Dominion Honors 10 In 13th Annual
"Strong Men & Women" Educational Series
RICHMOND, Va. - Dominion will honor 10 prominent African-Americans
renowned for their accomplishments and leadership at its 13th annual "Strong
Men & Women: Excellence in Leadership" educational series.
This year's presentation ceremony is tonight at the Richmond
Marriott Hotel.
Dominion's "Strong
Men & Women" program highlights the accomplishments of selected
African-American role models and tells their stories through an educational
series that is distributed to more than 12,000 schools across Dominion's natural
gas and electric franchise service areas in Virginia, northeastern North Carolina,
Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia.
"These 10 exemplary individuals personify the importance
of believing in self -- in setting high goals and striving to achieve them,"
said Jay L. Johnson, president and chief executive officer of Dominion Virginia
Power. "Through our honorees, we hope to show young people that no dream
is unattainable if it's matched by equal amounts of desire and hard work."
A team of company employees selects each year's "Strong
Men & Women" honorees. Judges look for candidates who have demonstrated
leadership and courage in public life. Past honorees include U.S. Secretary
of State Colin Powell, former U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission chairman Shirley
A. Jackson, former Virginia Gov. L. Douglas Wilder, and Cathy L. Hughes, founder
and chairperson of Radio One Inc.
The 2003 honorees are:
Raymond
H. Boone - founder, editor and publisher of the Richmond Free Press; Richmond,
Va.
Donald
J. Campbell - first African-American director of a National Aeronautics
and Space Administration center; Cleveland, Ohio.
The
Honorable Mary T. Christian - first African-American since Reconstruction
to represent the city of Hampton in the Virginia House of Delegates; Hampton,
Va.
Kenneth
D. Gray - vice president of student affairs at West Virginia University
and the first African-American general officer in the U.S. Army Judge Advocate
General's Corps; Morgantown, W.Va.
The
Honorable Roger L. Gregory - first African-American appointed to the Fourth
U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals; Richmond, Va.
The
Honorable K. Leroy Irvis - first African-American speaker of the Pennsylvania
House of Representatives, and the first African-American to hold that position
in any state legislature in the nation; Pittsburgh, Pa.
Joe
Kennedy Jr. - world-renowned jazz violinist, educator, composer, arranger
and performer and one of the first two African-Americans in the Richmond Symphony;
Richmond, Va.
Coretta
Scott King - influential civil rights leader and widow of Dr. Martin Luther
King Jr.; Atlanta, Ga.
Benjamin
S. Ruffin - first African-American chairman of the University of North
Carolina Board of Governors; Durham, N.C.
The
Honorable Belle S. Wheelan - first African-American female president of
a two- or four-year institution of higher education in Virginia, and the state's
first African-American secretary of education; Richmond, Va.
African-American high school seniors also participate by entering
an essay-writing competition about an African-American leader featured in the
"Strong Men & Women" series. The winners receive a $750 U.S. Savings
Bond and their schools receive a $1,000 cash award.
This year's essay winners, selected from more than 90 entries,
are:
Dominion has a diversified and integrated energy portfolio
consisting of about 24,000 megawatts of generation. Dominion also serves more
than 3.8 million franchise natural gas and electric customers in five states.
For more information about Dominion, visit the company's Web site at www.dom.com.
