Dayton NAACP wins at national convention

For the second year in a row, the Dayton Unit NAACP has won one of the national office’s top awards.

Derrick Foward, unit president, said he was presented with the unit’s second Thalheimer Award at the 105th Annual NAACP Convention in Las Vegas.

The convention started Saturday and ended Wednesday.

Thhe Thalheimer Award is named after the late Ross Thalheimer, a philosophy instructor at John Hopkins University, a philosophy and sociology instructor at the University of Washington and President of the Thalheimer Foundation.

Members of the local chapter also received some recognition at the convention.

Foward, along with chapter members Willie Terrell Jr. and Lu Dale and Summit Christian Church, 4021 Denlinger Road in Trotwood, each received medallions for the 2014 NAACP Million Dollar Club Membership Award.

Foward also received the 2014 NAACP Club 100 Award.

Besides Foward, the local chapter took seven other adult voting delegates, two adult volunteers and five youths to the convention.

The other adult delegates included Foward’s wife Jean Foward, Herman E. Branham, first vice president; Tom Roberts, third vice president; Dinah Williams, membership chairperson; Chris Cortner, Labor and Industry Committee chairperson; Demetrious Rush, Get Out The Vote chairperson; and Carolyn Perkins, youth advisor.

The chapter’s voting youth delegates included Rahje Perkins, 18, a student at Sinclair Community College; Makaila Sloan, 16, a student at Stivers School for the Arts; Te’Nayia Bailey, 13, a student at Belle Haven PreK-8 School; and Ze’Niah Howell, 9, also a student at Belle Haven.

Pam Sloan, one of the chapter’s youth advisors, accompanied the youth on the trip.

Brian Bell, 17, of Dunbar High School, represented the organization in the ACT-SO Competition. He was accompanied by Cedric McGhee, ACT-SO committee chairperson.

For more about the convention, visit www.naacp.org/pages/convention .

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