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????? LOUCn IJ^^Sil RnnrH Inpp|pr<! /?. ; \ #Maynor MWioses toss things f?J-?ke for q&a Hvalue^ iiluhnulat facebook ^BT! members Festival -See Page B8 \ I WWWifflCObQQKiCOnV wlk \ -See Page A3 l^wschronicle^ r| m #TUTi/*\xT?~,6,:i?~ 1 He I^HKUINi^__ Vol.XXXVIIINo.48 WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. THURSDAY, July 26, 2012 Change at CHANGE Group undeterred by staff shortage BY TODD LUCK THE CHRONICLE CHANGE (Communities Helping All Neighbors Gain Empowerment) is going through changes of its own. Lead Organizer Rev. Ryan Eller and Office Manager Ismael Khatibu are no longer with the grass roots organization, which brings together members of dozens of churches, neighborhood associations and other groups in the name ot racial unity and to push for eco nomic justice educational parity and other issues. Associate Organizer Mustafa Abdullah is currently CHANGE'S only paid staffer. Eller, who became lead organizer in December 2008, said he left CHANGE three weeks ago to pursue his own endeavors. Eller said that while there is "no perfect time to transition," after consulting with the Strategy Team, he decided now was as good a time as any to strike out on his own. "My ultimate vision, and the reason 1 wanted to have- more time to spend on other things, is for some time now, I've had a tug on my spirit to start a new min istry in Winston-Salem that encases the communitv and engages people of different backgrounds together to grow spiritually," he said. He plans to work with several local pastors to create a new diverse, interfaith "intentional community" over the next year or so. In the meantime, he just began a consulting firm, Cogent Strategies, with Tara Orris that works with political campaigns, churches and non-prof-' its. Sharee Folwer, who was part of the group that start ed CHANGE and served as the group's associate organ izer for several years, said it's not the first time the group has been in a transition without a lead organizer. "When you're able to build the organization like that, that's led by the people, it's much easier to work through a transitional period," said Fowler. "The organ ization is structured in such a way that, again, while we're grateful to have our paid professional organizers on board, the organization is owned and led by the lay leadership." Fowler currently chairs CHANGE'S Communication team and is interim co-chair of the Strategy team, which will handle the search for a new lead organizer. Fowler said Monday that Associate Organizer See CHANGE on AS Khatibu ElUr Photos by Lay la Garms Happy Hill Senior Citizens Club members (front row, from left): Sylvia Brown, Aurelia Stribling, Patricia Willis, Carolyn Payne, Barbara Cuthrell and (back row, from left): Juanita Easter, Barbara Smith, Betty McLean and Laura Allen. Below: Ben Piggott leads the children in a bal loon release in memory of former residents who have passed away. WHERE THE HEART IS Hundreds return home for Happy Hill Reunion BY LAYLAGARMS THE CHRONICLE Current and former residents of Happy Hill, the city's oldest African American community, lived up to the historic : ?_ i i i?. i . i i ncignoomoou s name last weexenu. The annual spirited Happy Hill Reunion has been a summertime tradition for nearly two decades. From the smell of hot dogs on the grill to the laughter, exuberant embraces and easy conversa tion, the event had fill the trappings of a family reunion, and for many of those who attend, that is precisely what thi Happy Hill Community Reunion has become. "If you did something up on Mock Street, by the time you got down on Willow (Street), every body knew about it, and you got a couple beatings along the way," former resident Robert Cunningham said with a chuck See Reunion on A5 Caldwell Adult computer training program ends on high note Photos by Layla Garms Cheryl Jeffries hugs Johnsie Blackwell. BY LAYLA GARMS THE CHRONICLE There was a time when comDuters ? intimidated Johnsie Blackwell. Not anymore. Today, Blackwell not only knows how to operate the machines, but she has learned how to make them work to her advantage, thanks to Connect Your Community, a collaborative partner ship between nonprofit technology initia tive WinstonNet and Winston Salem/Forsyth County Schools. The pro gram. which was offered at a variety of locations across the city over the course of the last two years, ended Monday with a celebratory recognition event at the administrative headquarters of WS/FC Schools. The celebration was bittersweet for Thomasville resident Cheryl Jeffries, who taught _ the first CYC class in December 2010. "I hate that this program is going away." con foe laH loffripe q NIP A AT IV.1.1VU /VI I I IV^'t u I IV * ?VA. I VilUIV University alumna. "There've been so many people whose lives we've touched, and also they've touched our lives." Blackwell. a housekeeping supervi sor at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center, is one of the roughly 140 Baptist employees who took part in the CYC. "At the time that I was introduced to the computer class at Baptist. I had just gotten a promotion to a job where I was onino tn Iv wnrkino on n rnmnnfpr ev,,,e ^ ?c ~ which was not my thing," she said. Sec CYC on A8 I I Boehme Couple takes on new career challenges BY LAYLA GARMS THE CHRONICLE Jomo and Courtney Legins share an affinity for many things: their three boys, their alma mater - UNC-Chapel Hill - music, and fitness among them. "If we take care of our bodies, we can expect them to take care of us when we're older," said Courtney, a competitive body builder and certified personal trainer. "Jomo and I have a mantra, 'the best gift we can give to each other is a healthy body.'" This year, the couple, who married eight years ago, discovered they also shared an entrepreneurial spirit. Both of them are operating independent business ventures. She is offering community fit ness classes several times a week through her company, C-More Legs, and he is the proud owner of Jomo's Rhythm n' Blues, a new club for the "grown and sexy" crowd that is slated to open next month. As the owner of JLK Print Graphics Photo by Layla Garms Jomo and Coutney Legins stand outside Jomo's Rhythm n' Blues. and Screen-Printing Company for the last 12 years, Jomo, who played football at Carolina, is no stranger to self-employ ment. but it wasn't until he was laid off from his longtime position at R.J. Reynolds in February that he turned his attention to the nightclub in earnest. He had acquired the building at 3301 North Liberty St. six years earlier with the inten tion of starting his own business but had abandoned the idea because of the demands of his full-time job. He had leased the building to a tenant, but it had been vacant for several months. In recent months, he has spent time and energy renovating and redecorating the building to create just the right atmos phere for the classy adult crowd he hopes to attract "Our focus is definitely on that roman tic couples' atmosphere," explained the city native. "I wanted a place 1 could bring my wife and have a good time. I don't feel comfortable taking my wife to a club." See Leginses on A8 7lui Selievels Photo by Layla Gartm Nouh and Matala Yattara stand outside of the Global Leadership Training Center in Winston Salem. The couple fled their native Timbuktu. Mali to escape religious persecution. Read more about them on page A2. W IftlllfllllpiiHjl.vl? ? 5 CHAMBER I | If I ? ? f I | I I |H ? I I n I H S!i -^Bl 1^^^? ^?_
Winston-Salem Chronicle (Winston-Salem, N.C.)
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July 26, 2012, edition 1
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