network to spring into action nationally to help Harris.
Harris's core group of sisters -- there were 38 of them who formed the "Spring of 1986 Ivy Leaf Pledge Club" -- have supported each other at every stage of their careers, honoring the bond of sister- hood that they pledged to up- hold for life.
That was true in those early days on "The Yard" at Howard when they stepped in the circle in pink and green sweatshirts to show their spirit by singing AKA's tradi- tional songs.
They have showed up in force for Harris at each of her milestones. At her recent book tour event at Washing- ton's Lisner Auditorium, they signaled their presence in the audience with their trade- marked sound "Skee-Wee."
"The sisterhood is still very real," said Saddler Rice in an interview at the tea last Saturday, where she and her sisters wore their colors, topped with green-jeweled hats and pink satin fascina- tors. "There was a connection that was made back on the campus of our university that has transcended miles and years that brought us here today."
From a political stand- point, the Pink Ice Gala Fri- day night was a fitting rollout for Harris in a campaign where she hopes to galvanize the black vote, particularly black women who have been her party's most reliable vot- ers.
Elijah Preccieley:
12-Year-Old Child Prodigy Earns Southern University Full Ride
*Last year, 11-year-old Elijah Preccieley a homeschooled child prodigy from Baton Rouge, was awarded a full scholarship at Southern University.
Preccieley enrolled as a physics and mechanical engineer major and was also admitted into the Honors Col- lege. Elijah reportedly began taking college level classes in biology, physics, and business through Southern at the age of 8-years-old. Because of those credits, he started his college career as a sophomore.
ELIJAH PRECCIELEY
The gifted young man said at the time that his path to Southern began when a professor encouraged him to try to take classes there, per news4jax.com.
“He starts talking to me and he says, ‘We need you in classes now,'” Preccieley said. “Then I go over to take some classes and through the months, through the semesters and through the years, that kind of had a snowball effect.”
Elijah’s mother said she knew her son was special from a very young age.
“I knew at a certain point that I did not understand some of the vernacular he was talking about. And I said, ‘I gotta get him some help,'” Pamela Precciely said.
The kid’s father, Stephen, added: “Find that child’s genius... What they like and nurture that,” he said. “If you have to seek out- side help, then that’s what you do, and that’s what we did.”
Southern also honored Elijah with the prestigious J.S. Clark Presidential Scholar Award.
“God has given me the ability to soar with excellence and to never forget where I come from,” he said.
Preccieley has also published a book, applied for several patents, and hosts a weekly radio show.
PAGE 4 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY TUESDAY, JANUARY 29, 2019