Page 9 - Florida Sentinel 3-16-18

Local
Family To Retire Name From Annual Hymn-O-Rama
Sunday, March 18, 2018, 4 p. m. at Mt. Olive A. M. E.
Church, 1902 W. LaSalle St., Rev. Gregory V. Gay, Pas-
tor. (See advertisement in this issue)
MR. AND MRS. FRANK (ERNESTINE C.) ODOM
BY GWEN HAYES Sentinel Editor
It was around the time that Gospel Music was be- coming overwhelmingly pop- ular when Frank and Ernestine Odom thought of a way they could keep the singing of hymns alive.
Mr. and Mrs. Odom were singers and often ap- peared on programs, at wed- dings and in worship services throughout the community.
Not only could they sing, but their daughters could also sing.
For several months, fol- lowing through on a vision from the Lord, the Odoms reached out to those they be- lieved had the voice to sing particular hymns and sought out their participation. In ad- dition to the singers, there were presenters who gave the history of each song before it was presented. The programs always ended with the Odom family singing, “It Is Well With My Soul.”
That was in 1984 when the first Hymn-O-Rama was pre- sented in August at Pleasant Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Church.
Some years later, the fam- ily united with Mount Olive
African Methodist Episcopal Church in West Tampa, and with the blessings of the church, continued the service. The Hymn-O-Ramas were normally held in August.
In 1994, Mrs. Odom died suddenly on a Sunday morn- ing after spending several hours at the church the Satur- day before preparing pro- grams for the Hymn-O-Rama service.
After her death, the pro- gram was named the Ernes- tine C. Odom Memorial Hymn-O-Rama. Mr. Odom and his daughter, Veda Lan- ders were coordinators of the programs.
Mr. Odom died in 2004. He had stated that he was going to step down as coordi- nator – that year would be his last. He died before he could retire the name. But, several of those at Mt. Olive, Mr. Robert Wright, Sr., one of them, made sure the Hymn- O-Rama continued in the name of the Odoms.
The family now believes it is time to retire the name of the Hymn-O-Rama. With the family’s support, the annual service will continue.
The “35th and Final Frank And Ernestine C. Odom Hymn-O-Rama” will be held
FRIDAY, MARCH 16, 2018 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY PAGE 9-A