Page 9 - Florida Sentinel 9-19-17

Local
2017 Gavin Family Reunion
The Gavin Family held their biennial Family Re- union in Tampa, FL on Sep- tember 1-3, 2017 at the Embassy Suites Hotel on Spectrum Boulevard. Ms. Tee Solomon was the chair- man for this event and Cory Gavin, Sr. of Falls Church, VA was the co-chairman.
Family members attended from various cities through- out Florida: Crawfordville, Tallahassee, Ft. Myers, Naples, Webster, Orlando, Jacksonville, Lynn Haven, Ocala, Lakeland, and Tampa.
Brent Solomon, news reporter and anchor of Rich- mond, Va., served as Master of Ceremony at the Saturday night Banquet. The oldest family member in atten- dance, Smith Gavin, Jr. (84), was honored at the event and an enjoyable evening was had by all.
Mrs. India Witte,
Chairman of the Hillsbor- ough County Commission on
Among those identified are: Regina Gavin, Yvonne Gavin, Nellie Mae White, Eva Gavin, Tee Solomon, Lafreda Gavin, Hail- lie Henderson, Vanessa Gavin, Brent Solomon, “D” Jones, Jenness Jones; kneeling, CJ Lipplett; and in wheelchair, Norman Jones. 2nd row: Belinda Ross, Nicole White, Smith Gavin, Sr. (oldest family member present), Pamela Higgs, Sally Walker, Dell Quary, William Carlo Lipplett, Antoinette Lipplett, Kelvin Snell, and Lori Snell. Last row: Margaret Gavin, Thaddeus Williams, Aldredge Young, Cory Gavin, Sr., Ronnie White, Reginald Gavin, Sr., and Marshall Higgs).
the Status of Women, pro- vided a warm letter of wel- come to the family (Tee Solomon is a board member
of the COSW).
A family group visit to
Busch Gardens on Saturday and church attendance on
Sunday at the College Hill Church of God in Christ, under the leadership of Su- perintendent Charles
Davis were two highlights of the family’s celebration.
The 2019 reunion will be held in Tallahassee, FL.
‘From Runaway To The Runway’ Fashion Gala To Feature And Benefit Local Youth
proceeds will help Miracles purchase property for an- other group home for girls.
This event is open to the public, and tickets are avail- able. Donations and volun-
teers will be needed.
If you would like to help
or learn more, please call Miracles Outreach at 813- 374-2184 or email Miracle- sOutreach@gmail.com.
In the center with these models are: Sonja Jordan (Miracles’ Operations Manager), Michelle Walker (Miracles’ Founder and Executive Director), and Tyrone Walker (Co-Founder and Resource Development Director).
Fashion gala provides an evening of fun that will help fund a new group home for girls and raise awareness for human trafficking.
Local youth are already preparing for the 5th Annual “From Runaway to the Run- way” Fashion Gala later this month. This glamorous, fun- filled evening recognizes the accomplishments of these young women and celebrates how far participating girls have come.
This year’s fashion gala, themed, “It’s Never too Late for Happily Ever After,” takes place on Saturday, Sep- tember 30, 2017, from 6 p. m. to 8 p. m. at the Fort Harrison
Hotel, Clearwater, FL 33756. The after-five event is held each year by Miracles Outreach Community Devel- opment Center, Inc., a non- profit organization that has offered foster and mentoring services to more than 4,000 youth, especially human traf- ficking victims and those who have been abused or home- less, since its founding in
2000.
“From Runaway to the
Runway” centers around a fashion show featuring these youth who have pulled through unstable pasts with the help of Miracles Outreach services and publicly recog- nizes how far they have come.
It offers these young women a chance to dress up
with individually fitted gowns and professional makeup and hair styling to celebrate a for- mal evening that may also serve as a substitute for missed proms, homecomings, quinceañeras, and other cele- brations.
While “From Runaway to the Runway” is a lighthearted event, Miracles Outreach shares its commitment to battle human trafficking by using fashion, a common, everyday part of life, as a plat- form to educate the public about human trafficking’s often-forgotten reality.
Miracles Outreach cur- rently runs three group homes for girls and continues to expand services to more youth. A portion of the gala’s
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