THE BETTER WE KNOW US ... HIGH POINT—What does a social worker, a probation officer, and a Director of Community Affairs have in common? They are all helpers of the people in their community. They help their community with problems in adjustment, communications and rehabilitation. One of the three forestated positions is held, presently, by this week’s personality, MR. DON FORNEY. If you know him, then you know his present position. If you don’t know him, then read on to find out more about him. For those of you who haven’t guessed which position he presently holds, Mr. Forney is the Community Affairs Hirector for WGHP-TV, Chan- by Miller Carter, Jr. nei 8 television station in High Point. Mr. Forney was born in Asheboro, North Carolina, but now resides in Greensboro. He also attended col lege in Greensboro, A&T State Uni versity, majoring in Sociology. After graduation in 1960, Mr. Forney worked, first, in the High Point area as a social worker. His second job also was based in High Point as a Guilford County probation officer. Later, Mr. Forney went to another position but always maintain ed his status and concern for helping people. His next job venture was that of Deputy Director of OEO (Office of Economic Opportunity) and later he went on to be the Executive Director of the Model City Commission. The story Mr. Forney tells about how he got into television is what he calls “an accident”. He had worked part-time with Channel 8 on an informative talk show hosted by Rev. Tom Watson. He worked part-time for approximately two years before he was asked to take the job of Commun ity Affairs Director. Before going to Channel 8, Mr. Forney had intentions of going to law school but after a careful examina tion and study of the court and criminal system, he found that a lawyer was not what he wanted to be. He could not see himself sending anyone to prison or reform school with the thought that, that wasn’t the way to help a person. Mr. Forney has always felt the need to work with people which was displayed in his college study and through his work after college. He describes his present employment as one that fulfills the needs and ac knowledges the problems of the community. That’s why he refers to his work as being the “people busi ness. ” As Director of Community Affairs, Mr. Forney’s job is to identify the problems of the community and work a television program (dealing with that problem) around the situa- OontinueeNDn’Page 6 lM£JitlBUNAL AID A VIABLE, VALID REQUIREMENT RESPONDING TO BLACK NORTH CAROLINA r VOLUME ni. No. 22 WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 22,1975 $5.00 PER YEAR PRESS RUN 8,500 MEMBER: North Carolina Black Publishers Association —• North Carolina Press Association, Inc. N. C. Black Millionaire Wants More Millionaires GffiEIKSBORO—“I want aires, 2,000 blacks worth to make 200 black nullion- $500,000 and another 1,000 worth $300,00 or more.” Railway Sales Representatives Dudley ^battle cry has In Competitive Business ASHEVILLli— Gregg Lewis, a black Sales Repre sentative for Southern Rail way in Asheville, North Caro lina, considers himself one of the “young, new breed” college graduates just getting his feet wet in the world of business. He graduated from Wilberforce University with a bachelor’s degree in business management in August, 1972. He started working for South ern almost immediately after graduation. Southern Railway was one of many companies Greg investigated when interview ing for jobs. “I was impressed with the areas for employ ment with Southern,” he said, “and the advancement potential was most encour aging for someone like myself who doesn’t mind working to reach a certain goal in life.” Greg is originally from Colum bus, Ohio, and part of his nine months of training with Southern was done in Cincinn ati, Ohio. He also spent time in Southern’s Washington, D. C. complex. Greg had to learn the “basics of railroad ing and what makes Southern tick and how,” as he put it. . He was briefed on the general workings of Southern Rail way’s entire operation from laying track to administrative policy. Greg is part of a Sales in personal values and fulfill- team responsible for South- ment as well as career respons- em freight customers in the ibility.” He realizes that he is Asheville area. “Most large a public relations representa- companies use rail services,” tive for Southern when he he explained. “Trucks are approaches both present and more flexible in some in- prospective freight customers, stances, but rail is more “Many of my customers were economical since we can accustomed to dealing with carry more in one shipment more seasoned Sales Rep- and most times at a cheaper resentatives than I,” he con- rate.” Boxcars for freight are fessed, “but I mustered all either 40, 50, 60 or 85 feet the know-how and confi- long. Greg explained that dence I could and they rates for freight shipments are accepted me on performance usually based on tonnage, and not on age, sex or color, distance and commodity. That’s the way I want it.” A well-worn freight tariff (catalogue including price) is Greg’s work is a vital link a big help to Greg in his Sales in the Southern chain of work. There is a computer in services. “Sales work is a the Sales ofHce used in highly competitive and fast tracing cars shipped by South- moving business,” he said.“I em’s customers. “Sometimes work to see that my custo- a car might not reach its mers get the best shipping destination on time,” Greg arrangements for their needs said, “and we must track it and their money, and if I through our networks and continue to do that success- those of other railroads if the fully, they will keep coming car must connect with other back to Southern.” rail lines when it leaves our tracks.” He admits that his work is never dull. “There is always something going on. There’s never an idle moment in Sales,” he said. Greg is looking forward to advancing to other areas of work with Southern. “I defi nitely don’t mind relocating,” he said, “and I am interested immm Greg and his wife, Oiane, find the Blue Ridge Mountain city of Asheville, North Caro lina, quite different from living in Ohio. They agree that the experience has been both trying and refreshing. “But,” he adds, “we are young and we have miles to go from Asheville on.” SUPPO become more than an empty creed; with him it’s a religion. Already himself one of the nation’s fastest rising and most successful black busi nessmen, Dudley is now into this thing of wanting to share his kind of economic success with blacks across the coun try. Dudley, whose cosmetic firms and 400 door-to-door salesmen have helped him to gross over $1 million for each of the past three years, said it is the economic plight of blacks in the U.S. which caused him to undertake his self-sufficiency program. “Blacks don’t know that they can become self-suffi cient,” said Dudley, who at the age of 38 has just about become that. “Anybody who is really willing to make changes can become a success,” he said, “and under my plan, every body will make money according to his ability.” What Dudley really wants to do is to set up distributors for Fuller products, which helped to enrich Chicago’s S. B. Fuller some years ago. Fuller is generally believed to have been the first black businessman to earn millions of dollars through his cosmet ics and other business inter ests. Dudley maintains that if his plan is successful, within 10 years he would have helped to generate “102,200 self-sufficient blacks.” “Mr. Fuller has been work ing on this self-sufficiency program for 40 years,” said Dudley, “and I want to continue it.” The Greensboro businessman is scheduled to become the president of the Fuller enterprises some time next year. “I am really concerned about the problems of black people,” said Dudley. “A people which buys more than it sells is in trouble.” Dudley already has distri butorships in a half dozen cities in North Carolina as well as in Virginia, Washing ton, D.C., and New York City. He said he hopes to become involved in most of the nation’s largest popula tion centers. Dudley’s philosophy is that door-to-door selling can be a direct route to a good life for many blacks. “There are 3.5 million people selling door-to-door and across this nation, and doing better than ever. This many people can’t be wrong,” he said. He said that his company’s business has actually been better during the nation’s economic slump. Dudley said door-to-door selling has an appeal for economic classes from do mestics to professionals. He told this reporter recently of a dentist who “practices dentistry and is seeking to become a branch manager for us.” He also talks about high school and college dropouts who are now taking home upwards of $300 per week. Dudley will spend the next few years meeting with per sons interested in improving their economic lot, that is, in becoming owners of some thing. “All these persons have to do is contact me in Greens- u boro,” he said, “and I will show them my plan for success.” When Dudley talks, this is no pie in the sky, nor is it a Rev. Ike Philosophy of just imagining that you are going to come into something, ii is built around a belief in the American capitalistic system, a system which Dudley says blacks can make work for them. He often recalls with a kind of pride, his own rural Unemployment Continues To Rise Washington - The unem ployment rate for blacks re mained essentially unchanged at 14.3 percent in September, the U. S. Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics re ported. In August, the unemploy ment rate for blacks was 14.0 percent. For whites, the un employment rate in Septem ber was 7.6 percent, the same as in August. Nationally, the unemployment and total em ployment were little changed in September, while nonagri- cultural payroll employment continued to rise. The unemployment rate was 8.3 percent, little different from July and August when it was 8.4 percent, but substant ially below the recession peak of 8.9 percent reached in the second quarter of the year. Total employment-as mea sured by the monthly survey of households-was about un changed from August to Sept ember after posting a gain of one and a half million in the previous 5-month span. Em ployment had declined by 2.6 million over the September- March period. Since the June low, payroll employment has risen by 870,000, which has resulted in a considerable narrowing of the recent trend differences in the household and establish ment series. (Establishment data have been revised based on new benchmark levels and seasonal adjustment factors, as in past years.) The number of persons un employed totaled 7.8 million in September, seasonally ad justed, essentially unchanged from the levels prevailing since July. The rate of unem ployment has also shown little movement over the past 3 months but, at 8.3 percent, was six-tenths of a percentage point below the recession peak registered in the second quar ter. A year ago, when the sharp increases in joblessness first began, the rate was 5.8 percent. As was the case in August, the stability in overall jobless ness masked divergent move ments among the major labor force groups. After declining to 6.6 percent in August, the jobless rate for adult men returned to the June-July level of 7.0 percent. This change also was reflected in increas ed joblessness among house hold heads and married men. The rate for teenagers, on the other hand, which had in creased sharply in August, declined to 19.3 percent in September, approximating the levels prevailing in June and July. The jobless rate for adult women continued its downward drift that has total ed a full percentage point from the second quarter high of 8,5 percent. Unemployment rates for most of the otner labor force categories, includ ing the major industry and occupational groups, showed little or no change over the month. Although the unemployment rate for workers covered by regular state unemployment insurance programswas un changed at 5.8 percent in September, it has dropped sharply from the peak of 7.0 percent attained in May. There were 3.9 million per sons (seasonally adjusted) claiming regular state U.I. benefits, but the total number of unemployed insurance £laimants is much larger when the 2.5 million persons (not seasonally adjusted) claimi^ benefits under var ious-special programs, includ ing the Federal extended ben efits programs, are taken into account. The number of persons un employed 15 weeks or more See Page 6 background in tiny Aurora, N.C. “I was reared in a poverty- stricken area with 14 mem bers of my family living in three rooms,” said Dudley. “But 1 wanted a college education and my parents encouraged me to work and earn money to attend college.” After completing part of a year at A&T State University, Joe left college because of money problems. A year later he went to New York and began selling Fuller products door to door. When he met Fuller himself, he quickly became sold on the merits of door-to-door selling. “I remember one time I almost changed my career because I wanted to raise hogs. Mr. Fuller told me to raise people instead of hogs,” remembers Dudley. A big cog in the successful Dudley wheel is his wife, Eunice, whom Dudley was also able to put through college on his his early door-to-door sales earnings. Ccxitinued on Page 6 ADVERTISING MERCHANTS OF THIS, YOUR NEWSPAPER!

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