Page 2 - Florida Sentinel 5-30-17

Features
Popular ‘Khair Stylist’ Passes After Brief Illness
Superintendent Gets New Contract
BY GWEN HAYES Sentinel Editor
A popular hair stylist passed Tuesday, May 23, 2017. Ms. Gloria Jean Stephens was 64 years old.
Ms. Stephens and Liz Hale opened Khair Stylists Hair Salon on 56th St. as co- owners about 34 years ago.
Up until about a month ago when her health began to fail, Ms. Stephens, also known as Ms. ‘G,’ was still spending long hours at the shop, her son, Lloyd S. Wright said.
“Helping others was her true passion in life, until her final days,” he further said.
Described as a strong Black woman, mother, grand- mother, and entrepreneur, Ms. Stephens was also a homeowner, one of the first in her community to purchase a home in newly-built homes on Hanna Ave., just off 22nd St. in 1984.
A 1969 graduate of Mid- dleton High School, Ms. Stephens furthered her edu- cation at Hillsborough Com- munity College, earning an A. A. degree.
She was also a successful real estate investor, who owned several rental proper-
MS. GLORIA JEAN STEPHENS ...AKA Ms. ‘G’
ties.
In addition to Wright,
Ms. Stephens is the mother of a daughter, Sylena Es- calante, and the grand- mother of 7. She is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. William (Mary) Jones.
An active member of New Mt. Zion M. B. Church serving in the Voices of Praise, funeral services for Ms. Stephens will be held on Saturday, June 3,2017,2p.m.,atNewMt. Zion. Ray Williams Funeral Home is handling the services.
“With her vast array of tal- ents and service to her com- munity, this pillar has made a lasting impression to everyone that surrounded her. We will miss you Ms. ‘G’ and may you rest in peace,” Wright said.
Recently, Hillsborough County School District Su- perintendent Jeff Eakins received a new contract that will span the next three years.
The School Board mem- bers voted 6-1 in favor of extending the new con- tract.
For the second time,
Superintendent Eakins
declined the standard 3% raise, citing budget cuts and other issues.
A spokesperson for the
JEFF EAKINS Superintendent, Hillsbor- ough County Public School District
School District said board members included a bonus in the new contract based on the improvement of the graduation rate. Superin- tendent Eakins recently initiated a plan to increase the graduation rate in Hillsborough County to 90% by 2020.
A longtime employee,
Superintendent Eakins
was chosen to replace for- mer Hillsborough County School Superintendent MaryEllen Elia in 2015.
Organizations Unite To Host Violence Prevention Conference
Members of Safe & Sound Hillsborough
BY IRIS B. HOLTON Sentinel City Editor
On Saturday, June 3rd, two organizations will join forces to recognize 4 commu- nity heroes. The event will take place at the University Mall, 2200 E. Fowler Avenue, from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m.
The event is being spon- sored by Safe & Sound Hills- borough and the Federal Bureau of Investigations, Tampa Division’s Citizen Academy Alumni Associa- tion. They have partnered in this event to help reduce and prevent the spread of vio- lence in the community.
This is Safe & Sound Hillsborough’s inaugural Safe Summit ’17 Violence Preven- tion Conference. The event is free and open to the public.
Freddy Barton, Execu- tive Director of Safe & Sound Hillsborough, said, “This partnership is just another example of how we can com- bine efforts; government, law
enforcement and community, in order to promote and unite our communities.”
Lon Guarino, President of the FBI Tampa Bay Citi- zens Academy Alumni Asso- ciation, said, “This is not only an incredible opportunity for two great organizations to come together and honor some of our community’s finest local heroes, but is also an example of the continuing effort by both groups to pro- mote and strengthen rela- tionships within the communities they serve.”
The four individuals se- lected for recognition will be presented the Kevin Beckner Community Builder Award. The awards will be presented to individuals who have helped to promote safety and non violence in the 33566, 33610, 33612, and 33598 zip codes.
More than 250 people are expected to attend the Safe- Summit’17 Violence Preven- tion Conference.
There will be workshops throughout the day on such topics as community safety, violence prevention and mental health. There will also be a Youth Summit as well as State of Health of Hillsbor- ough County Summit.
Four scholarships to grad- uating seniors will also be presented at the conference, through a partnership with the Tampa Bay Caribbean Heritage Festival.
The first 150 people to register for this free event will receive a ticket to attend the Tampa Bay Caribbean Festi- val located at University Park, 14013 North 22nd Street, Tampa, Florida 33613. Transportation to and from the event is available to resi- dents of East Tampa, Univer- sity Area, Plant City and Wimauma.
For more information about the Conference or to nominate an individual for the award, visit www.safe- andsoundhillsborough.org.
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