Page 8 - 2-13-15 Friday's Edition

Local
3rd Annual Grandmothers Valentine’s Day Gala Planned
BY IRIS B. HOLTON Sentinel City Editor
In Hillsborough County,
there are any number of women who are struggling to raise their grandchildren. This
event by inviting young men and women from the commu- nity to serve in the capacity of escorts and in other roles.
On Saturday, February 14th, Ms. Lewis and Ms. Youngblood will host their Third Annual Grandmother’s Day Gala. This year, the event will take place at Ragan Park, 1200 E. Lake Avenue, from 6 p.m. until 10 p.m.
Ms. Youngblood said, “We feel that grandmothers who suddenly find themselves raising their grandchildren do not get enough praise and at- tention. We hope to make the day special for them.”
Ms. Lewis said, “We want to thank our corporate spon- sors and our volunteers for helping to make this event suc- cessful. We have chosen 150 grandmothers who will be honored during this year’s cel- ebration.
“We will have 100 young men from various schools and
organizations to escort each grandmother to her seat. The young men will also have the first dance with the grand- mother he escorts. This year we also have 30 young ladies who will participate in the event.”
The young men are mem- bers of the Male Chorus of Ex- citing Faith Alive M. B. Church, Men of Vision, G4S Juvenile Justice Center, Jesuit High School, other young men from the community, and var- ious other organizations.
Popular DJ Floyd Joy will be the host for the evening and Mother Marie Tarver White, of On Que Maga- zine, will pay tribute to the grandmothers. Mrs. Betty Reed, former State Represen- tative, District 61, will also be honored at the event.
For additional information contact Ms. Lewis at (813) 235-5656; or Ms. Young- blood at (813) 965-5117.
Ms. Tonya Lewis, left, and Ms. Shellah Youngblood will once again host their 3rd An- nual Grandmothers Valentine’s Day Gala.
chore has fallen on them for any number of reasons, in- cluding incarceration, drugs, death, or the parents’ inability to care for them.
Ms. Tonya Lewis, of Children With A Vision, Inc., and Ms. Shellah Young- blood, of Our Sisters, Our Friends, Inc., decided to honor those grandmothers. They de- cided to make it a community
A Facebook Miracle: Family Finally United
There’s a lot of conversa- tion about Facebook being both good and bad. However, two sisters have a different perspective about going on Facebook after a miracle took place. One Facebook message was received a few weeks ago that brought two sisters and a brother together for the first time.
On January 24, Bettye Greene Johnson received a call from her brother, Ondra Tillmon in Thomasville, Georgia asking if she was sit- ting down.
“Of course this pricked my interest right away and was cu- rious to what he was talking about.
“My brother was so excited himself that he could hardly
(In front) Bettye Greene Johnson, Donnda Tillmon, Aunt Jim- mie Lee Tillman Chandler, Ondra Tillmon, Alisha Young, Josh, Stephanie Young, Zuriel J. Williams and Aunt Julia Tillman Ivey.
tell me what had taken place on Facebook. His wife, Shelia received a Facebook message from a lady asking if they could be related because their last names were spelled the same, Tillmon.
“The message went on to say that her name was Don- nda Tillmon, her dad’s name was David Tillmon and she went to school in Quincy, FL. My brother wanted to know if this could be our younger sister that I have been looking for over 30 years.”
Mrs. Johnson went on to explain, “I told Ondra to have his wife to ask this lady if her mother’s name is Sarah and if she worked as a Seamstress in a male shop in Tallahassee. Just a minute or so passed and I could hear my sister-in-law saying, “Yes, yes, yes this is her. All of a sudden, after 30 years my prayers had been an- swered by one message on Facebook.”
After the dust settled from their screams Mrs. John- son’s brother said Ms. Till- mon wanted to meet with them.
“Thirty years ago I remem- ber our father telling me that there was another child that I
had never met. From what I remember, I had been looking for a Donna Tillman on White pages, Facebook and even asking my other family members that live in Quincy if anyone remembers a Donna Tillman from school.”
“Talking about a miracle, this is one! I knew some of my daddy’s children spelled their name Tillmon and others Tillman. Being about 13 when my dad told me this, I never asked him how my sis- ter’s name was spelled. The only thing I wanted was to find my/our sister.
On Thursday, January 29 eight family members drove to Tallahassee to meet for the first time the sister that is 13 years younger than Mrs. Johnson.
“We thank my sister-in- law, Shelia Tillmon for fi- nally reading her Facebook messages.
“During Black History Month and all year long we need to talk about family, talk about our history and sharing with each other in our families more. Our nieces and nephew could have been dating a cousin and would have been unaware until now. A miracle after 30 years!”
PAGE 8-A FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2015