Fr n lin A. Thoma, 44,
ccepting th pr sidency of
Ford Found tion h s
merg d s on of th nation'
I ding BI c s.
H will, s head of the
orld' larg t and y c tting
foundation, over the di tribu-'
ti n 0 hundred of million of
doll rs a, ye r to v riou soci I,
ducation I, economic nd
cultur e pro; ct .
He bring a unique
ground hich pro i a
I vel of soci I concern for
Ford Found tion.
The appointment is
ea -throu in th t the job is
before held by a
"It h r Ids a n era of
in lusion, not only as
soldi rs in our society, but
n r Is c mm nding its
h ights", proclaimed Vernon E.
'jordan, Jr., he d of th Urb n
L!ea u . If This is the mo t
important BI c appointment
in my y rs,"
hom as the choice
of a committ th t examined
00 candidates for 0 r year
nd th choic as "a s eep
in Iy enthu i stic conclusion"
ccording to foundation board
Chairm n, Ale mder Heard ..
A div r ified b c ground
no doubt a determining
lection. H
istant U.S.
attorn y, n dministrator and
community cti i t.
Thomas shorn ay
27, 1934 and rai d in the'
Broo Iyn nei borhood of
Bedford-Stuyvesant where he
d loped his talents on the
blacktop b s etball courts and
t on to Columbia Univer
ity - ithout athletic schol r
hip - to becom a forward on
. the school's team: H holds
I. . th ir ll-tim rebounding honors
, d captain of the team.
-At Columbis he joined
th local AACP Chapter to
rally for dmission of more
Blac s to Columbis.
Following aduation in
1956, he rved with the
Stategic Air Command for four
yea s nd then returned to
Columbis for a la degre.
He graduated in 196 ,
became an. a sistant U.S.
uornev, deputy police com-
mrssion r nd then in 1967
Robert F. Kennedy picked him
to head the private, exp rirnen
tal . corporation Kennedy
envi ion d to revitalize the
decaying riot-tom BI c
ction of Brooklyn where
Thomas had grown up.
In ten years, Thomas
mad the Bedford-Stuv sant
Restor tion Corp. into a model
of urban rene al,
To ccornplish . th t
ucc ss, Thomas used unem
ployed ids to reh b e tenors
of tructure; lured 125 n
busines into the area and
added more than 3,000 job
to the community. A $6
million plaza capped the
redevelopment efforts.
Spin-offs of the effort
were al 0 success stories. Some
7,000 10caJ 'people have 0 n
pi ced in jobs or training; IBM
has agreed to build a new $11
million plant in the com nity.
Centers ha e b n org nized to
provide recreation, tenant
assistance, and health education
among other services.
Thom s will assume the,
$120,000 a year job in June.
nother group has been
organized to help rai th $2
million needed for th ne Ben
ton Harbor - St. joseph Y CA
building. An Employees Divi-
'on h s been organized and ha
begun soliciting und r th
guidance of divi ion co-chairmen
Bruce F. Johnson and Fran E.
Klemm.
With a targ t of
$360,000, the Employees Divi
ion m t this Tuesday t Y CA
he dqu rters, 34 12th Street,
Benton H rbor.
Johnson id;· Initi I
contact with employe s of many
m jor firms in our area has been
m de. I'm ery plea d ith the
re ponse have been receiving.
degree of upport nd
enthu iasm sho n for the
Y CA will be a big plus in
h Iping us achieve our goal."
Johnson is corporate
manager of industrial relations
for Auto Specialties Manufac
turing Company and a resid nt
of St. Joseph.
Expl ining his involve
ment in the campaign, Klemm
said: teA strong Y CA is a real
as t to our community. It
helps youngsters gro in
posit! e avs, offers fitness and
recreational programs for all'
age , and help attract desirable
industries to our region. • can't
thin of a' community-wide
rvice organization more
deserving of our support."
Klemm is a I director of
Personnel for Gast anuf c
turi g Corporation and a resi
den of B nton Harbor. He is
immediate past president of the
Benton Harbor Kiwanis Club
and a board member \>f Gate-
ay;
FRANKU
THO
d of the Ford
,. .
uslims snare con ract
A $22 million contract
between the Defense 0 part
ment and the '. ortd Convnunity
of At-Islam in th est is the
largest federal contract e er
a arded a minority enterprise.
Commonly referred to as
uslims, the World Community
ill produce p ckaged foods for
the Defense D partment's
"Ready-ta-Eat" program.
American Pouch Foods,
lnc., a subsidiary of the World I sem ln a' r
Community will provide Techni- I,
cat' assistance and build two
plants for the venture.
.. Dr. Randolph Blackwell,
director of th Commerce
Department's Office of inoritv
Business Enterprise made' th
announcement indicating that
officials estimate 63 billion
c uld be generated annually
Reader questions Gateway operation'
Letter to the Editor:
Gate ay Voc. Reh b.
Center "hy So many
questions?
Gateway Reh. Center is
in B rrien Springs it is pproxi
rnately 4: years old. It is
supposed be a pi ce here the
h ndica - mental nd physi-
caJ can go for rehabilitation for
future employmenL I
There re many people in
community wh as the
question - asn't Gate ay
supposed • to be J rg r than it is
no according to th appro-.
priated funding? Isn't it·
supposed to house more than
just 60-70 (clients). Where h ve
th people been uccessfully
nt out for full-time or
p rt-time employment? Doing .
hat type of iobs? Ho long
does it take 0 reh bilitate the
h dicap� Or does G te ay
only get clien th t can't be
r h bilitated for employment?
hat type of or do they do
at Gate ay? Is it haz rdous to
them? "Have ny of these poor
h ndic pp clients be n hurt?
Gate y a upposed
to b a result of merging of
facilitie I in Bento Harbor, St.
joseph nd il . Along with
this merger come staff
members fro these other
places including Ma Ie Grove
in Benton H rbor that as shut '
do n under strange circumstan
ces. In f ct a director at Gat -
way and has a family member
orking at Gateway and has
been . for three or four years,
isn't that nepotism?
Why is it Gateway had
and is still having such a large
turn over of it employee's
(suff)?
Why and how is Gateway
receives so many' types of
monies from so m ny different
agencies in this county? DSS,
United way, SCARC, CET A etc.
G teway claims to b a
non-prophit organization but
gro ses up into the thousands
month from the labor of the .
poor clients they hou for
rehabilitation? and selling r
rvices.
Is Gate ay a non-profit
organization? What happens to
VALENTINE'S DAY
81 GO
"
all this and these other monies?
nd don't forget private and
community contributions as
ell.
Does G teway pay taxes?
What other loop-holes are they
likely to slip through? "hat
other reven es are they able to
. dodge? Heaven only knows!
Ho many other people
kno about Gateway? 5
Speak-up! That place needs a
look into - it needs a ne
Director, and Business Man ger!
Ho many other
encies in Berrien need looking
into? M ybe taxes ill go
do n! arne withheld
Gateway
i n ve 5 t i 9 'a t i 0,"
EDITOR'S OTE: As
went to press, e learned
from an informed source
that D tective Serge nt Clif
ford D feyter from the Crim
inal Fraud Division of the
Attorney General's office as
in Berrien County conduc
ting an inv stigation of Gate-
ay Rehabilitation Cen r in
Berrien Springs. ext
aper will carry the full
story.
from the contract.
allace D.
Chief evangelist of
Community, id 400 ne
ould be created for
Chicago area.
Sehe ule SB
fina ce
"Finance and Venture
Capital" will b the subj ct of a
p n I discussion sponsored by
the State Commerce Depart
ment, Sni II Busines Admini
strati on and the T in Cities",
Area Chamber of Commerc .
The seminar will b
ednesdav, February 14, from
8: 0 a.m. to noon at th Benton
Harbor Holiday Inn.
Geared toward small
bu in sses, the panel ill dis
cuss a enu vailabl for
financin a small busin s.
There is an eight dollar
per person fee.
� Tic k e.t m U 5
'b e Sp
cific
A recent Attorne
Gen raj's rulin tic ets for
driving "too fast for condi
tion ,tt they must specify a fe
nd prud nt peed.
According to the Attor
'n y General, the gen ral phr
does not meet present legal
requirem nts,
I
, I