Local

Davie Champagnie at Ronald McDonald House

LOMA LINDA, CA- Inland Empire Invaders are doing an amazing job on and off the court. They are currently ranked number 23 in the NATION. Not bad for their first season in the largest basketball association in the United States. While they are doing work on the court making the IE proud, they have had some very special moments. Coach Al Smith of the Novastars wrote a brief description capturing the emotions from a visit to Ronald McDonald House over the holidays.
Ronald McDonald house in Loma Linda Davie Champagnie, an ABA Basketball Player, made one lucky girl’s night the most amazing night ever! It will be a moment she will remember for the rest of her life. The basketball player spent time to speak with her that was staying at the home in Loma Linda, CA. He took the time to listen to her story and by the end of the night he felt in his heart that she would get more strength from having his ring and he gave it to her without blinking an eye. It was a moment where you could feel the blessings all around you and there wasn’t a dry eye in the room.
The ABA is MUCH MORE than just a game and Davie Champagnie is a perfect example of what we can do when we are in support of each other. He is coach Al’s new ‘Lord of the Ring’. To Contact Christy Lancaster with the Inland Empire Invaders  call 855-434-6823 Ext. 6, email clancaster@abaieinvaders.com or visit their website at www.abaieinvaders.com.

AKA Youth Summit

INLAND EMPIRE, CA-The women of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., Eta Nu Omega Chapter of San Bernardino-Riverside, lead two signature events that started on the eve of Dr. Martin Luther King’s Jr.’s holiday and the other on the day of the national holiday observed nationwide in recognition of his birthday.
On Sunday, January 19, in collaboration with American Legion Post 14 and the Ivy Foundation, the women of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority held their third Annual Sunday Supper at the American Legion Post 14, San Bernardino, CA.  The theme was “Honoring Our Peacemakers.”  The Sunday Supper created a forum to engage the community in promoting dialogue to address challenges that represent barriers to progress in the veteran community. Various speakers spoke on benefits and services available to veterans.  Topics included housing, education, health, jobs, female veteran concerns, and family counselling.  Bryant Taylor, student (Veteran, United States Navy) at California State University, San Bernardino (CSUSB) and one of the guest speakers, encouraged attendees to visit the Veteran’s Success Center (VSC) at CSUSB and to meet the Director, Marci Danials to discuss additional services CSUSB VSC has to offer.  Mr. Taylor also referenced Melissa McQuead’s name as a resource to assist veterans for admission to the university.
Sunday supper was served by the AKA Emerging Young Leaders (EYL) students who had successfully enjoyed the AKA EYL Youth Summit the day before at Brandman University.  Three of the EYL students whose essay was selected among many, made an essay presentation to the guest of this event.  All three students who made presentations were provided with a savings bond for a job well done from the sorority.
Special recognition was given to all three organizations for organizing and communicating information to the veteran’s community from Lisa Blacksher, Field Representative for Assembly Member, Cheryl Brown of the 47th District.    Mayor Pat Morris, City of San Bernardino was an active participant of the program too who provided information on access for resources for the veteran’s community. The evening concluded with veterans in the audience to stand for recognition for their service in all branches within the United States Military.
The national holiday observed on Monday, January 20, in memory of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday “was a day on not a day off” for the members of Alpha Kappa Alpha.  Members continued performing community service by volunteering at various Blood Banks in the Inland Empire.  Life Stream of San Bernardino and Riverside Counties and the Roman Catholic Diocese of San Bernardino Catholics of African Descent and Ministry held its 14th Annual Blood of the Martyrs Blood Drive in honor of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.  All were encouraged to give the gift of life by donating and/or encouraging others to give blood. As Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. stated, “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.”  For future programs and events, visit www.etanuomega.org

Senior King and Queen

SAN BERNARDINO, CA- The  San Bernardino Black Culture Foundation is happy to announce the 2014 Senior King and Queen, Heck and Barbara Thomas.  Barbara was born in Six, West Virginia and raised in Baltimore, Maryland and Sanford, North Carolina. Heck was born and raised in Meridian, Mississippi.  They have been residents of Highland since 1985 and Heck retired from the United States Air Force in 1988.  They are the proud parents of Yolanda, grandparents of Kristy and Kamari, and great-grandparents of Jaxson. The Thomas’ have been very active in San Bernardino.  They attend the Traditional Community Fellowship Chapel in Highland, a church started by the military men and women who were stationed at Norton Air Force Base. Barbara served as Women Auxiliary Chairperson, special events planner, and is in charge of social activities and raising funds to support the church ministry.  She also volunteered as a mentor for some of the adult students at the San Bernardino Adult School who did not have positive female influences in their lives.  She worked for ten years in the Army and Air Force Exchange Service at Norton and Malmstrom (Montana) until her medical retirement in 1989.  She was a member of the Non-Commissioned Officers Wives club and a member of the Radiant Rubies of Highland, a chapter of the Red Hat Society.
Heck was employed by the San Bernardino County Department of Behavioral Health from 1988 to 1996 as a Mental Health Employment Specialist; a Teacher on Assignment for The San Bernardino City Unified School District and worked at the San Bernardino Adult School from 1996-2010.  He has been active in the community, serving as church executive board president, past president and board member of the Kiwanis Club of Highland, past president and board member of the Frazee Community Center, past San Bernardino chapter president of the California Council of Adult Educators and has worked and volunteered with programs to assist the homeless for over 25 years.  Heck has also served with the Highland Youth Accountability Board.  He has received the Black Rose Award from the San Bernardino Black Culture Foundation, several Kiwanian of the Year Awards, Hixson Fellow, Dunlap Fellow, and several Kiwanis Distinguished Service Awards.  He is also the recipient of the George McCune Collaborative Award.
They are both enjoying retirement, community service, and spending quality time with their great grandson, Jaxson.

Kim Carter

LOMA LINDA , CA- Loma Linda University Health will be holding its Sixth Annual Women’s Health Conference.  This year’s theme is, “Be You! Fit. Smart. Healthy.”  The conference is designed for women of all walks of life, seeking to be better informed and more proactive about their health and overall well-being.
Each year, Loma Linda University Health recognizes a local charitable organization providing great service to women by honoring the organization with its Community Investment award.  This year, Time for Change Foundation was chosen as the recipient.  Since 2002, Time for Change Foundation has been dedicated to helping homeless women and children achieve self-sufficiency by using a strength-based approach to address their needs. The Foundation’s programs and supportive services help to provide women and their children with the tools necessary to recover from homelessness, drug addiction, family separation, mental and physical abuse, and the effects of incarceration.  Through these services, women are taught how to live healthy, fit, successfully productive lives.
“We all were overjoyed when we were informed about the award,” said Kim Carter, Executive Director of Time for Change Foundation.  “Loma Linda Health is a pillar in the community and being recognized lets us know that we are on the right path in ensuring that all women have access to healthy lives.”
For more information about the conference or to purchase tickets, go to www.lomalindahealth.org.
Time for Change Foundation’s mission is to empower disenfranchised low income individuals and families by building leadership through evidenced-based programs and housing to create self-sufficiency and thriving communities.  To learn more about Time for Change Foundation visit its website at, www.timeforchangefoundation.org.

Dwaine Radden Sr. and Wife Melinda Radden

The AAA Minor League Football Hall of Fame held an induction ceremony on January 10, 2014 at Desert Princess Golf Resort at 6pm in Cathedral City, CA. The ceremony honored fifty-six coaches and players who coach at the Minor League level and have shown exemplary coaching and player abilities. The ceremony opened with a dinner where the coaches got the chance to interact with one another and network.
Darrel “Mouse” Davis was the guest speaker at the induction ceremony. Davis is an American football coach who coached at the collegiate and professional level. Davis, who coached various football teams including Portland State, the Detroit Lions and the Atlanta Falcons, was the pioneer of the “Run ‘n’ Shoot” offense. At the ceremony, Davis

reminisced on his career and provided humor and words of encouragement to the coaches and players who were being inducted.
Amongst the eighteen coaches who were inducted was Dwaine Radden Sr., Head coach of the California Raiders, a team based out of San Bernardino, California. Radden has been serving the community, coaching and mentoring athletes for over 25 years throughout the Inland Empire. He began coaching youth football in 1990, engraving his code throughout generations of work. His work can still be shown today through San Bernardino Pop Warner, which he revived after being defunct several years before 1997.
He created a competitive energy in the city with several players coming out of the Youth Football League such as Chris Polk University of Washington (Philadelphia Eagles), Rodney Harris University of Kansas (Speed Coach), Gary Walker University of Idaho (2013 NFL Draft Prospect), Dewayne Booker Wayland Baptist (Track and Field) just to name a few.

Dick Suess, the Founder of the AAA Hall of Fame and former NFL player, called Radden a legend. He has been revolutionary in elevating this level of football and has impacted thousand of players and young men’s lives throughout the Inland Empire.
Dwaine  has coached Minor football since 2005 and has led the Raiders to three championships, two back-to-back undefeated seasons, one national title appearance and six division championships. The Raiders have accumulated a record of 104-20-1 over the past nine years. The Raiders hold the record for points scored in a single season (579 points).  He and the Raiders have been to the Playoffs every year since their conception in 2005. The Raiders finished the 2013 season ranked #1 in the Western Region and #5 in the nation and hold the UFAL record for points scored in a single season.
He has received countless accolades for coaching such as Semi Pro Talk’s “2013 Coach of the Year” and  “2006 National Football Foundation Coach and Team of the Year”

, “UFAL League Coach of the Year” 2009-2011. Radden said, “A lot of coaches like to hang their hat on players that made it to the next level NFL or Arena football.” He went on to say, “My pleasure comes from seeing young men elevate to the next level in life.”
Coach Radden was the first to accept his induction award and told a story from his childhood to the crowd on how his uncle influenced him to start playing football. The crowd got to know the coach more with the speech he shared.
Radden and his all-star players teamed up with coaches and players from as far as England to play in the Hall of Fame game held at the College of Desert, where they defeated the So. Cal Coyotes 32-30.

Rick Avila and Rikke Van Johnson

(By Rick Avila and Rikke Van Johnson)

Together, Rick Avila and Rikke Van Johnson, want to go on record as strongly endorsing Carey Davis for the office of Mayor for the City of San Bernardino. He brings excellent credentials to this position, with an MBA degree from California State University, San Bernardino and 35 years successful accounting and financial management experience. Born and raised in San Bernardino and married for 40 years to Johnetta he is well invested in our City.

As former Mayoral candidates, we feel that Carey Davis is the best remaining candidate to lead in restoring fiscal responsibility to our City; bring integrity and professionalism to City Hall; work toward changing the direction of our City through charter reform; and revive the San Bernardino economy by strengthening existing businesses and encouraging new businesses to create new jobs locally.

We both believe Carey Davis is the best remaining candidate qualified to be our next Mayor. If you want to see honesty and respectability in government leadership, join with us in supporting Carey Davis for Mayor of San Bernardino.

Pastor Raymond Turner

SAN BERNARDINO, CA- On Sunday, January 12 Temple Missionary Baptist Church will celebrate 76 years during an afternoon service at 3:30 p.m. To commemorate this special occasion, Pastor Charles R. Jones of St. Reed Missionary Baptist Church of Los Angeles will be the guest speaker. The church is located at 1583 W. Union Street in San Bernardino. For more information call the church office at 909-880-2038 or visit templemissionarybaptistchurch.org.

Free Food at Yo’ Mama’s Kitchen

Free Food at Yo’ Mama’s Kitchen

SAN BERNARDINO, CA- Who loves free food? If you said yes and are in or near the downtown San Bernardino area come out on Tuesday, January 14 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. to Yo Mama’s Kitchen, 370 W. Court Street in San Bernardino, for a free meal and chance for your office to win meals for five employees, so don’t forget your business cards.
The restaurant serves a variety of food options which includes hot sandwiches, salads, hot dogs, chili dogs, homemade chili (five meats), nachos, chili cheese nachos and more. For more information, call 909-383-9100.

2014 Miss Black San Bernardino Contestants

SAN BERNARDINO, CA-It’s a new year with new roster of Miss Black San Bernardino contestants. The ladies that are in the running for the 2014 crown have been announced. “These young ladies are amazing and have been working hard for a chance to compete for the title of 2014 Miss Black San Bernardino,” Lori Keith, Pageant Coordinator, said.

The young women who will be gracing the stage will consist of April Butler, Alaysia Clark, Bobbie McFerson, Abigail Roney, LeAnn Pollard, Noelle Lilley and Ashley Roney. The event will be held on Saturday, January 25 at the Inghram Community Center located at 2050 Mt. Vernon Avenue, San Bernardino 92411. The program will begin at 6 p.m. Tickets are available at $20 per person.

For more information or to purchase a ticket, please contact Lori Keith via email at lokeygcd@gmail.com.

SAN BERNARDINO, CA- On the afternoon of Wednesday, December 18, WWAM Inc., and it’s business affiliates from around San Bernardino County hosted a special Christmas and Holiday Dinner for the homeless students of Juanita Blakely Jones Elementary School and their parents. Last year WWAM Inc. gave out Christmas presents to each homeless student. This year the organization made bags of toys to be distributed to each class room making each student in the school receive a gift; however, the dinner party was only for the homeless youth. Each family received Christmas food baskets. This event would not have been made successful without the help of local businesses and supportive sponsors which include Ramon Velasco, Principal at Juanita Blakely Jones Elementary; Dr. Margret Hill; Danny Tillman; WWAM Inc. staff; Mike, Orchid Thai Restaurant, 27266 Base Line Street, Highland; Riad Haddad,Phoenicia Greek and Lebanese Cuisine, 572 Orange Street, Redlands; Linda Ignacio, ABC Wic, 1505 W. “17th” Street in San Bernardino; and Nancy Gutierrez, gentle outreach specialist. Dr. Deborah Winn, CEO and Founder of WWAM Inc., along with her staff, Dr. Hill, Mr. Tillman and Principal Velasco will be working together in the next and upcoming years to change the homelessness crisis around to provide them with a place of residence. For more information or to donate to WWAM Inc., please call Dr. Deborah Winn 909-889-9509. WWAM Inc. is a 501 (C) 3 non-profit organization, and all donations count as a tax write-off.