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Bobcats exec talks to local teens BY LAYLA FARMER THECHftpNlTIF Eil Lewis could have been doing any number of things on the morning of Wednesday, July 13, when he took the podi um at Union Baptist Church to address members of the Winston-Salem Urban League's YL1 (Youth Leadership Institute) internship program. As the former vice president of corpo rate affairs for BET Jazz and one of the company's first executives, Lewis now serves as vice president of Government Relations and Business Diversity for the Charlotte Bobcats. He serves on several boards in the Charlotte area and is the recip ient of a Lifetime Achievement Award from the NAACP in Connecticut, where he grew up According to Janine Eustache, a con sultant for the Urban League, Lewis was a perfect example for the youth, "because of his background and because of his belief in people and because of the work he's done over the years to improve the communities that exist across the country from an inner city point-of-view. "He has a good heart - he's a philan thropist and he's a very talented person who simply belicvaK^iit^people, in particular, youth," Eustjione added. "He brings a mes sage of hope an inspiration that you can overcome anything to achieve whatever you want in life." Lewis is a staunch supporter of youth oriented programming. "As a leader, I think it's very, very important to give back and this is one of the PtuHos by Layla Farmer Dozens of teens attended last week's speech. school. "I lived in a housing authority on the outskirts of my hometown," he explained. "We used to have a little swimming hole. ways I give back," he comment ed. "Hopefully imparting knowledge of my history, my career, the things that I've done over the years . . . will steer some of these kids in the right direction that will be successftil for them in their lives." Lewis' 20-minute speech explored leadership from a vari ety of different angles. He talked to the interns about the value of good leadership and reminded Lewis One night, when we were swimming and coming out of the swimming hole, we got stopped by the police." ' Lewis said he and his friends - who were trespassing, at worst - were taken to the police station. "I was charged with allegedly stealing some rusty tools from an abandoned sand bar," he related. "I was never dumb, always pretty smart, and rusty tools don't work, so there them that there is a leader within each one of them. "Leaders have vision and they develop that vision so they can become a good leader and have good leadership," he told the students. "Everybody here will have an opportunity to be a leader." To illustrate this point, Lewis related a tale from his own childhood, when a wrongful accusation landed him in a boys' tore i would not nave taken rusty tools. Nevertheless, Lewis was convicted and sent to a boys' school for 1 1 months. He cites that random incident as a turning point in his young life. "When I went to this school, I realized that this was something I did not want to do, but I saw an opportunity," he remarked. He used his time at the boys' school to develop his leadership skills, becoming president of his junior high school graduat ing class. He delivered the presidential speech at graduation, "I spoke before 500 people and I said to myself after that, because it worked out very well - I said to myself, 'This is something that I can do,'" he remarked. "That was the first time that I realized that I was in a lead ership position and had an opportunity to develop into a leader." Lewis also related the story of BET founder Bob Johnson's rise to the top. Johnson is the majority owner of the Charlotte Bobcats and the first African American in history to hold such a position, according to Lewis. The media mogul has been one of his greatest allies, Lewis says. it you una somebody mat Delieves in you, you stick with that person and you grow with that person because you will become a leader in your own right," was Lewis' advice to the students. "I hope that someday you'll be . . . whatever you want to be, but whatever you become, just be a leader in what you do." Photos by Todd Luck Young Power Girls partic pants listen as Denise Hendricks speaks at Bennett College last week. >wer Girls i page XI field again. She worked her way up the career ladder, strategically moving to get better positions at better TV stations. She reached a career milestone when she was hired at CNN in Atlanta to be a line produc er for the morning show "Daybreak." It was at CNN she heard about the opening on "Oprah." She applied for the job and was hired as an assistant producer. As part of her job, she helps to put together various shows, which may involve coming up with show ideas and book ing guests. "Behind the scenes is very busy, very hectic and we're basically, when the show's going on and you see Oprah out there on stage, every body's running around behind the scenes making sure every; thing is ready to move to the next level," said Hendricks. She said she thinks about how putting regular, everyday people on national TV will affect their lives. She added that she finds it's gratifying when past guests tell her the positive things that have hap pened to them as a result of their appearance on the show. Hendricks said she loves her job and looks forward to getting up in the morning to drive to the set. She told the young women that to be a producer they have to like to "talk a lot." She said they also have to love to write, travel and meet new people. To show the Power Girls other roles women can play in Lindsay the media, she hosted a panel of women working in differ ent types of media. One pan elist was Judy Seidenstein, the host of the internet radio show "Diversity Matters." Seidenstein has degrees in psychology and mass com munications. She said she enjoyed working at a radio station in college and then spent 1 4 years using her psy chology degree as a diversity consultant for various compa nies. She said she combined her passion for radio and her passion for diversity to come up with her show. She encour aged the Power Girls to find ways to merge their passions. "Remember what you love, remember what your passion is, and think about creative ways to integrate them, to put things together," said Seidenstein. Panelists Tiffany Lindsay, a senior journalism major at Bennett with experience in print media, said even as a reporter and editor of the col Seidenstein lege's paper. The Bennett Banner, she didn't think she would have what it takes to work at a professional paper. But she was wrong. Her internship at The Carolina Peacemaker resulted in many of her stories being published, some even on the front page. She said that finding someone to act as a mentor helped make the difference and she now knows she's got what it takes to be a reporter. "You got to meet people who mentor you. it's impor tant to have mentors that say 'This is what you've been doing, let me show you a dif ferent way or 'Let me show you a different approach' and that's what I've had, I've had a really good editor," said Lindsay. The Power Girls program is hosted by the Johnnetta B. Cole Global Diversity & Inclusion Institute, which focuses on developing leader ship skills and building char acter in minority women. Winston-Salem Legal Aid firms will consolidate SPECIAL TO THE CHRONICLE Legal Aid of North Carolina (LANC) and the Legal Aid Society of Northwest North Carolina (LASNNC) have consolidat ed their operations in Winston-Salem. Both law firms provide lawyers who represent poor people in civil cases, such as domestic In 2002, most of the legal aid organizations in North Carolina consolidated to form Legal Aid of North Carolina (LANC). The new, nonprofit law firm was the result of a multi-year plan ning effort by 15 federally funded, legal services pro grams and multiple support ing and/or affiliate groups in North Carolina. LANC violence, Social Security, evic tions. consumer issues, child advocacy and Hispanic out reach. All LASNNC staff and revenue streams will be transferred to the legal Aid of North Carolina - Winston-Salem Mack-HilUard became the sole recipient in North Carolina of federal grants from the Legal Services Corporation (LSC), and was required to serve all 100 counties in North Carolina. It opened an office in Winston ortice. the combined start will move to a new, larger office on the fourth floor of the Liberty Plaza at 102 West Third Street in down town Winston-Salem, next to the Forsyth County Hall of Justice. "This operation change will benefit low-income people in Winston-Salem," said Cal Adams, Jr., a board member and former chair of both organizations, "and makes economic sense for the Legal Aid staffs. By combining forces, we feel that he new Legal Aid staff can provide high quality legal services to even more clients and do so in an even more efficient manner." Salem that same year. "This consolidation of the staffs of two high quality law firms is a positive step toward our mission to ensure equal justice in our commu nity," said Hazel Mack Hilliard. senior managing attorney for LANC. "The need to continue to provide life-altering solutions to crit ical legal issues is crucial to ensuring that all people in our community can service, grow and prosper. The Winston-Salem community has supported Legal Aid and its clients for more than 45 years and now we can move forward in an even more united manner to help peo ple in our area." LORDY, LORDY, LORDY Rev. T. Tyrone Tyson turned 40! HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Freedom Baptist Church Family For all things we must give thanks (Ephesians 5:20) $T.?WNG Tin PIKDMomj -1903 PIEDMONT federa/ Center for FINANCIAL INDEPENDENCE Advanced Techniques for Free ATMs , With a Piedmont Federal PFSelect or NOW checking account, you get the convenience of using any ATM in the world up to 10 timjes per statement cycle ? for free. ? ,, o It's like having a piggy bank on every corner. WHERE YOUR MONEY CAN REACH ITS FULL POTENTIAL ( ontml 11 n lo learn more about free M \f\ 16 W?it Third St | Wini?on-Solem. NC 27101 770-1000 I www piedmontfed?ral com F E D E R A I
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