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The Chronicle
Volume40,Number37 WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. THURSDAY, May 15, 2014
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Photo by I .ay la (iarrns
Ram Connect founder Chinaemeze Kelsey Okoro (center) with Quentin Slade (left) and Kyle Brown.
Opportunity Knocks
BY LAYLA GARMS
THE CHRONICLE
As Greensboro native Chinaemeze
Kelsey Okoro prepares for his gradua
tion from Winston-Salem State
University tomorrow, he is making
plans to leave behind a legacy that he
hopes will impact his alma mater and
the community for years to come.
The 21-year-old is the visionary
behind Ram Connect, a new initiative
that he hopes will someday be a source
of income, both for him and local busi
nesses.
Restaurants, shops and other busi
nesses pay a fee to be listed on the
WSSU student pushing
for unique business
venture to take off
Ram Connect Web site and app. Okoro
says, and members of the Winston
Salem State family will use their stu
dent or staff ID cards or proof of their
alumni status to receive discounts at
those businesses.
"The whole concept is pretty much
a helping circle," explained Okoro, an
exercise science major. "I just want to
help businesses, and I want to help stu
dents, faculty and staff and alumni -
the whole school."
During his sophomore year, Okoro,
who is in a dual enrollment program at
Wake Forest University, said he
noticed that Wake students were often
afforded perks and discounts at area
retailers and eateries, simply by flash
ing their school IDs. Yet. when Okoro
produced his WSSU ID, he was repeat
edly denied such benefits.
"It made me feel a little bit upset,"
he confesse^. "From there, I was just
thinking about how can I change
things
Ram Connect is his solution. He
Set Ram on A7
Self-taught genealogist enjoys the chase
BY LAYLA GARMS
THE CHRONIC LE ________
City native James Gist is
an addict.
His vice? Genealogy.
"It's fun. You have to
play detective sometimes,
but that's okay," he said of
researching his family's his
tory.
The Atkins High School
alumnus' love affair with
genealogy began more than
three decades ago when he
discovered a family Bible at
his mother's Winston-Salem
home.
"1 found this page that
had all this family informa
tion on it, but there were
some blanks in it," recalled
Gist, who is retired from the
U.S. Air Force and Lockheed
Martin Aerospace in
California. "I started talking
to my grandmother - she was
still living at the time - and
she just kind of blew my
mind."
The historical tidbits his
grandmother provided
sparked a curiosity that Gist
says set the course for his
genealogical journey. He
learned that his great-great
grandfather was a slave in
Anderson County, S.C. at the
time of the Emancipation
Proclamation. Among his
first acts as a freeman was
the selection of a surname.
"Instead of taking the
name of the family (that had
owned him) when he was
emancipated, he took the
name of the town, which was
the Martin Township," Gist
explained.
See Gist on A2
Photo by I-ayla Ciarms
James Gist poses with some of his research.
Lawyers
giving gifts
to foster
children
BY TODD LUCK
1 HE C'HRONK I I
Local lawyers detailed Project Birthday
at the Forsyth County Department of Social
Services on Friday, May 2, the second day of
National Foster Care Month.
Through the Forsyth County Women
Attorneys Association- and DSS- sponsored
program, attorneys will purchase birthday
gifts for local
foster chil
dren, who
will also get a
birthday cake
(courtesy of
Lowes
Foods), can
dles and party
favors on
their special
day.
FCWAA
already pro
v i d e s
Christmas
gifts for fos
ter kids, but
when Jessica
Bell, an attor
ney in private
practice,
heard DSS didn't do anything for kids' birth
days, she pushed for her fellow FCWAA
members to take action. The group accepted
the call enthusiastically and vowed to make
sure all children in foster care, which was
161 the last week on April, receive birthday
packages.
"We hope that the children in Forsyth
County know that they are loved: they are
special, and they are not forgotten," Bell said.
Gifts purchased by Winston-Salem
Women of Womble - which is made up of
lawyers at Womble Carlyle Sandridge &
Rice, where FCWAA President Sarah Crotts
practices - for foster kids with May birthdays
were displayed during the kickoff announce
ment, which included remarks by WX1I
Anchor Wanda Starke and Mayor Allen
Joines. Other firms and legal organizations
are being solicited to provide gifts for
upcoming months.
Starke, who was adopted, thinks the royal
treatment foster kids will receive thanks to
Project Birthday will make a huge difference.
"1 had loving parents who always cele
brated my birthday and made me feel spe
cial," she said. "... Unfortunately, there's
about 9.000 children in our state in foster
care who don't know that feeling, necessari
See Birthdays on A2
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Photos by Todd I k
Jessica Bell
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Bennett College
Photos
D r
Rosalind
Fuse-Hall A
presents M
Clarence ?
Pitt with his H
special I
degree.
BA (Bachelor of Affection) awarded
BY T. KEVIN WALKER
THE CHRONICLE
When one thinks of a Bennett Belle, Clarence
Allen Pitt isn't exactly what comes to mind. Yet,
he walked away with a degree from the historic
black women's college during its
Commencement Weekend earlier this month.
The 70-year-old was astounded when
President Dr. Rosalind Fuse-Hall summoned him
before the standing-room-only crowd in Annie
See Pitts t>n A8
l.ydia Pitt cheers for her husband.
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