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The Chro _
Vol. XXXVII No. 30 WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. THURSDAY, March 24, 2011
Photos by Layla Farmer
Doris Hartsfield with her daughter, District Court Judge
Denise Hartsfield.
WSSU's Brown
Alumni Chapter
turns 60-years-old
BY LAYLA FARMER
THE CHRONIC! I
Sixty years ago, Doris
Neal Hartsfield. then a
young educator fresh out of
college, joined forces with a
handful of colleagues at the
now-defunct Woodland
Elementary School to form
Winston-Salem
State
University ' i
Woodland
Alumni Chapter.
At the time,
Hartsfield, who
spent 38 years as
a first grade
teacher before
her retirement,
said she and her
seven fellow
charter members
were more focused on the
social aspects of the group
than its long term impacts.
"It just so happened that
aU of us had finished
Teachers College (now
WSSU) the same year and
got a job at the same place,"
recalled the 81 year-old.
"We decided with our princi
pal that we needed to have
Hillian
an alumni base ... we decid
ed we were going to do it for
fun."
Today, the chapter, which
was renamed the Brown
Alumni Chapter in 1958 in
memory of Woodland's for
mer principal, is home to an
active membership of more
than 70. The Chapter regu
hirlv <cnnn?;nr< a
J "
Miss Alumni candi
date and awards a
scholarship to an
incoming freshman
each year. Chapter
members and local
supporters paid
homage to
Hartsfield and the
legacy she helped
to create last week,
during a lavish ban
U/CCII
Anderson Conference
Center's McNeil Banquet
Hall.
"We thought that 60
years of continuous service
and loyalty to the university
and the community was well
worth celebrating in a big
way," said Vera Hillian, one
of the organizers of the
Sec Brown on A2
LIQUID ASSETS
Local company starts community fund
BY LAYLA FARMER
THE CHRONICLE
Operation Will Power, a local for
profit company with a service-driven
mission, made a big step towards
achieving its goal of helping area youth
Monday, when it established The
Winston-Salem
Children and
Youth's Fund at
the Winston
Salem Foundation
with a $10,000
donation.
"Winston
Salem Foundation
is honored to act
as a partner with
Dr. Larley Goler on the
establishment of
the Winston-Salem Children and
Youth's Fund." said Scott Wierman.
president of the Winston-Salem
Foundation. "We are looking forward
to seeing ... the money reinvested hack
into the community."
Operation Will Power, which was
launched two years ago under the
vision and direction of Rev. Seth
Lartey, pastor of Goler Memorial AME
Zion Church, has pledged to donate 90
percent of its profits to programs and
events that benefit youth through the
Fund.
"As long as breath is in our bodies,
we will do whatever it takes to let our
children know somebody cares,"
Phirtos by I .a via Farmer
Operation Will Power recently purchased this delivery truck.
Lartey told those who gathered at the
church's Family Enrichment Center for
the presentation. "You are here today
to help us do that."
Operation Will Power generates
income through the sales of its I'm
Free branded water, which is bottled by
the LeBleu company. The brand is now
available in local Food Lion stores, as
well as in most Quality Mart and Four
Brothers convenience store locations in
the area. Lartey said. He has set a goal
of selling one million bottles by the
end of 2011.
"It's a beginning," Jerry Anderson,
vice president and general manager of
Operation Will Power, said of the down
payment the company made on the
Fund. "I don't feel like we've arrived
anywhere, it's just another brick in the
road to success that we envision for our
corporation."
Anderson said the company has
sold about a quarter of the 44.000 cases
it would need to unload in order to hit
the one million bottles mark.
Awareness about the company and its
See Will Power on A9
Kids all smiles as Globetrotter pays a visit
BY LAYLA FARMER
THE CHRONICLE
Houston native Aundre
Branch is living out his boy
hood dream of becoming a
professional athlete.
The Baylor University
alumnus has entertained
audiences in 57 nations
around the globe as a mem
ber of the Harlem
Globetrotters. But Branch,
37, known to his fans as
"Hot Shot," says none of it
could have been possible if
he hadn't remained focused
and determined to reach his
lifelong aspirations.
"I wanted to play profes
sional ball, that was always
my goal," he related. "But I
never thought I'd be a
Harlem Globetrotter. That's
something special."
The father of three
shared his insights with stu
dents at Bolton Elementary
School last Thursday, as part
of the internationally-known
team's CHEER
(Cooperation, Healthy mind
Photo h\ Lay I a Farmer
Hot Shot helps kindergartner Shakyra Claxton do a trick for her schoolmates.
and body. Effort,
Enthusiasm and
Responsibility) for
Character program .
"Coming up in inner city
Houston, I had a lot of chal
lenges I had to face, a lot of
distractions around me, but 1
stayed focused," he told the
students who crowded into
the gym to hear him speak.
"...Now, my childhood
dream has Feen answered."
Branch's visit last week
coincided with the team's
appearance at the Lawrence
See Globetrotter on A2
City native is an unlikely freedom fighter
Photo by I .ay la Farmer
Rob Stephens (left) poses with NC NAACP President Rev. William
Barber II on Monday in Winston-Salem.
BY LAYLA FARMER
THE CHRONICLE
At a glance, city native Rob Stephens is serene
and pleasant, quick to smile and extend a hand to
a stranger.
But don't mistake his kindness for weakness.
Stephens is a freedom fighter. For much of his 24
years, the UNC alumnus has fought for the things
he believes in, from the playgrounds of his youth
to the state NAACP office where he now serves as
assistant director of the Anti Death Penalty
Project. He walks with kings in the modern civil
rights movement, keeping company with the likes
of State NAACP President Rev. William Barber II,
Darryl Hunt and filmmaker/scholar Dr. Tim Tyson.
"I just feel like I'm the luckiest
activist/organizer in the state of North Carolina to
be able to work the geniuses like the people in
NAACP leadership," said Stephens, who was
See Stephens on A5
Esteemed Honorees
Photo by Jaeson Pitt
WSSU Chancellor Donald Reaves and WFU Law Professor
Luellen Curry (pictured next to her husband. Dr. Carlton
Eversley) were among the honorees at The Chronicle's
Community Awards Gala on Saturday. See more images
from the event on page Bl .
n
Spend it here.
Keep it here.
BUY LOCAL FIRST! I