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Savannah Branch NAACP
Earl T. Shinhoster
Voter Empowerment Campaign
Voter Registration Planning Meeting
Thursday, August 28,2008
6:30 PM at
St. Philip Monumental AME
1112 Jefferson & West Park Ave
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“GEORGIA’S BEST WEEKLY”
ahannaf) tribune
Week of August 20,2008 - August 26,2008 • Vol. 36 No. 27 • www.savannahtribune.com • 912-233-6128 • Fax: 912-233-6140
100 Black Men of Savannah
Inducts New Members
T he 100 Black Men
of Savannah, Inc.
aims to "think glob
ally and act locally" by
implementing the mission
of its National organiza
tion, 100 Black Men of
America, Inc.. This mis
sion is to improve the qual
ity of life within the
Savannah/Chatham
County community and to
enhance educational and
economic opportunities for
all African Americans.
On August 14, 2008,
The 100 Black Men of
Savannah improved its
chances of succeeding at
its mission by inducting
seven outstanding young
men into its membership.
The induction ceremony
was held in the Savannah
room of the Hyatt Hotel.
The new inductees who
were present for the cere
mony included Aldric
Dekle, Gregory
Stepherson, Christopher
Middleton, James Walker,
James Jones, Michael
Carter and Wilcher Spikes.
The 100 Black Men
of Savannah, Inc. serves as
a beacon of leadership by
utilizing the diverse talents
of its members to help
African-American youth
achieve and empower them
to become self-sufficient
shareholders in the eco
nomic fabric of the com
munity. The members have
pledged their talents and
resources to inspire and
support young African-
American men who need
guidance, structure, and a
sense of self-worth.
The 100 Black Men
of America is one of the
fastest growing community
service organizations in the
United States with over
106 chapters globally. Its
national membership con
sists of more than 10,000
Black men who mentor
over 100,000 youth.
Membership in the
100 Black Men of
Savannah, Inc. is open to
'men of good character and
achievement' who have a
commitment to strengthen
ing and improving the
community. There are cur
rently 50 members.
See The 100, page 15
SSU Graduate Percy Mack
Named New Richland One
Superintendent of Schools
By a unanimous 7-0 vote,
the Richland One Board of
School Commissioners of
Columbia, SC, named Dr. Percy
Mack the district's new superin
tendent. Dr. Mack began the
schools year as teachers and
other staff returned on August 11
and students on August 18.
Chairwoman Wendy Brawley
released the following statement
on behalf of the Boa rd:
"On behalf of the Board of
Commissioners of Richland
County School District One, I
am pleased to announce the
appointment of Dr. Percy Mack
as superintendent, effective July
1,2008.
This Board action followed an
extensive superintendent search
conducted for the district by
BWP and Associates, a search
firm headquartered in
Libertyville, Illinois. During this
process, the Board received 59
completed applications, and the
full Board conducted interviews
with six candidates before nam
ing three finalists. These finalists
were invited to the district for a
second round of interviews. The
public had an opportunity to
interact with the finalists at a
reception on May 6.
While all three candidates
Dr. Percy Mack
were personally and profession
ally impressive, after careful
deliberation, the Board has con
cluded Dr. Mack was best suited
to lead the district.
Dr. Mack is a native of
Savannah, Georgia, and has
served as superintendent of the
Dayton Public Schools in
Dayton, Ohio, since 2002. Prior
to his service in Dayton, he was
an assistant superintendent in the
DeKalb County School System
in Decatur, Georgia. He also
served that district as, a coordi-
See Dr. Percy Mack, page 12
Shinhoster: We Will Make Millionaires
Richard Shinhoster
by Claudia Clarke
On August 10, 2008,
Richard Shinhoster was the
speaker at a special NAACP
Mass Meeting called to
allow a special
SPLOST/ESPLOST
Oversight Task Force to
report on their efforts. The
Task Force is charged with
the responsibility of helping
to insure that an equitable
proportion of the Special
Purpose Local Option Sales
Tax (SPLOST) and the
Education Special Purpose
Local Option Sales Tax
(ESPLOST) revenues are
awarded to local African-
American-owned enterpris
es.
According to
Shinhoster, the African-
American community voted
overwhelmingly to continue
the one-cent sales tax that
will benefit Chatham County
and the public school system.
Shinhoster said that
based on the projected $800
million to be generated from
the taxes, the minimum
amount that should be dis
tributed to local African-
American-owned enterprises
is $160 million. “This is the
message the Oversight Task
Force has delivered to the
Savannah-Chatham Public
School System, Chatham
County Government, and the
City of Savannah,” he stated.
“We believe that a minimum
of 10 to 12 new millionaires
should be created from the
contracts awarded from
SPLOST/ESPLOST funds
Shinhoster continued.
Shinhoster used the
term “millionaire” to
describe businesses that
grow, and sustain them
selves, at levels sufficient to
participate in the “billions of
dollars in public and private
development projects that
will take place in Savannah
during this decade.”
It is the vision of the
Oversight Task Force to
encourage, support and
advocate for a class of con
tractors, businesses and other
professionals that will suc
cessfully compete and obtain
multi-million dollar con
tracts. According to
Shinhoster, the Task Force
envisions a growth in busi
ness development in the
African-American communi
ty similar to the growth in
Atlanta during the adminis
tration of Mayor Maynard
Jackson. “When the
Hartsfield-Jackson Airport
was constructed, a business
playfield was established and
many new African-American
enterprises developed and
thrived.. .not one or two suc
cessful Black businesses, but
many, limited only by their
abilities to participate,” said
Shinhoster.
In addition to
Shinhoster, the members of
the NAACP Oversight Task
Force are Claudia Clarke,
Robert Bess, Rev. Mathew
Southall Brown, Nakita
Brown, Patrice Grant, Roy
Jackson, Roy Thomas,
Larion Williams and Dr.
Prince A. Jackson, Jr, Ex-
Officio. This Task Force has
joined with several other
interested groups to ensure
maximum African-American
participation in the contracts
awarded as a result of
SPLOST/ESPLOST funds.
The Task Force has met
with senior officials of the
Board of Education, City of
Savannah, and Chatham
County Commission, and
shared its vision and con
cerns. However, the Task
Force is currently concentrat
ing on the proposed expendi
tures by the Board of
Education because the school
system is spending the tax
revenues first.
Shinhoster said that the
Task Force has proposed a
policy that ensures a 20 per
cent minimum acceptable
level of participation. He
noted that the governmental
bodies do not have such a
policy, but that they have
agreed to conduct a disparity
study that will be the founda
tion for a policy.
ESPLOST will generate
approximately $360 million
over the next five years and
the Task Force expects the
Board of Education to spend
$72 million through African-
See Shinhoster, page 16
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