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Local
Community Asked To Help Retired Educator Celebrate 100th Birthday
New Online Business Directory Helps Businesses Connect
BY IRIS B. HOLTON Sentinel City Editor
On August 3rd, Mrs. Sarah Stroud Wynn will celebrate her 100th birthday. As an educator for nearly 40 years, Mrs. Wynn touched the lives of countless students.
In honor of her birthday, her daughter, Mrs. Doretha Edgecomb is requesting that students who were taught by Mrs. Wynn help her cele- brate her birthday.
“My mother taught many, many children during her ca- reer, and I’m asking those stu- dents to send her a birthday card. I believe that she would be pleased to receive such a special gift,” Mrs. Edgecomb said.
A native of Rock Hill, South Carolina, Mrs. Wynn and her siblings moved to Tampa with their parents, Will and Mag- gie Stroud. She attended the local schools of Hillsborough County and graduated from Booker T. Washington, Senior High School.
She continued her educa-
MRS. SARAH STROUD WYNN
tion at Florida A & M College, where she received a 2-year degree, in 1937, which allowed her to teach elementary school. Mrs. Wynn continued her education at the college and earned her B. A. Degree.
She later obtained her cer- tification in Library Science from the University of South Florida.
Her first teaching assign- ment was at Harlem Elemen- tary School. She also taught at Meacham Elementary School.
Mrs. Wynn was chosen as part of the inaugural staff at Nathan B. Young Junior High School and became its first Li- brarian. She retired after 39 years of educating students.
Mrs. Wynn is a life mem- ber of Mt. Sinai A. M. E. Zion Church, an institution her par- ents helped to found. She was very active in the church and served in several positions, in- cluding Superintendent of Sunday School and as a Sun- day School teacher.
Mrs. Wynn is the widow of the late Woodrow B. Wynn and the mother of four daughters. She is also a grand- mother, great grandmother, great, great grandmother, aunt, cousin, friend, and sup- porter.
Mrs. Wynn enjoys watch- ing Family Feud, playing Scrabble and Solitaire on the computer. Her favorite Scrip- tures are Psalms 23, 27, and 121. Her favorite hymn is “Great Is Thou Faithful- ness.”
Anyone wishing to help Mrs. Wynn celebrate her birthday can mail a card to: Sarah Wynn, 414 Chap- man Road, Lutz, FL 33549.
BY LEON B. CREWS Sentinel Staff Writer
Candace Cody is founder of The Black Business Direc- tory. She is a graduate of the University of South Florida with a Bachelors degree in Psy- chology. She’s also studied marketing and business during her years as an undergrad.
After doing a lot of research and observing how and where African Americans spend their money, in March, Ms. Cody came up with the idea of creat- ing the directory.
“I thought this would be a viable resource after seeing how much money African Americans spend outside of their community.
“The fact is, we don’t have the resources other areas have, and the current business own- ers in our community don’t hire African Americans.”
Ms. Cody said with the di- rectory, everyone will have a place they can go to online to identify the Black-owned busi- nesses, patronize them, and when people come from out- of-town, they will know where to go.
“The directory will feature premiere locations for entre- preneurs and consumers.
CANDACE CODY
“We must start putting our money back into our commu- nity. We have to overcome the psychological issues with spend our money in Black- owned businesses.”
Ms. Cody said Black males are constantly under at- tack, and we all have a respon- sibility to repair the negative image our men have been given.
“The availability of Black- owned businesses that sell the same products and offer the same services as others needs to be exposed and social media is one way of doing that.
“It’s going to take some time to change our shopping habits, but it’s something that has to be done. The very prod- ucts we spend our money on can be profited from if we sell them as business owners serv- ing our own people.”
Ms. Cody said African Americans are the biggest con- sumers in the nation, and it’s time to start teaching people how important it is to keep our dollars in our community.
“We have to promote Black entrepreneurs and be open to what the customers want. We have to do business in the spirit of excellence, and create the atmosphere of comfort and a desire to continue to patron- ize Black-owned businesses.”
To learn more about the Black Business Directory, go to www.theblackbizdirectory.co m or call (678) 842-4223.
PAGE 8-A FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY FRIDAY, JUNE 26, 2015