Soror Crystal Kuykendall to host new internet talk show

Soror Crystal Kuykendall --an educator, attorney, renowned speaker, and author of the national bestseller, "From Rage to Hope: Strategies for Reclaiming Black and Hispanic Students" -- has a new internet talk show.

The show, Magnifying the Power of Merchants of Hope, airs every Friday at 7 p.m. (EST) on Voice America Internet radio. Crystal and her guests will share success strategies related to youth violence, social justice and education in an upbeat and entertaining forum. It will provide the understanding, information, motivation and passion needed to facilitate the personal growth and positive youth development.

Listen to the show by logging on at http://www.voiceamerica.com/voiceamerica/vshow.aspx?sid=1662

She is a current member of Xi Omega chapter in Washington, DC.

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Soror Crystal Bright gives trial sermon

Crystal Bright, MD, a native of Swainsboro, North Carolina, recently had her trial sermon at Simon Temple A.M.E. Zion Church in Fayetteville, N.C. Her sermon was entitled “Ready or Not, Here I Come.” The text was taken from Matthew 13:24-30. Dr. Bright is a member of First Baptist Church in Stillmore, where she now serves on the usher board as a member and secretary.

She is certainly living up to the title given to her by her graduating class, “Most Likely to Succeed.” She participated in Dual Enrollment with East Georgia College while in high school and earned her Bachelor of Science degree from Savannah State University, where she graduated Summa Cum Laude in 2001. She earned several academic awards while in college. In 2006, she graduated with honors and earned her Doctorate of Medicine degree from Meharry Medical College in Nashville, Tennesee and specializes in general surgery.

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Soror Cherie Dawn Chandler publishes her first book

Soror Chandler's first book titled "I Am Beautiful" is being released in fall 2009. Follow her as she takes you on a journey to help women recognize their beauty inside and out. She provides lessons she learned from sorority sisters. The book also includes testimonies from women from different religions, ethnicities, and races as well as physical, mental, and emotional limitations. With the publishing of this book, Soror Chandler is on a quest to transform women around the world to be beautiful despite living in an ugly world. Proceeds of the book will go to the SWIM Network, C.L. Scholarship Foundation and i am beautiful organization.

For information, go to http://www.imbeautiful.org/ or contact her at cdchandler@imbeautiful.org.

Soror Camelia Valdes will be sworn in as the first Latina Passaic County, NJ Prosecutor

Soror Camelia M. Valdes, 37, a graduate of New Jersey’s prestigious Rutgers University Law School, will be sworn in on August 20, 2009 as the first Latina District Attorney of a county in the U.S.

Earlier this year, New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine designated the Dominican born attorney as the Passaic County Prosecutor. She was confirmed by the NJ State Senate based on her professional merits and judicial career.

Soror Valdes, who presided over New Jersey’s Hispanic Lawyers Association, is part of the new generation of Dominican and Latino immigrants in the United States, who’ve reached relevant positions few ever imagined.

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UPDATE:
For photos of the sworning in ceremony, visit Pi Xi Omega chapter's official website.

Soror Phylicia Rashad reaches weight loss goal

CARLSBAD, Calif., Aug. 18 /PRNewswire/ --Jenny Craig Inc., one of the nation's leading authorities on weight management, announced today that actress and current celebrity client and spokesperson Phylicia Rashad has reached her weight loss goal of 35 pounds in eight months.

Walking up three flights of stairs and not being able to catch her breath was Phylicia's moment of truth that made her decide to take action. Success was achieved with the help of her Jenny Craig consultant who worked with Phylicia's busy schedule to design a personalized comprehensive nutrition and activity plan that worked for her. Each week, Phylicia met with her consultant to personalize her program, based on 1,200 calories a day and 30-45 minutes of activity up to four times a week, including a variety of Floor-Barre exercises, light strength training and the use of a recumbent bike.

Now, 35 pounds lighter, Rashad claims, "the most rewarding thing about reaching my goal weight is that I feel so much lighter. There's just an overall sense of well-being. And there's the increased energy as well too. It's nice to have people say you look nice. Who knew losing weight could be so much fun?"

Jenny Craig Sr. Director of Branding and Advertising, Steve Bellach, added, "We are so proud of Phylicia's success. As the public saw her journey unfold on television, Phylicia remarked that the one part of the Jenny Craig program she didn't think she needed, a personal consultant, turned out to be the key to her 35-lb weight loss success. Phylicia exemplifies what is achievable and for that reason, she is truly inspirational."

Rashad will reveal her new figure in a commercial titled, "Uphill Battle", set to air nationally on August 29, 2009.

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Soror Sharon Bridges is running for National Bar Association Vice President

Soror Sharon Bridges is a Partner at Brunini, Grantham, Grower & Hewes in Jackson, MS. She practices in the areas of product liability, medical malpractice, nursing home and commercial litigation representing national and local corporations. Attorney Bridges draws her litigation expertise from experiences as in-house counsel and a former plaintiff’s attorney. She served as Associate General Counsel for Tulane University Medical Center.

A native of Las Vegas, Nevada, Attorney Bridges received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Nursing, with Honors, from Morris Brown College in Atlanta, Georgia, and a Juris Doctorate from Loyola University School of Law in New Orleans, Louisiana.

VOTE!!!

NBA Elections will be held from

11:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.

Tuesday, August 4, 2009

Campaign of Sharon Bridges for the Vice President of the National Bar Association

85th Annual Convention & Exhibits in San Diego, California

August 1, 2009 - August 8, 2009

She may be contacted at sbridges@brunini.com

For more information visit http://www.sharonbridges.net/

Soror Danielle Lee's Urban Science Adventures

Soror Danielle Lee is a graduate of Tennessee Technological University and is now completing her doctorate in Biology. You can follow her on her science and nature blog - Urban Science Adventures! (c) - http://urban-science.blogspot.com/ - that introduces inner-city kids to science and conservation.

Recently, she entered an online contest to become the official Blogger for Quark Expeditions - a polar eco-tourism company. They are looking for blogger to join an upcoming Expedition to the Antarctic! The person who gets the most votes gets to travel to Antarctica February 2010 with the company.

Right now I'm #9 out 350+ people! But my position can and has slipped. So, that is why am asking for my sorors support. With the support of my online sorors I can get in the lead and stay there. Plus, it would be so exciting to be the first Alpha Kappa Alpha woman to visit the South Pole (I assume). The Alpha Kappa Alpha Facebook Fan page has also posted a note in support. http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/note.php?note_id=102785684667&ref=mf


Here’s how the competition works:

1) Visit the contest page - click here. http://tinyurl.com/DNLee-SouthPole
2) Click the vote for Soror Danielle tab under her picture.
3) You will be required to submit your email and register in order to vote. One vote per valid email. Voting ends September 30th! (If you have multiple email addresses, please consider voting from each account.)
4) Check your email and confirm registration..
5) Go back to the contest page (use the link in the email) and confirm your vote.
6) Please spread the word to friends, other sorors (Facebook, Twitter, email), and your blog readers. I also have a widget you could post in your blog's sidebar, if you're interested.

Deadline is September 30, 2009

Soror Raschanda L. Hall named as Business Wire's Global Media Relations Manager

CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Raschanda L. Hall, has been promoted to the position of Global Media Relations Manager at Business Wire. Hall has been with Business Wire for more than nine years in various media relations positions.



In her new role, Hall will lead the largest, dedicated, worldwide media relations team in the wire industry, leveraging their relationships with external audiences and influencers. Hall's focus will be on strategies to further establish and expand Business Wire's media reach and advantage to both traditional and social media audiences.



"Raschanda exemplifies Business Wire's commitment to dedicating our best people and resources to media relations as a vital component to the services we provide on behalf of our members to the media in this quickly evolving communications environment." said Laura Sturaitis, Business Wire's SVP Media Services and Product Strategy. "Raschanda's experience and her long-time professional relationships with traditional and new media, as well as journalism organizations demonstrate her ability and vision to bring together the best of print, broadcast, online and social media for the benefit of both audiences we serve at Business Wire, our members and those who communicate our client's news to their viewers, listeners, readers, subscribers, friends, fans and followers, wherever they are and whatever language they speak."
Hall works closely with journalism organizations and has served on the boards of the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ), the Black Public Relations Society of Chicago and The Publicity Club of Chicago (PCC) She has been a sought after speaker and panel moderator on topics such as media relations best practices and social media tools for communicators.



Prior to joining Business Wire, she worked as a Field Producer and Studio Crew Supervisor for Fox and WB affiliates in San Antonio, TX. Hall earned her BA in Mass Communications from Dillard University in New Orleans, LA.
You can follow Hall on Twitter: http://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&url=http%3A%2F%2Ftwitter.com%2Fraschandahall&esheet=6010745&lan=en_US&anchor=http%3A%2F%2Ftwitter.com%2Fraschandahall&index=3 and on LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/raschandahall



About Business Wire
Business Wire, a Berkshire Hathaway company, is utilized by tens of thousands of member companies and organizations worldwide to functionally enhance and communicate investor relations and public relations content to target audiences. As a recognized disclosure service in the United States, Canada and a dozen European countries, Business Wire facilitates the simultaneous flow of market-moving press releases from corporations to financial markets and their audiences, including regulatory authorities, media, investors, financial information systems and consumer news services. Business Wire also handles XBRL tagging, document formatting and regulatory filing into EDGAR, SEDAR, FSA and other systems.
Communications professionals turn to Business Wire to optimize and issue press releases, photos and multimedia to news organizations, journalists, trade publications, search engines, and individuals, with full-text posting to web sites, online services and databases. A range of distribution options enables members to target by geography, industry, news theme and audience demographics.



Founded in 1961, Business Wire has dual headquarters in San Francisco and New York, with 30 bureaus in cities including Los Angeles, Chicago, Boston, Miami, Paris, Frankfurt, London, Brussels, Tokyo, Toronto and Sydney and reciprocal offices throughout the world. Business Wire's patented NX data platform supports XML, XHTML and XBRL code that enhances news release interactivity, social media sharing and search engine optimization. More information about Business Wire and its services is located on its website at http://www.businesswire.com/.



Photos/Multimedia Gallery Available: http://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.businesswire.com%2Fcgi-bin%2Fmmg.cgi%3Feid%3D6010562%26lang%3Den&esheet=6010745&lan=en_US&anchor=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.businesswire.com%2Fcgi-bin%2Fmmg.cgi%3Feid%3D6010562%26lang%3Den&index=16

Soror Hawkins Featured on Entrepreneur On The Move on Blog Talk Radio

Amber S. Hawkins of Your Computer Needs of Toledo, LLC was one of the featured guests with host Nesheba of ESpirtE on the Entrepreneurs-On-The-Move Show Sunday, April 26, 2009 at 5:30 p.m. EST on Blogtalkradio.com.

The link is http://www.blogtalkradio.com/ESpiritE/2009/04/26/Entrepreneurs-On-the-Move.

Soror Watson Coleman to Hold Second Chance Hearings

TRENTON, NJ – Assembly Majority Leader Bonnie Watson Coleman on Tuesday will host a Second Chance Hearing in Bridgeton to discuss improving education and training to help individuals released from prison avoid returning to crime.

The hearing in Bridgeton will be the sixth in a series of public hearings the Majority Leader is holding across New Jersey.

It will be held from 3 to 8 p.m., Tuesday, Feb. 10 at Union Baptist Temple at 60 Pine St. in Bridgeton. The hearing will focus on health and mental health.

“Studies have shown that inmates who have mental health problems are more likely to serve multiple incarcerations and meet the criteria for substance dependence and abuse,” said Watson Coleman (D-Mercer). “If we’re to tackle the pervasive cycle of arrest, incarceration, release and re-incarceration, we must ensure the state’s limited resources are best used on helping tackle these problems that can haunt people over and over again.”

The hearings have received an overwhelming response from community groups, religious leaders, advocates, law enforcement professionals and residents. Thousands of people have attended.

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Sorority Member Rides Presidential Train

I know this is late, but check out the video.

North Atlantic Regional Director Appears on Blogtalk Radio Show

Evelyn Sample-Oates, Centennial North Atlantic Regional Director, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. was the guest on a special "IN THE KNOW with Tony Reeves" that originally aired on July 1, 2008 at 8:00pm EST.

To check out the interview go to:
www.blogtalkradio.com/intheknow
http://www.anthonyreeves.com/

Pi Mu Omega Charter Member Featured in Premier Issue of Beautiful Black Lady

Pi Mu Omega charter member, Beverly Hutton is featured in the Premier Issue of Beautiful Black Lady online magazine. Click here to view.

Woods Motivates Students at Alma Matter

(Pictured: Pi Mu Omega and Zeta Sigma Members of Alpha Kappa Alpha)


Click here to read about Syeda Woods, Pi Mu Omega member and The College of New Jersey Alumna, speaking to students on campus.

Jacqueline Jennings Installed As Mayor of Willingboro, NJ

As the sorority prepares to celebrate its Centennial anniversary, one sorority member in particular has another special occasion to celebrate. For on January 1, 2008, Jacqueline Jennings of Pi Mu Omega chapter was installed as the new mayor of Willingboro, New Jersey. Surrounded by family, friends, sorority sisters, and host of other supporters, she was officially installed at Willingboro Township Annual reorganization meeting. In her opening speech as mayor, Jennings thanked all of her supporters, the people of Willingboro for electing her, as well as township council members. Additionally, she stressed that Willingboro is a great town and that she plans to make it better through working cooperatively with the township council and the citizens of Willingboro.

She also serves as the web mistress for Pi Mu Omega's official website.

Gloria Dickinson Featured in the Philadelphia Inquirer

Gloria Harper Dickinson's battle with inflammatory breast cancer doesn't keep her from the classroom at the College of New Jersey, where she teaches African American studies.

Click here to read the article, "A friend's close call with a killer."

Woods Honored As Outstanding Educator

Pi Mu Omega member, Syeda Woods received the College of New Jersey Outstanding Educator Award on April 26, 2007. Out of 1500 entries, 9 were selected and honored. Woods was among the nine to be honored that evening. Each year the college asks ALL freshmen to write an essay about an educator who has had an impact on the student's life. They are then read and judged by a panel of professionals from across campus. They then select a small number of educators to honor based upon the students' writing. Woods was also honored by Chapter #33 Order of Eastern Star on May 20, 2007. An appreciation dinner was held at Cater 2U for Christian Women in the Gospel.

Woods is vice-principal at John Fenwick School in Salem, NJ. She attended Trenton State College (now known as The College of New Jersey) on a full academic scholarship in which she received her Bachelor of Arts in English and a minor in African-American Studies. Additionally, she has recently completed graduate school at The College of New Jersey with a Master of Education Degree in School Leadership. Prior to her promotion as vice-principal, she served in the Salem Middle School as a 7th & 8th grade literacy arts teacher, a mentor, counselor, basketball coach. She is also the founder of “Teenage Girls in Transition.” In her teaching career, she has also received Teacher of the Month and Teacher of the District Awards along with a rich history of success in coaching, leading the middle school girls’ basketball team to 5 consecutive tri-county championships and assisting the high school girls’ basketball team in winning their first ever in school’s history South Jersey Group 1 State Championship. Woods has also served as the Secretary on the Board of Directors of the Credit Union for Salem County Teachers and Liaison for Salem Teacher’s Association/Board of Education.

She is a present member of:

• Pi Mu Omega in Willingboro, NJ
• National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) Salem Branch
• National Alliance of Black School Educators (NABSE)
• New Jersey Principals and Supervisors Association (NJPSA)
• National Association of Elementary School Principals (NAESP)
  

She also serves as an evangelist and Associate Minister at Soul Saving Center also in Salem. Woods has a television broadcast called, True Holiness Ministries which airs Friday mornings on WBPH 8:00-8:30AM with Global Media. She has been recently appointed the chairperson of the National Young People’s Department Executive Council of Mt. Sinai Holy Church of America, Inc.

Walker-Moore Receives APA Scholarship

Pi Mu Omega member, Kelly Walker-Moore has received the American Psychological Association Minority Fellowship. This is highly competitive and is offered to doctoral level students across the nation that are studying in clinical psychology programs and that would like to focus on working with ethnic minority populations and/or substance abuse issues within these communities. The application process was tough, and Kelly states she is “blessed to have been selected for this fellowship, especially as a first year PsyD student.” As part of the fellowship, Kelly will be sent to the APA convention in San Francisco, CA in August 2007 where she will officially accept this fellowship. The fellowship will provide her with full tuition remission and a sizeable stipend for the next three years.

Dickinson Receives International Affairs Award

Centennial International Regional Director, and Pi Mu Omega member, Gloria Harper Dickinson was chosen to receive the "Excellence in International Affairs Award" given by the Zeta Delta Zeta Chapter of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc. at their annual ZHOPE (Zetas Helping Others Excel)awards ceremony at Tabernacle Baptist Church, Burlington, NJ. The event was held on Sunday, May 20, 2007.

Gloria Dickinson is an Associate Professor, and former chair of the Department of African-Americans Studies at the The College of New Jersey in Ewing, New Jersey. She holds a B.A. in European History from the City College of New York and an M.A. and Ph.D. in African Studies from Howard University in Washington, D.C. Also, Dickinson was inducted into the Lambda Chapter "Hall of Fame" on Sunday, April 22, 2007. This honor is bestowed upon former members of Lambda Chapter who are nominated by other former members at an event held every 5 years.

Dr. Dickerson's spheres of academic expertise include Africana women and religion, black popular culture, and women writers of Africa and the African diaspora. She is current International Regional Director and former International Secretary of Alpha Kappa Alpha (1998-2002) for whom she wrote the field essay for the University Publications of American microfilm collection of the 1921-1998 AKA Ivy Leaf Magazine. She also is a board membeer of the National Council of Black Studies and holds membership in African Studies Association and the Rancocas Valley chpater of the Links, Inc.

North Atlantic Regional Director Featured on Moms on the Move

Centennial North Atlantic Regional Director, Evelyn Sample-Oates, was recently featured on "Moms On The Move." The program aired on channel NBC 10 in Philadelphia and also featured her daughter, Andrea-Rose.

It can be found online at http://www.momsonthemove.com/, or click here to see the transcript of the show.