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Permit No. 923
“GEORGIA’S BEST WEEKLY”
abannah tribune
Week of July 30,2008 - August 5,2008 • Vol. 36 No. 24 • www.savannahtribune.com • 912-233-6128 • Fax: 912-233-6140
New Board Steps Up to Lead Collaborative
Step Up Savannah, Inc.,
draws on business, govern
ment, service providers and
residents to work toward
positive change
new board of direc
tors has stepped up
to lead the collabo
rative’s effort to move
Chatham County’s working
poor toward economic self
sufficiency.
On July 16, Step Up
Savannah Inc. held its first
formal board meeting as a
newly incorporated nonprof
it organization. Members of
its governing board reflect
the range of Step Up’s col
laborative partners:
Business and government
leaders, social service
providers, and neighborhood
leaders representing the
high-poverty census tracts.
The collaborative is
focused on moving poor
families toward economic
self sufficiency by targeting
education, workforce devel
Jim Stevenson
opment and training, and
building wealth. “We asked
ourselves what moves peo
ple out of poverty?” said
Daniel Dodd, Step Up direc
tor. “Work, plus assets, as
well as the support networks
that are needed for all of us
to move forward.”
The organization
remains committed to the
fundamental premises that
individuals and families
need to step up and accept
personal responsibility as
well businesses and govern
ment agencies.
The new name high
lights the core message of
Step Up while signaling a
move from its status as a
short-term initiative to a
community wide partnership
working to doing business
differently.
Jim Stevenson, com
munity volunteer and retired
general manager of market
ing and customer service,
Savannah Electric, is chair
of Step Up; Sr. Pat Baber,
director of St. Mary’s
Community Center, is vice
chair; and Robert James,
president of Carver State
Bank, is secretary/treasurer.
Step Up board mem
bers and their affiliations:
Sr. Pat Baber, St. Mary’s
Community Center; Tina
Bonifacio, Savannah Area
Chamber of Commerce;
Mariaelena Bowden, neigh
Sr. Pat Baber
borhood leader; Yvonnia
Brown, Chatham County,
Department of Family and
Children Services; Earline
Wesley Davis, Housing
Authority of Savannah;
Micheal Elliott, Union
Mission, Inc.; John Finney,
Equal Opportunity Authorit;
Deborah Goldwire, neigh
borhood leader; Stephanie
Gray, neighborhood repre
sentative; Cathy Hill,
Georgia Power; Bill
Hubbard, Savannah Area
Chamber of Commerce;
Robert James, Carver State
Bank; Mayor Otis Johnson,
City of Savannah; Cherith
Jones, teacher and neighbor
hood leader; Chairman Pete
Liakakis, Chatham County
Commission; Thomas
Lockamy, Savannah-
Chatham County Public
Schools; Kathryn Martin,
Medical College of Georgia
William Oakley, Goodwill
Industries; Barbara Oglesby,
Ben Van Clark
Neighborhood Association;
Pamela Oglesby, West
Savannah Community
Organization; Millie Rivers,
Cuyler Brownville
Neighborhood Association;
Gregg Schroeder, United
Way of the Coastal Empire;
Rochelle Small-Toney, City
of Savannah; Jim Stevenson,
community volunteer;
Tyrone Ware, Woodville
Neighborhood Association;
Robert E. James
Charles Wilhite, neighbor
hood leader; and Rick
Winger, Savannah
Economic Development
Authority.
The board will meet on
the second Tuesday of every
other month.
For more information
about Step Up Savannah,
call Suzanne Donovan at
644-6420, or Daniel Dodd at
644-6420.
Savannah
Native
Celebrates
Forthcoming
Book Release
Monica R. Parker, J.D.
Savannah native Monica R.
Parker, J.D., celebrated the forth
coming release of her first book,
The Unhappy Lawyer: A
Roadmap for Finding
Meaningful Work Outside of
the Law (Sourcebooks,
September 2008) with a book
release party in Atlanta, GA on
Saturday, July 19. Friends and
relatives from Savannah, includ
ing fellow Savannah Country
Day School alumni Robert E.
James, II and Frank Brannen,
attended the event.
See Book Release, page 2
Metro Police Welcomes 18 New
Officers, a New Lieutenant,
Captain and Major
Savannah-Chatham Metro Police
Chief Michael Berkow added 18 new
officers to the department today, as
graduates of Class 232 and 233 were
pinned at a ceremony at Armstrong
Atlantic State University Center. He
also announced the promotion and
appointment of three people to com
mand staff positions within the depart
ment.
Lieutenant Ramona Famble, who
most recently supervised the
Recruiting Unit, was officially pinned.
Lt. Famble is now a supervisor in
Southside Precinct. Lt. Kerry Thomas
was promoted to the rank of Captain.
He will assume command duties of the
Downtown Precinct. And finally,
Chief Berkow introduced Major Mark
Gerbino as the new commander of the
Criminal Investigations Division
(CID). Major Gerbino comes to the
department from Cheney, Kansas,
where he has been a law enforcement
and public safety and security consult
ant and Criminal Justice instructor for
the past two years. Prior to that, Major
Gerbino was an Acting Captain with
the City of Rochester (NY) Police
Department and has a great deal of
experience in case management and
working with decentralized detective
squads, something Metro Police is
implementing now.
“I expect the addition of our 18
new officers to make a significant
Lieutenant Ramona Famble
impact on the streets of Central
Precinct,” said Chief Berkow. “These
new officers will be walking the beats
around the clock for the next month in
targeted high-crime areas, and I have
set ambitious goals for crime reduc
tion during that time.”
In introducing the new com
manders, Berkow stated, “The com
bined experience, skill and leadership
we are adding to our command staff
today is extraordinary. We have pro
moted two very deserving candidates
See Metro Police, page 2
McCain and Obama to
Present Urban Agenda at
National Urban League
Conference
Senator John McCain
Senator Barack Obama
NEW YORK, /PRNewswire-
USNewswire/ - The National
Urban League has announced that
Senators John McCain and Barack
Obama are confirmed to speak at
its 98th annual conference, taking
place in Orlando, Florida, July 30
through August 2. Both pre
sumptive presidential nominees
have accepted the invitation to
share their individual plans for an
urban agenda, and to comment on
the National Urban League’s
Opportunity Compact, the organi
zation’s plan to increase opportu
nities for underrepresented popu
lations.
“We look forward to having
both Senator Obama and Senator
McCain at our annual conference
to present their plans to help
bridge the economic divide
between communities of color
and mainstream America,” said
Marc Mortal, President and CEO
of the National Urban League.
“This is an exciting and critical
election year for our nation, so we
proudly welcome the candidates
to share their urban agendas with
thousands of concerned citizens
who support the Urban League
movement.”
Both presidential candidates
See Urban League, page 10
ank
tate
arver
ew branch and a proud tradition of service.
7110 Skidawav Road - Savannah, Georgia j 1406
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