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Child Critical, 3 Sisters Among 5 Killed In Accident
LAMOUR WELCH
INDIA WELCH
TEHIRA WELCH
ANTWAYNE ROBINSON
Five adults were killed in a traffic accident Sunday evening. Three of the victims were sisters from St. Peters- burg. The lone survivor is a child who is listed in critical condition.
According to a spokesper- son for the Florida Highway Patrol, the accident occurred on State Road 70, in Desoto County. Ms. Jennifer Zu- niga, 30, and 6-year-old Cort Thivierge, both of Venus, were traveling in a 2006 Ford F150 pickup truck.
Officials said the truck was traveling westbound on State Road 70 when it hy- droplaned on the wet road- way. The vehicle rotated, and
crossed the center line.
Ms. Zuniga died as a re- sult of the accident. The child was admitted to Tampa Gen- eral Hospital. Both Ms. Zu- niga and Thievierge live in Venus, Florida, officials said. Ms. Lamour Welch, 29, was driving a 2013 Volk- swagen Passat. Police said Ms. Welch observed the truck and evasively steered to the right side tires into the grass shoulder in an attempt
to avoid the crash.
However, the front of her
car struck the back of the truck. Ms. Welch, along with her three passengers, Ms. India Welch, 24, Ms. Tehira Welch, and Antwayne Robinson, 25,
all died at the scene. According to India
Welch’s Facebook page, the sisters and Robinson had attended the Florida Eastern Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction Holy Convocation, last week. The Convocation was held in Fort Pierce and the four were returning to St. Petersburg when the tragic accident took place.
Ms. India Welch’s
Facebook page also listed her as an author, an artist, and a motivational speaker.
Robinson, who was also a gospel singer, lived in Gar- ner, North Carolina.
Police said the investiga- tion into the accident is con- tinuing.
Church Selects Keynote Speaker For 150th Anniversary Banquet
REV. DR. BERNARD LAFAYETTE, JR. Banquet Keynote Speaker
BY IRIS B. HOLTON Sentinel City Editor
On Saturday, August 15th, Beulah Baptist Institutional Church, will host their 150th Church Anniversary Banquet. The event will take place at the Hilton Tampa Airport West- shore. The Banquet will begin at 6 p.m.
The theme for the event is
“Faithful Service to God and Community.” Rev. Dr. Bernard Lafayette, Jr., will deliver the keynote address.
Rev. Dr. James W. Fa- vorite, Senior Pastor of Beu- lah Baptist Institutional Church said, “There is no more fitting way to celebrate our 150th Anniversary than by hearing from Dr. Lafayette, a native son of Tampa and a man who has inspired many by his example.”
Rev. Dr. Lafayette at- tended the public schools of Hillsborough County. He later relocated to Nashville, Ten- nessee, where he enrolled American Baptist Theological Seminary.
At that institution, Rev. Dr. Lafayette learned about the philosophy of non-vio- lence that would govern him in future years. He took an ac- tive role in the Civil Rights Movement after witnessing racial injustice and cam- paigned for social change.
Rev. Dr. Lafayette
served as a leader in the Nashville lunch counter sit-ins as a co-founder of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), he served as a member of the Freedom Riders, and was an associate of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Among his other achieve- ments, at the age of 22, Rev. Dr. Lafayette became the Director of the Alabama Voter Registration Project, in Selma.
REV. DR. JAMES
W. FAVORITE
Senior Pastor, Beulah Baptist Institutional Church
Rev. Dr. Lafayette is a pub- lished author, lecturer, and consultant on peace and non- violence. He is currently a Dis- tinguished Senior Scholar in Residence at Emory Univer- sity in Atlanta, GA.
About The Church
The First Baptist Church came into existence in 1859, under the guidance of Rev. J. M. Hayman. It was located in downtown Tampa. Before the Civil War ended, the church allowed African Amer- icans to worship in a Christian atmosphere.
After the war ended, the freed slaves established their own church with the assis- tance of members of members of First Baptist Church.
Beulah Baptist Institu- tional Church opened its doors in 1865, as the first African American Baptist Church in Tampa. The church has had 14 pastors, including the late Rev. Dr. A. Leon Lowry, a Civil Rights activist, who led the church from 1956 until his retirement in 1996.
While serving as its pastor, Rev. Dr. Lowry became the first African American to be elected to the Hillsborough County School Board, where he served as its Chairman; State President of the NAACP; and one of the Theology pro- fessors of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Rev. Dr. Favorite moved to Tampa in 1995, and became the church’s religious leader upon the retirement of Rev. Dr. Lowry.
The Banquet is one of a se- ries of events members of Beulah Baptist Institutional Church have earmarked to celebrate its anniversary. For more information about the event, or related church an- niversary events, call (813) 251-3382, or visit the website at www.bbictampa.com.
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