Golf
frum page A1 *
sec."
The golfing bug bit Brown years ago. She has sat at the
helm of several tournaments since that time, including Alpha
Kappa Alpha's annual event, which she organized for 10 years.
"1 told my husband (Wendell Brown), "You're going to have
to learn to play golf,"* she related, "'if you don't, you're going
to be sitting home, waiting for dinner and I'll be on the golf
course.'"
The sport has taken her places she never thought she'd go,
like on the PGA Tour, where she volunteered as an announcer
for three years. The autographed images of Tiger Woods that
Photo by Lay la Farmer
Geneva Brown's love of golfing dates
back several decades.
1-.
hang in her base
ment are among the
spoils of the experi
ence.
"That was the
thrill of my life," she
declared.
More than 20
golfers have signed
up for this year's
tourney, slated for
Sept. 20. Brown
says she hopes to see
an increase in that
number before regis
tration closes.
ArthritiSi. cou
pled with her many
other obligations,
has kept her from the
golf course for much
of the past year, but
Brown says she can't
wait to tee off in
September.
"It's a big chal
lenge. I live on chal
lenges, she related.
"It makes you deter
mined that you can
come back and con
quer that little white ball."
Committee Vice Chair Donna Oldham was introduced to
golfing as a child by her father, the late Pete Oldham, an ardent
golfer. Oldham says she learned the game watching him put
ting balls in the front yard, and playing games on the green at
Winston Lake, one of the few places at the time where blacks
golfed.
Oldham said she and her sister,. Leslie Winbush, have decid
ed to sponsor the event in honor of their father, "because every
time I go to Winston Lake, I can't help but think of him...
When I was a little girl, Winston Lake was the only place I
could go; now it's the only place I choose to go."
Working with Brown, a woman whom she greatly admires,
was an added bonus for Oldham, who postponed her knee sur
gery in order to participate in the event.
"Geneva Brown is, to me, the godmother of women golfers
in Winston-Salem," she declared. "She really has done a lot for
women's golf in the Piedmont Triad."
The tournament is open to individuals and teams of any skill
level. The entry fee is $50 for individuals and $150 per team
now until Sept. 5. Rates will increase after that date.
Registration forms unavailable at most area golf courses. For
more information, contact Brown, at (336) 724-9336, or
Oldham, at (336) 231-0128.
Sheriff
from page A2
Amerson was elected sheriff
of Macon County, Ala., in 1966,
the year after the passage of the
Voting Rights Act of 1965,
which removed many barriers
that had kept blacks from vot
ing.
His election made nation
wide headlines. Reporters
descended on Macon County.
He later received a congratulato
ry telegram from Vice President
Hubert H. Humphrey and was
summoned to the White House
to meet President Lyndon B.
Johnson.
He was re-elected four times
in the rural, predominantly
black county and served from
1967 to 1987, during some of
the most turbulent days for race
relations in the United States.
His son, who has written a
book about his father, "Great
Courage," recalls a solid, steady
figure who, in an era of intimi
dation, had no fear.
"He was not scared" of any
body, said Anthony Amerson, a
former Army captain and a pro
curement analyst with the
Department of Homeland
Security. Lucius Amerson was a
compact man who developed a
slight stutter when he got angry,
his son said.
His favorite sidearm was his
booming .357 Colt. "That's a
big gun," Anthony Amerson
said. "When you wear that gun,
you don't have no problems."
The sheriff had few deputies
and often was the solitary face
of the law in the eastern
Alabama county.
"Whatever he did, he did it
well enough where he got mad
respect from everybody, white
and black," Amerson said.
In a famous case in 1968, a
young black man went to the
sheriff and said he was beaten
and terrorized while being
arrested for disorderly conduct
by a white Alabama state troop
er and the white police chief of a
town in Macon County. The
man said the two white officers
had also ordered him to dance
while one fired a gun at his feet.
What would the sheriff do?
"The whole eyes of the
black community were going to
tl-RSON
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111 I I ? S? -,ll Rl lb ' l> :i Ml
see whether this black sheriff
was a defunct placeholder or
whether he was going to really
do his job," Amerson said.
The sheriff ordered the two
arrested. One was taken into
custody by a deputy sheriff and
the other turned himself in,
according to a newspaper
account of the day.
"It made everybody have
respect," the sheriff's son said.
"It was unheard of."
Both white officers were
later acquitted.
Three years later, Lucius
Amerson was accused of beat
ing a black suspect during a fra
cas at the county jail in
Tuskegee.
The suspect, who was being
arrested on a drunken driving
charge, grabbed a deputy's pis
tol and opened fire, driving
Amerson, who fired back, and
his deputies from the jail. The
suspect was subdued with the
help of Tuskegee police and
charged that he was subsequent
ly beaten by Amerson and one
of his deputies.
Amerson and the deputy
were acquitted.
"The only thing left for me
to do is go back home and do
my job," Amerson said after the
acquittal. "And it's a hard job."
Anthony Amerson detailed
the incident in which his father
crashed while chasing the stolen
car. His father suffered burns
and a broken hip, and the patrol
car caught fire, incinerating his
cherished .357.
The sheriff planned to get it
repaired, his son said, but he
never had the chance.
Winston Lake Y unveils new teen offerings
BY TODD LUCK
THE CHRONICLE
The Winston Lake YMCA
held its first teen open house
last Thursday - opening its
doors to the community to
show all that it has to offer
young people.
Colorful displayed were
set-up in the lobby to tout both
established and new Y youth
program, including Support
Our Students (SOS), which
was recently launched.
SOS is a free program
funded by a grant from the
Department of Juvenile Justice
and Delinquency Prevention
that provides after school care
for middle school students.
Response to the program,
which is only able to take on
30 students, has been great,
according to Andrea Yancey,
assistant teen program direc
tor.
The students who make it
into the program will have
much to look forward to. From
2-6 p.m. on weekdays, the Y
will be involve in tutoring, arts
and crafts and team-building
activities. Yancey hopes that
SOS students eventually take
advantage of other programs
and activities at the Y.
"It's a way for them to
build friendships and relation
ships and get involved in other
programs in the YMCA," she
said.
Students in grades sixth,
seventh and eight will also
have the opportunity to sign up
for the Middle School
Achievers program, which is
modeled after the Y's popular
Black Achievers program for
high school students. Like
Black Achievers, the middle
school program will revolve
around mentoring and leader
ship-building activities.
Black Achievers alumnus
C ,
Photos by Todd Luck
Perry Rowdy stands by the benefits of Black Achievers.
Perry Rowdy, who now is in
college, manned a booth to
promote the program. From
Black Achievers, which covers
everything from SAT Prep to
how to dress for success, he
said he benefited greatly.
"I can't just name all the
things I learned," said Rowdy.
"Black Achievers just gave me
the necessary skills for living."
The Y Arts program Phi
Mu Y is also new. The club,
which brings together youths 8
to 18 monthly, promotes
empowerment, self awareness,
positive coping skills and
healthy decisions.
"They'll go through work- ?
shops: self-esteem, body
image - just a lot of things
teens face today," said Yancey.
Spencer McCall
With well-known programs
like the Boss Drummers, Jazzy
Jumpers jump rope team, the
all male Y-Steppers, the Y
Movements hip hop dance
troupe and the Y-Ettes
majorette team, about 300
young people are already
actively involved at the
Winston Lake Y. Spencer
McCall is hoping to see that
number grow.
"These programs have a
proven record of helping teens
grow spiritually, mentally and
physically," said McCall,
Winston Lake's teen program
director.
Y Arts programs and the
Achievers programs, do have
an annual fee, usually about
$40-$45. The fee also includes
a year long membership to
YMCA, which normally costs
$240. The teen programs are
taking registration now and
start during the month of
September. Financial assis
tance is available for all
YMCA programs and services.
For more information, visit
the Winston Lake YMCA at 901
Waterworks Road or call 336
724-9205. Information is also
available online at winston
lake .ymcanwnc .org .
n
L
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CARDIOTHORACIC SURGEONS:
HELPING PATIENTS WITH SIMPLE OR
COMPLEX HEART PROBLEMS
AFTER A DISAPPOINTING MEETING WITH A SURGEON who said her heart
valve couldn't be repaired, Tonya Geren asked her cardiologist for advice.
"He told me, 'The right guy has been under our noses the whole time,"' she said.
That specialist was Dr. Neal Kon at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical
Center's Cardiothoracic Surgery Department.
Dr. Kon is a national expert in mitral valve repair, and he developed a technique
for exposing the valve for repair used by surgeons worldwide.
Tonya feared that Dr. Kon would be too busy to help her. However, once she met
with him, Tonya felt her case was his top priority.
"Dr. Kon said once the surgery was done, I would realize what a poor quality of life
I had come to accept. He was right: The fatigue, shortness of breath, and irregular
heartbeat are now gone!"
To learn more about our cardiovascular surgeons, call Health On-Call? at
1-800-446-2255 (336-716-2255) or visit wfubmc.edu/heart/ct. And whatever
your insurance, chances are we take it.
KNOWLEDGE MAKES ALL THE DIFFERENCE.
Tonya and David Geren with Maggie, Charlie and Ellie
Since 1993, Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center ha"S been consistently
ranked as one of America's best hospitals by U.S.News & World Report
Wake Forest University Baptist
?rvviW^XX^KSZEXXIl *
Wake Forest University Physicians