Page 4 - Florida Sentinel 6-5-18

Local
Lieutenant Colonel (Retired) Ricardo ‘Rick’ Kinsey Receives 2018 FAMU Distinguished Alumni Award
Since his retirement for the Military and Federal Government, Kinsey has been busy in the local community, and FAMU community.
Each year, the Florida A&M University National Alumni Association, Inc., (FAMU NAA), and Florida A&M University celebrate and acknowledge supportive alumni who have distin- guished themselves in their respective professions.
The Distinguished Alumni Award is the highest award bestowed by the FAMU NAA. This accolade recognizes alumni who have made notable and docu- mentable contributions to the University (finance, re- cruitment, etc.) and their professions and/or cate- gories.
Individuals were selected based on their involvement or success in the following categories: Agriculture, Arts, Athletics, Business, Civil Rights, Communication, Community Service, Educa- tion, Entertainment, Gov- ernment, Health, Law, Medicine, Military, Religion, Science, or Technology.
On May 25, Lieutenant Colonel (Retired) Ri- cardo “Rick” Kinsey, along with 25 other Rattlers received the Distinguished
From L-R: Board of Trustee, Kevin Lawson; President of FAMU NAA, Gregory Clark, Gala Chairwoman, Doris Hicks, Distinguished Alumni Award Recipient, LTC (R) Rick Kinsey; and President of FAMU, Dr. Larry Robinson.
From L-R, Award Recipient, LTC (R) Rick Kinsey; President, Tampa Chapter, Wendell Duggins; and Award Recipient, COL (R) Keith Stubbs.
Alumni Award for their con- tributions in their respective areas.
Kinsey, who is a mem- ber of the Plant City Chapter, received an award for his service in the community. He has been very busy since his retirement from the mil- itary and federal govern- ment. Kinsey has established three scholarship endowment funds at FAMU (Samuel and Alma Kin- sey, Matthew Bien-Aime and the Mary Herring en- dowed fund). He has led the charge for raising money for the athletic department at Tampa Bay Tech High School for the last four years. For the Tampa Classic, Kin-
Members of the Plant City Chapter from L-R: Mrs. Patricia Salary, Mrs. Beatrice Crowell, Mrs. Betty Majors, Mrs. Mesha Stubbs and Mrs. Faye Bellamy. Back row, L-R LTC (R) Rick Kinsey, Mr. Carl Crowell and COL (R) Keith Stubbs.
sey sponsored over 100 kids from the Tampa Bay Area
and donated $10,000 for the Matthew Bien-Aime en- dowed fund in honor of Matthew Bien-Aime.
Kinsey also established the Council of Colonels Scholarship initiative where fellow retired officers com- mit to give at least $2,000 annually to graduating high school seniors attending col- lege. Currently, there are participants from Florida, Georgia, Alabama, DC, Maryland, Virginia and North Carolina.
Last year, Kinsey gave two students from Tampa Bay Tech and Howard W. Blake scholarships. This year, Kinsey and high
school friend, Lieutenant Colonel (Retired) Lorenzo Spencer will pro- vide four deserving students with $1,000 scholarships.
He is actively involved with two non-profit organi- zations (Destiny New Heights and Brain Expan- sion Scholastic Training). Kinsey credits his parents for all that he does. “Their saying of, ‘don’t complain, do your part,’ is my inspiration. I am blessed to see how my parents quietly make a dif- ference in the community every day. Additionally, I am grateful and honored to re- ceive this award from FAMU.”
PAGE 4 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY TUESDAY, JUNE 5, 2018