Electric News Releases

February 24, 2000

Dominion Resources/Virginia Power Announce 10th Annual Strong Men & Women Honorees

RICHMOND, Va. -- University and civic leaders, artists and academicians and American civil rights pioneers lead the list of the 10th annual "Strong Men & Women: Excellence in Leadership" awards sponsored by Dominion Resources Inc. and Virginia Power.

"Strong Men & Women" highlights the accomplishments of the selected African-American role models and converts their stories into an educational series that is distributed to schools throughout Virginia Power's service area during Black History Month.

The 10 recipients will be honored at an awards ceremony Thursday in Richmond. Awards also will be given to four high school seniors (list attached) who entered and won an essay competition sponsored by the companies on how certain African-American leaders have served as their role models. Their schools will receive cash awards.

"Dominion Resources and Virginia Power are proud to honor this year's recipients," said Eva S. Teig, senior vice president-External Affairs and Corporate Communications. "The success that they have achieved through hard work and, at times, adversity, calls for this recognition. These leaders and role models are worthy of our respect and admiration and join an outstanding group of past honorees."

A team of company employees selects each year's "Strong Men & Women." Judges look for candidates who have demonstrated leadership and have promulgated some philosophy that made a better life or who have shown courage in public life.

The 2000 honorees are:

Dr. Edward B. Fort--Chancellor emeritus. Fort served as chancellor of North Carolina A&T University for 18 years. Before he retired in July 1999, he had brought the school to a position of prominence in the areas of engineering and technology education. He is credited with starting 30 new academic programs at the school, including a doctorate program in electrical and mechanical engineering. He was the first African-American to serve on NASA's Advisory Council.

Robert J. Grey Jr.-- Attorney, Civic Leader. Grey is vice president with the law firm of LeClair Ryan in Richmond. He and his firm concentrate their practice on administrative and regulatory matters. Grey is chairman of the American Bar Association's House of Delegates, the second highest-ranking African-American to serve that organization. In civic matters, Grey is chair of the Greater Richmond Partnership, co-chair of the Regional Metropolitan Area Project Strategies Steering Committee, a member of the Virginia Commonwealth University Business Council and a member of the Youth Matters Board of Directors.

Dr. Allix Bledsoe James-- President-emeritus, Virginia Union University. James has spent more than a half century at the school, serving in positions as instructor of Biblical Studies; dean of students; dean, school of Theology; vice president, and president. He is the author of Three Score and Ten Plus, which details the lives of people who shaped his life and others whose lives he helped to shape.

Kay Coles James-- Government Official, University Dean. James' nationwide reputation was made while she served as assistant secretary for public affairs at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and as associate director for the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, both during the Bush administration. In Virginia she has served as Secretary of Health and Human Resources. She also served as dean of Regent University's Robertson School of Government in Virginia Beach. She currently serves as a senior fellow for the Citizenship Project at the Heritage Foundation in Washington.

Johnny Johnson-- Businessman, Civic Leader. Beginning in 1992, Johnson has grown one neighborhood grocery store into the largest minority-owned grocery chain in the United States. Annual sales in the nine supermarkets were projected at $110 million in 1999. His involvement in the community includes various appointments, including the Richmond Community Hospital Board of Directors; Governor's Commission on Citizen Empowerment, and the Virginia State University Board of Visitors. He has also developed the High Achievement Program for Richmond's Public Schools, a program that encourages students to stay in school and achieve.

Carl Owens-- Artist, Educator. Owens is best known locally for his portraits of all of the "Strong Men & Women" honorees. His reputation extends to art galleries around the world where his work has been displayed. His works include portraits of "Great Kings of Africa" commissioned by Anheuser Busch Inc. and "Soul of a Nation" painted for the McDonalds Corp. His painting, "Living Flower," is seen on the set for the television program, "Living Single."

Dr. Hugo Armstrong Owens Sr.-- Dentist, Politician, Civil Rights Leader. Owens ran a dental practice in Chesapeake for 45 years until his retirement in 1991. In 1970 he became one of the first two African-Americans to be elected to the Chesapeake City Council. He was later elected vice mayor of the city and held that position for eight years. In 1951 he headed a group that forced the desegregation of the Portsmouth City park golf course. In 1964 he was one of a group of medical and dental practitioners who forced the desegregation of Portsmouth General Hospital.

Rosa Parks--Civil Rights Leader. Parks' simple refusal to give up her seat to a white man on a Montgomery, Ala., bus helped start the civil rights movement. In 1999 she received the Congressional Gold Medal, the highest honor the U.S. Government can bestow on a citizen. Time magazine voted her as one of the 100 most influential people of the 20th century.

Dr. Shirley R. Pippins--College president, Social Activist. Pippins is president of Thomas Nelson Community College in Hampton Roads. She is the first African-American to lead that school in its 30-year history. Her work as an educator has taken her to South Africa where she worked for the U.S. Information Agency. She serves on the boards of Peninsula Board of the National Conference for Community and Justice-Virginia Region, United Way, and the Greater Peninsula N.O.W.

William E. Strickland Jr.-- Consultant and mentor in the field of arts. Strickland is president and CEO of the Bidwell Training Center, Inc. and the Manchester Craftsmen's Guild of Pittsburgh. He founded these organizations to affect social change. The centers work with businesses in the community to train displaced adults for work. Strickland, who uses art to teach children life skills, served six years on the National Endowment for the Arts Board.

Dominion Resources (NYSE: D) is an energy company with headquarters in Richmond. Virginia Power is a subsidiary of Dominion and the largest electric utility in Virginia.

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Strong Men & Women -- Student Essay Contest Winners

First Place
Nadia Manifold
Prize: $750 U. S. Savings Bond
Topic: Oprah Winfrey
School: Fluvanna County High School, Palmyra, Virginia
Principal: Mr. Maurice Carter
School award: $1000

Second Place
Pamela Tae Galloway
Prize: $500 U. S. Savings Bond
Topic: Harriet Tubman
School: Colonial Heights High School, Colonial Heights, Virginia
Principal: Mr. Robert Stansberry
School award: $750

Third Place
Dena Brown
Prize: $250 U.S. Savings Bond
Topic: Eva Clayton
School: Northeastern High School, Elizabeth City, North Carolina
Principal: Ms. Linda Ward
School award: $500

Honorable Mention
Abiosseh Davis
Prize: $150 U.S. Savings Bond
Topic: Fannie Lou Hamer
School: Catholic High School, Virginia Beach, Virginia
Principal: Father William L. Pitt
School award: $250