Birmingham native Robbie Gilbert, II has been accepted as a Leadership Fellow for the 2013 incoming class of the William R. Harvey Leadership Institute at Hampton University in Hampton, Virginia. The institute staff selects 25 incoming freshmen from a pool of nearly 200 applicants.
Gilbert is a 2013 graduate of the Academy of Finance at Shades Valley High School. While at Shades Valley he was on the track team and received the 2013 Leadership Award for Varsity Basketball, as well as the Scholar-Athlete Award.
Robbie Gilbert serves on the City of Birmingham Mayor’s Youth Advisory Commission. His most notable recognition was recently being inducted into the prestigious 2013 Class for the Sigma Pi Phi Beta Kappa Boule’ Scholarship Beautillion. Additionally, he was also one of the 15 recipients of the Bright House Networks Regional Laptop Scholarship; the Shades Valley Rotary Club Scholarship; the National Pan-Hellenic Council and an Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. Community Service Scholarship recipient.
Over the years Robbie has dedicated many hours volunteering through programs with the Mayor’s Office Division of Youth Services; at Project Homeless Connect; the R.E.S.P.E.C.T. Back to School Rally; Parents Against Violence and with other community service projects. He also serves as a volunteer usher at The Worship Center.
The William R. Harvey Leadership Institute is an intense undergraduate program designed to develop leaders who will serve their workplace and community. Upon completion of the program Robbie will receive a minor in Leadership Studies as he pursues a major in Broadcast Journalism and Marketing.
He is the son of Sybil Gilbert.
Our Lady of Sorrows Church associate pastor Father Jaya Reddy (far right) joins members of the Adult Education class in thanking Lt. Col. Bruce Bright, USMC (Ret.) (center) after he presented a talk on Leadership, the Church, and the Family
Our Lady of Sorrows Church associate pastor Father Jaya Reddy (far right) joins members of the Adult Education class in thanking Lt. Col. Bruce Bright, USMC (Ret.) (center) after he presented a talk on Leadership, the Church, and the Family
Examines Leadership, Faith & Family
Christianity is not part of your life, it is your life according to Lt. Col. Bruce Bright, USMC (Retired) who believes that, if you are a Christian, whatever your station in life, you are a Christian first. “We don’t just pick and choose when and where, but have it always. I find that the closer I get to the Church the stronger I am in every facet of my life,” said Bright, the founder and chief of On Target Leading. He spoke about Leadership, the Church, and the Family at the fall kickoff session of Adult Education: Year of Faith & Beyond at Our Lady of Sorrows Church in Homewood on September 8. He said, “Ninety-nine-percent of your leadership should be you leading you. If you do that then you may lead others.”
Bright said there are five essential positive characteristics necessary to lead: being calm, cool, collected, clear-headed, and well-rested. Without them, he said, “something is going to suffer. In a business cash is running out the door. In a family it may be a child going astray or a relationship issue, a wife or husband.”
Bright told his listeners tangible things they can do to be better leaders at home and at work. He said to have one thought when preparing for a new day. “Each morning I encourage you as you shave or putting on your makeup look at that mirror and ask this question: am I living my life like I think I should? And ‘I think I should’ I‘ll translate: that it’s how Christ thinks you should.”
He pointed out that the average lifespan of American males is 72 years and 80 years is the average lifespan of females. He said the difference is because men internalize their emotions and women show their emotions. The key to a long life is “to take care of your temple,” he said. “You get one temple and God gave it to us.” He said there is a sense of urgency to living a fulfilling, Christian life because of the finite time each person has on earth and he advised making the most of it. “When you’re doing things you don’t love with people you don’t love, stop. Stop doing that. Do the things that you love with the people you love and you will love life. You will be a better mother; you will be a better dad, a better Christian, a better businessman if you’re being the best person that you can be.”
Bright said it’s possible to pick what to do in life to be the strongest Christian possible thanks to the choices one makes regarding excitement, energy level, emotions, and execution. He calls it “E to the fourth power.” Excitement: “If you’re not excited about what you’re doing stop doing it.” Energy: “Energy’s here. We can’t create it, we can’t destroy it. We can move it around, we can choose what part of it we want.” He spoke of five energy levels from lowest to highest: victim, conflict, justification, concern, and opportunity. “Let go of the negativity…. Pray about it, let it go and focus on from this moment forward,” he advised. Emotional awareness: “being in charge of your emotions.” Execute: “If you’re in charge of these first 3 concepts, excitement, energy and emotional awareness, you may then do the fourth one which is to execute. I mean execute in life,” Bright explained. “You’ll execute the way you want to execute which should be the way Christ wants you to execute….”
Bright said emotions should be used in a positive way. He said women are not the only ones with emotions. “We are emotional beings just like they are,” he said to the men. “We just don’t use it. If you want to know how powerful you are as a man, start using your emotions.” He continued,
“The emotional connection is where the power is in every relationship, including your relationship with Christ. Most of us don’t have a problem having an emotional relationship with Christ because he’s open. He’s in our hearts, he’s in us. We struggle sometimes with our emotional relationship with our friends, and the POWER is in the emotional relationship.”
Bright asserted that behavioral changes are possible. “It is a constant effort to make changes happen each and every day. Small, small baby steps. But every single day you reinforce it,” he said.
The gun control debate, faith in college, and traditional Christian meditation are among the topics to be explored. Each gathering begins Sundays at 9:45 a.m. with light refreshments and the class begins at 10:00 a.m. in the Parish Hall beneath the church. There is one special weeknight session scheduled. OLS is at 1728 Oxmoor Road in Homewood across the street from the public library. The fall schedule is below.
September 15 – Rev. Jaya Reddy, OLS associate pastor – Spreading the Gospel with a Passion: St. Francis Xavier in India
September 22 – Marc James Ayers – Catholic View on the Gun Control Debate
September 29 – Ginny Jost, OLS Director of Youth Ministries – Holding onto Faith in College
October 6 – Rev. Anthony Weis, OLS associate pastor – Eucharistic Adoration
October 13 – Adrianne Price – Maternal Might: Confraternity of Christian Mothers
October 20 – Rev. Msgr. Martin Muller, OLS Pastor – Letters from the Pastor’s Desk (His newest book)
October 23 (Wednesday) 7:00 p.m. Special Evening Session – David Anders, PhD – Juggling Act: Faith, Family, and Commitments
October 27 – Lee Ann Self – Traditional Christian Meditation
November 3 – Gary M. Gray, PhD – Biblical Insights: Deuterocanonical Books
November 10 NO CLASS (Veteran’s Day)
November 17 – Dave and Kathy Rennie – Our Missions in China & India
November 24 – Gary M. Gray, PhD – Biblical Insights: The Catholic Letters
December 1 NO CLASS (Thanksgiving Break)
December 8 – John Wright, Jr. – Heroic Woman: Dorothy Day, Servant of God
December 15 – Jacqueline Dillon DeMarco, PhD – Insights: Coping with Stress and Loss during the Holiday Season
Birmingham, AL – The Tuesday, September 10, 2013 Birmingham City Council Meeting has been cancelled. Members of the Council have accepted an invitation from the Congress of the United States to attend a Congressional Gold Medal Ceremony in honor of the four little girls killed in the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing. The Congressional Gold Medal is one of the nation’s highest civilian honors.
The regular Tuesday council meetings will resume on Tuesday, September 17, 2013 at 9:30 a.m. in the Council Chambers, located on the 3rd Floor of City Hall.
What: United Way of Central Alabama will kick off its 90 fundraising campaign in 2013 with a focus on Education. Campaign Chairman Fred McCallum, AT&T Alabama President will announce this year’s campaign goal.r) Greg King, Birmingham President Iberia Bank is the summer Pacesetter Chair and he will announce the results of United Way’s summer campaign. When: Thursday, September 12 Where: Birmingham Sheraton Hotel Ballroom Time: 11:30 am Keynote Speaker:
For over 20 years, Principal EL has taken on this challenge with the absolute belief that every child can and will learn as long as adults in their world care enough not to give up. He has transformed the attitudes and strategies of school staff, parents, and members of the community to help troubled children not only graduate from high school but to go on to earn higher degrees from major colleges and universities. He brings to the process a powerful combination of passion, caring, and leadership to craft a refreshing common-sense roadmap to help children achieve their dreams, no matter the odds.
Salome Thomas-EL has been a teacher and principal in Philadelphia since 1987. He frequently appears on C-SPAN, CNN and NPR radio. His first book, I Choose to Stay, has been optioned by Disney Films.
DENVER (AP)— A secret meeting between a representative of the Wyoming chapter of the NAACP and a Ku Klux Klan organizer ended with the Klan organizer paying $50 to join the civil rights organization, participants said.
Saturday’s meeting between Jimmy Simmons, president of the Casper NAACP, and John Abarr, a KKK organizer from Great Falls, Mont., took place at a hotel in Casper, Wyo., under tight security, the Casper Star-Tribune reported.
The Southern Poverty Law Center and the United Klans of America said Tuesday that the meeting was a first.
Abarr told The Associated Press on Tuesday he filled out an NAACP membership form so he could get the group’s newsletters and some insight into its views. He said he paid a $30 fee to join, plus a $20 donation.
Simmons said he asked for the meeting after receiving reports that KKK literature was being distributed in Gillette, about 130 miles north of Casper, and to discuss race relations, including what he said were reported beatings of African-American men. He did not provide details.
Abarr said he knew nothing about hate crimes or the literature, which was distributed in a residential neighborhood of Gillette in October.
Gillette police Lt. Chuck Deaton said there have been 10 hate or bias crimes reported in the past five years that involved name-calling but no assaults on African-Americans. Deaton said police also were unable to speak with a young man distributing the literature, and he was chased away by neighbors.
“In the 21 years that I’ve been here, that’s the first I heard of the Klan in Gillette,” Deaton said.
Officials with the NAACP in Washington, D.C., requested questions about the meeting in writing but did not immediately respond.
United Klans of America imperial wizard Bradley Jenkins of Birmingham, Ala., said in a telephone interview that he sanctioned the meeting and called it a first between the KKK and the NAACP, the nation’s oldest civil rights organization.
“I don’t know if we accomplished too much,” Abarr said. “We’re not about violence. We’re about being proud to be white.”
Mark Potok, a senior fellow at the Southern Poverty Law Center, said there have been meetings between white and African-American groups, but none between the NAACP and the KKK.
He called the United Klans of America a “copycat wannabe” group that’s not the group responsible for violence during the civil rights movement of the 1960s, including the deaths of four girls at a Baptist church in Birmingham. The original UKA was dismantled in the 1980s following a lawsuit by the Southern Poverty Law Center.
“I think it’s outrageous and counterproductive,” Potok said of the Wyoming meeting. “It gives legitimacy to the Klan as an organization you can talk to.”
Simmons insisted the meeting was worth it.
“It’s about opening dialogue with a group that claims they’re trying to reform themselves from violence,” Simmons said. “They’re trying to shed that violent skin, but it seems like they’re just changing the packaging.”
Abarr said he didn’t ask anybody if they would like to join the KKK.
“You have to be white to join the Klan,” he said.
In 1989, Abarr was a campaign manager for William Daniel Johnson, a white separatist who ran unsuccessfully for Dick Cheney’s Wyoming U.S. House seat when Cheney became defense secretary. Johnson proposed an amendment to the U.S. Constitution calling for citizenship for whites only.
I will praise thee, O Lord, with my whole heart; I will shew forth all thy marvellous works.
I will be glad and rejoice in thee: I will sing praise to thy name, O thou most High.
But the Lord shall endure for ever: he hath prepared his throne for judgment.
And he shall judge the world in righteousness, he shall minister judgment to the people in uprightness.
The LORD also will be a refuge for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble.
And they that know thy name will put their trust in thee: for thou, LORD, hast not forsaken them that seek thee.
Sing praises to the LORD, which dwelleth in Zion: declare among the people his doings.
When he maketh inquisition for blood, he remembereth them: he forgetteth not the cry of the humble.
Have mercy upon me, O LORD; consider my trouble which I suffer of them that hate me, thou that liftest me up from the gates of death:
That I may shew forth all thy praise in the gates of the daughter of Zion: I will rejoice in thy salvation.
The heathen are sunk down in the pit that they made: in the net which they hid is their own foot taken.
The LORD is known by the judgment which he executeth: the wicked is snared in the work of his own hands.
The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times.
Thou shalt keep them, O LORD, thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever.
LORD, who shall abide in thy tabernacle? who shall dwell in thy holy hill?
He that walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness, and speaketh the truth in his heart.
Preserve me, O God: for in thee do I put my trust.
I have set the LORD always before me: because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.
Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth: my flesh also shall rest in hope.
For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.
The Southwestern Athletic Conference has named Alabama State University’s Kylee Hathaway and Ally Murphy as SWAC Soccer Players of the Week for August 27, 2013.
Hathaway was tabbed Goalkeeper of the Week and Murphy earned her first Offensive Player of the Week nomination of her career.
Dominating in goal saves this weekend earning a 1-1 record and playing 180 minutes, Hathaway faced seven shots-on-goal from South Carolina State University. She rejected their efforts, landing a scoreless match for SCSU. She was credited the 5-0 shut-out against the Lady Bulldogs totaling 20 saves and averaged a .870 saves percentage for the week.
Murphy currently leads the Lady Hornets in points (4) and goals (2). She registered two goals, two shots and two shots-on-goal recording four points in ASU’s 5-0 win over SC State (August 25). She completed the week with 56 minutes of play and has taken action in all games since the start of the 2013 season.
“You always want to see your players get rewarded for their performance” stated Head Coach Jodie Smith, “Kylee is one of the premier goalkeepers in our conference, and with Ally its good for a freshman to come off the bench and contribute to a big win.”
The Saint Augustine’s University athletics department has announced the hiring of Tony Sheals as head men’s basketball coach.
Sheals brings a wealth of experience to the St. Aug basketball program. He has coached on the high school, collegiate and professional levels for more than 20 years, including Florida State University, Bethune-Cookman University, Towson University and Delaware State University. Sheals spent the last three seasons at Florida A&M University, where he was the Associate Head Men’s Basketball Coach. While at Florida A&M, the Rattlers reached the MEAC Tournament semifinals in the 2011-2012 season.
Sheals will take over a St. Aug team which finished 16-12 overall last season. At one point during the regular season, the Falcons led the CIAA Southern Division with an unbeaten division mark. Five players return from that squad.
“He is starting with a seasoned, talented team so we are looking for a big finish,” St. Aug President Dianne Boardley Suber said.
Sheals is thrilled to coach at St. Aug. He is excited about competing in the CIAA (Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association), which is steeped in basketball tradition.
“I want to thank Dr. Suber, athletic director George Williams and the committee for selecting me to lead the basketball program at St. Aug,” Sheals said. “It is a tremendous opportunity and honor to represent the Falcon community. I look forward to coaching in the CIAA and leading our program to success.”
Sheals was head coach at Bethune-Cookman (1994-1997) and Delaware State (2000) during their most successful periods in basketball history. He finished with a conference record of .500 or better each season at Bethune-Cookman, where Sheals was named MEAC Coach of the Year in 1995 as the Wildcats established school marks for best overall regular-season record and conference finish.
Sheals enjoyed success as an assistant coach for several years in the traditionally strong Atlantic Coast Conference, considered one of, if not the best, collegiate basketball conference in the nation. He was Director of Basketball Operations at the University of Miami (2001-2002) and Assistant Men’s Basketball Coach at Florida State University (2002-2006). Sheals was also an assistant coach at Towson State (1997-1999) of the America East Conference where he was primarily responsible for recruiting the No. 1 recruiting class in the league for two consecutive years.
Sheals holds a B.S. degree in health and physical education from Bethune-Cookman University (1980), where he finished Cum Laude. He and his wife Marian, have two children: a son, Drew, and a daughter, Marissa
SWAC hits the road for mobile “Pep Rally” to build excitement for the upcoming 2013 Toyota SWAC Football Championship in Houston, Texas
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC), in partnership with AARP and Toyota, will kick off the fourth annual SWAC Mobile Marketing Tour (MMT) on September 14th.
During the 2013 SWAC football season, the mobile marketing tour will make game day stops on the campuses of all 10 SWAC member institutions, including three homecoming games and a number of classic rivalry games—all in a brand new 2013 Toyota Highlander Hybrid. To incorporate fan participation at the various stops, this year’s tour introduces the mobile “Pep Rally”, with music and entertainment, featuring the SWAC Eddie Robinson Championship trophy.
“As we launch several ventures to help promote the 2013 Toyota SWAC Football and Basketball Championships, our mobile marketing tour continues to help generate interest from our fan base,” said Duer Sharp, SWAC Commissioner. “The mobile marketing tour introduces another innovative marketing technique and we (SWAC) applaud the effort used to spark buzz about our upcoming championships. Last year’s tour was extremely effective, and we would like to thank this year’s sponsors, Toyota and AARP, for their support of the Southwestern Athletic Conference.”
As a first year MMT sponsor, AARP will provide SWAC fans a complimentary one-year membership to new and current AARP members along with information about their Families for Education program.
Toyota, entering into its third year as a sponsor of the MMT, will present the Toyota Green Initiative (TGI). This environmental stewardship platform was designed to empower the African America community to adopt a more sustainable lifestyle. As part of the TGI program, Toyota will host an interactive on-site experience including the Green Gallery, Energy Generation Challenge and a recycling game. Toyota will also offer branded giveaways to SWAC fans while supplies last.
Traveling more than nine thousand miles and reaching more than 238,000 fans, the MMT will include free branded giveaways and ticket giveaways to the Championship game. This effort will help promote the 2013 Toyota SWAC Football Championship on December 7th at Reliant Stadium and the 2014 SWAC Basketball Tournament held March 11-15th at the Toyota Center, both in Houston, Texas.
This year, the 2013 Toyota SWAC Football Championship will be followed by the SWAC Battle of the Bands, featuring marching bands from all 10 member schools. Additional events and entertainment are also scheduled for the weekend. For ticket information and event details for the 2013 Toyota SWAC Football Championship, please visit www.swacfootball.org.
