Dayton NAACP wins awards at national event

The NAACP Dayton Unit came home from the 108th National Convention with two Thalheimer Awards and four $1 Million Club medallions.

The convention was held in Baltimore from July 22-26.

The local unit had 16 members represent the chapter. There were three members that represented the Dayton Youth Council, three members who represented the Littlejon Jr. Council and eight other delegates.

Dayton Unit President Derrick L. Foward said the awards are the result of membership growth, youth advocacy and his team of volunteers.

“The team I have is absolutely phenomenal,” Foward said. “None of us get paid; this is volunteer work.”

This is the sixth year that the Dayton Unit received this award. This year they received the Thalheimer Award for publications and for programs.

“When I think about our work, I know we represented Dayton well,” Foward said.

The four members to receive the $1 million Club medallions were: Willie Terrell Jr., Tom Roberts, Ina Green and Foward, who also received an additional membership medal.

The medals are given to honor those who sell a certain dollar amount of memberships for their work in growing their unit.

Kennedy Cook and Terrance Auster Jr. competed in the ACT-SO program. Both were also chosen to perform with the convention’s national teams. Cook sang for the national choir and Auster performed with national band.

Cook is a senior at Stivers School for the Arts. Auster is a graduate of Miami Valley CTC.

At the convention, Derrick Johnson was named as the interim president and CEO of the NAACP National Board of Directors.

The convention hosted more than 800 people from units across the United States, and Dayton members were chosen to hold national positions.

Te-Nayia Bailey is the president of the youth council in the Dayton chapter and was elected to serve as a member on the national credentials committee member, and Dinell Bedford was elected to be the regional secretary.

Foward was elected to be a chairman for the national credentials committee.

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