2006 Black History Month Award Reception Celebrating Living History Makers

    /24-7PressRelease/ - LOS ANGELES, CA, February 19, 2006 - This week presents the California's community's most outstanding recognition award reception held during Black History Month!

Presenting Sponsors: Wells Fargo and Microsoft, and Corporate Sponsors: Farmers Insurance - Farmers Action for Communities of Tomorrow (F.A.C.T.) and Turning Point Magazine present the 13th Annual Living History Makers Awards Reception. Hosted by TPC Foundation and Turning Point Magazine, the reception will be held Thursday, February 23, 2006 from 6PM to 8PM at the City Club on Bunker Hill, 333 South Grand Avenue, 54th Floor, Wells Fargo Center, Los Angeles, CA.

Always held on the last Thursday of Black History Month, the Living History Makers Reception recognizes California's most dedicated individuals in the categories of Advocacy, Arts and Entertainment, Education, Science and Technology - and in addition, for the reception's lucky 13th year, the Emerging History Maker category was added!

The Living History Makers Award 2006 had almost 100 entries from all over the State of California! Each applicant was nominated by peers, family and/or organizations. While all applications submitted this year were very commendable, those applicants had to be evaluated, and a list of the 2006 top finalists was chosen. Each of these individuals chosen has been pinnacle in working daily and tirelessly to uplift the California African-American community. The 2006 Finalists in each category were named:

Education
Dr. Thomas Parham
Howard Ransom Jr.
Edna Herring
Jason Seward


Entertainment and Arts
Earl Ofari Hutchinson
Mother Love
Malcolm Ali

Advocate
G. Patricia Jackson
William Tribble Sr.
Sam Washington

Science and Technology
Hildreth "Hal" Walker Jr.
Jennifer Spalding


From this stellular and exemplary list of 2006 finalists, the judges had to begin the painstakingly hard choice of choosing the 2006 Honorees. After weeks of careful deliberation against the entire awards criteria, the Living History Makers Award Reception 2006 Honorees were selected in each category:
*ADVOCACY*
William Tribble Sr.
CEO, Faywill House
Community: Indio, California

William Tribble Sr. is the CEO, Faywill House, a six-bed facility that caters to teenage boys 13 to 17 years old. Faywill House falls under the umbrella of Faywill Alternative Housing Services, an organization which provides a staggering array of services ranging from shelter and mental health counseling to vocational training and economic empowerment. Tribble and his late wife, Jennie, founded the organization in 2003. He is also the founder and CEO of Tribble Construction, which has also helped African-Americans become homeowners by providing workshops on financial literacy and homeownership.


*ARTS and ENTERTAINMENT*
Malcolm Ali
Owner, Fashion Image News Agency (FINA)
Community: Los Angeles, California

Malcolm Ali is the owner, Fashion Image News Agency (FINA) and has been capturing the grief, pain, joy and exhilaration of everyday people and everyday life for over 30 years as a photographer. He has taken the art of photography and brought it to the community from photographing the rich and famous as well as the everyday person. He does more than just snaps a picture; he enlightens through his camera with stories of fame, loss, love, life, and community. From the Los Angeles Homeless and Hurricane Katrina's devastation to the star-studded BET's 25 Anniversary Show, he has captured the glamorous with undeniable shine to the sorrowful without sacrificing their dignity. He is an unrelenting teacher, mentor and worker who devotes the same passion and energy to his craft, whether he is paid or not.

*EDUCATION*
Howard Ransom Jr.
CEO, New Wave Educational Center
Community: Watts/Los Angeles, California

Howard Ransom Jr. has nearly 30 years as an educator and mentor. He has earned a bachelor's degree from California State University, Hayward, in African American Studies and Theatre Arts and is currently pursuing a master's degree in Urban Education at California State University, Los Angeles. He currently teaches at the Maxine Waters Employment Preparation Center in Watts, Calif., has served as the principal of Academy Cathedral High School in Inglewood, Calif. and is also the President and CEO of the Long Beach, Calif.-based New Wave Educational Center. After the Los Angeles riots in 1992, he joined forces with U.S. Post Service officials and developed a Civil Service Training Program to help prepare applicants for the civil service exam. His efforts led to nearly one thousand men and women enrolling in the course, and the hiring of over 400 of those applicants as temporary and permanent workers.


*SCIENCE and TECHNOLOGY*
Hildreth "Hal" Walker Jr.
CEO, TECH PLUS
Community: Inglewood/Los Angeles, California

Hildreth "Hal" Walker Jr. has been in the field of science and technology for the past 40 years. In 1969, his lunar laser-ranging experiment was the only active interplanetary experiment carried out by the Apollo 11 crew. His career includes positions at KORAD Laser Systems, where he first began his work, and Hughes Aircraft, from where he retired. He is the President and CEO of TECH PLUS, a Los Angeles, Calif. based laser technology consultant group with international collaborators. Along with his wife Dr. Bettye Walker, he is the chairman of the board of directors and co-founder of the African-American Male Achievers Network Inc. (A-MAN). The Walkers also run the nonprofit International Science and Discovery Center, which began as a pilot project at Dr. Walker's Compton, Calif., elementary school nearly 20 years ago. In the latter part of 2005, Walker traveled abroad to run an A-MAN program that was first implemented in 1998 at the Umthombo Primary School in Memelodi, South Africa.


* EMERGING LIVING HISTORY MAKER*
Myia Jones
CEO, Multicultural Youth in Action Inc. (MYIA Inc.)
Community: Bay Area/Vacaville, California

14 year old Vacaville Christian High School Honor Roll student Myia Jones is CEO of Multicultural Youth in Action Inc. (MYIA Inc.); her four year old Vacaville, Calif. based nonprofit organization! The organization offers social interaction, education and empowerment to youth in her community. The activities of the group range from holding financial and health seminars to promoting good health with young children. In September of 2005, MYIA Inc. was awarded a $10,000 grant from the Kaiser Permanente Foundation to enable the organization to reach even more youth and in 2004, Jones was voted by State Farm Insurance as one of the "10 Most Influential Blacks in California's Bay Area."

This affair will be attended by business executives, community leaders, elected officials and decision makers that directly influence the African American Community. Pre-Paid reservations (before February 22, 2006) or you can pay at the door the night of the event on Thursday, February 23, 2006. For pre-paid reservations, contact the TPC Foundation, Inc., Event Coordinator, Mr. Sean Ransom at (323) 299-6000 ext. 105.

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