I c
D 0 the Nort ide
Mini terial Alii nee Ince 1 76,
Oily rd i loon the Board of Trus­
tees, Kalamazoo College; Board of
Directo , United Way; Bo rd ' of
Directo ,Salv tion Army.
Thi i a parti III t of Oily rd'
present commitmen .
I
WESTERN MICHIGAN
'\
J i
t Church. Dr. Gilyard conferrln
In ou t Zion Lobby. � by D.
P t ccompll hment include Board of Directors, American Red
President of the Nort ide oci - Cro s: Board of Director,
tion for Community Development; ,KalamazoO ArtCenter; anCf Board of
.,
o
'1 DANNY R. COOKS
A elect group of Black profe -
slonal huddle around a conference
table In the downtown office of
"Kalamazoo' Chamber of Com­
merce on the second Tuesday of
<' every month, beginning at 6:30 p.m.
They are a select group of busl­
Del people only bees e mong
many other things that they could
h ving been dOing, decided none
re more important than bein in
he midst of experienced, competent
I c plOfe ionals.
Southwe t Michigan Minority
Business ociation meetin are
. preslded over by' Tom Thornton,
I bead of Thorton Enterpri
Wblle ti � uaUy beain
with a preaentatlon by some group or
anotberaeeking tb otter this dynamic
�JIOUP of businesspeople advice, In­
fo�1ion, or discount rates, it al­
way end with an unspoken
· consensus that "It don't get no better
than this."
TIlE SPIRIT OF camaraderie,
'of loyalty and comradeshfp, grow
thick in the room as Thornton and
other long-time supporters of busi­
'Dell networking bare of themselve
· for the benefit of others.
Thorton say It' important that
, I Black business people get out and
· network, finding out what other
b folk have been privy to all
. along:
"We' experts at going to the
ban nd getting turned down,"
rton said. "We must try not to
, work harder, but marter."
. The true entrepreneur Is not lock-
� up in one train of thought; he or
P
ip
Tom Thornton talking with outhwest Mlchlg n Minority Bu In
oclatlon members. (photo by D. Cooks)
she Is limited only by their imagina­
tion, in Thorton's view.
"Even Sam Walden (the third
richest man in the world) admits he's
not smart: he merely found a niche
in an existing market," Thorton aid,
eeking to prove why Black
businesspeople. must be unafraid to
diversify. "We must be flexible
enough to change with the
marketplace," he stressed.
BECAUSE OCTOBER IS
Minority Business Month the group
pent time recently exploring
avenues of promoting Black busi­
nes .
While a Black Busine Expo was
embraced by all, getting more Black
businesspeople involved in the
Southwest Michigan Minority Busi-:
ness Association was viewed as a
first step.
A committee was formed and
date were committed to. Every ef­
fort would be expended to get the
Malcolm Earhards Bettue Dailys,
and Fred Jones' io accept the
association's invitation to participate
in the group, sharing their hard won
expertise with others.
"I would be letting down my fel­
low Black people if I didn't hare my
experiences gained in the busine
world. We may not have been privy
to the goings on of the 'country club'
set, hearing tips about what is going
on with this company and that one,
but many of us have a wealth of
knowledge and information that
Young Black Protesslonals start
Christian-oriented Business Venture
. 8'1 DANNY R. COOKS
Cmwo-..u
Hebrew 11, 1 says faith is the
'ubstance of things hoped for, the
evidence of things unseen.
A Kalamazoo entertainment
partner hip, both youthful and
black. was founded on Christian
talth a'i'ld its recent "Gospel
katedown" at Rollerworld on Kil-
re Road provided evidence that
Bvldence Enterprises i serious
�bout making a difference in the
Kalame7,OO Cbriatian community.
" . Ron W Kelsey Hamilton
formed B dence Enterprises to pro­
vide BII k youth with a Christi�
atmosphere ou ide the home. Their
'five-year plan bas been recognized
'and respected by the Kalamazo�
'tommunity role models for other
oung Black businesses.
"Perlonally, I feel a lack of
cohesiveness among the different
� churches contribute to a lack of up­
port for even such as thi ," Hamil­
ton said, taking a breather from hi
OJ duties at the August 15th Go pel
Skatedown.
• ..J "I SEE these type of activities as
the beginning of the end of divi ions
�Imong Black Christians in
KalamaZoo," Hamilton predicted.
Nevertheless, he showed no inclina­
tion to give up his day job as a
Department of Mental Health
worker .
00 pel Olympics (sporting ac­
tivities among churches) and Saints'
Night Out (a fa hion show and for­
mal banquet with door prizes and
keynote speaker) are future events
on Evidence Enterpri es' drawing
board, according to Ware, whose day
job have him wearing a· Western
Micbigan University police officer's
uniform.
As more than 100 skaters bobbed
and weaved aero the floor to the
music of the Winans, Andrae
Crouch, AI Green, andrhe Sounds of
Blackness, along with many other
gospel performers, Ware considered
the event a succe .. "This is great!"
he smiled.
Dock Davi , a twelve year-Old
Northwestern Junior High chool
student echoed Ware's sentiment.
He came to the Gospel Skatedown to
have fun and aid he w n't di ap­
pointed. "I enjoy kating. I'm
having a good time," Davi said.
Yolanda Satterfield, a WMU
senior aid: "I'm a jwtior trustee in
my church in Battle Creek and this
is a great opportunity to meet new
Chri tians. I think it' very nice."
Evidence enterprises would like
to involve Chri tian people in ac­
tivities who don't have a lot of kill
or talent but who enjoy a good time,
Ware aid.
"lnthi way we can make thi
better city for all of to live in."
Op rat on PU
VIV Ion W
H honor
r
oon
M e on Community Col-
lege Counselor Viv ion
Withe poon w honored recent­
lyat the 20th anniversary national
convention of People United 10
Serve Humanity (Operation
PUSH, Inc.)
Wfthellpoo� . 10 !'epre-
sen the 6th District Mus-
kegon Cou�ty Commi loner,
was one of only 12 omen from
across the nation to be recognized
as valuable "links in tbe chains 0
change" with a Women in
Government Award.
A long time resident of M -
kegon Heights, Witherspoon now
chair the Human Resources Com­
mittee of the county comrni ion .
could help others, " Thornton said.
MANY TIMES the' umption
is made that 'Oh, everybody know
that!' when the fact is, many times
few know of it.
In his book Thinking Rich
Napoleon Hill tre ed that one must
emulate the wealthy if one is to ob­
tain wealth.
Tom Thornton and the Southwest
Michigan Minority Busines As­
sociation membership obviously .
agree with Hill ince networking and
the busine organizations that
spring up around thi activity dot the
financial landscape of America like
lights on the White House Christmas
tree.
m.
Local Operation PUSH con-
tact person D vid Jo of UI- I r;;
kegon, 1988 Muskegon;
Community College graduate, .
accepted the award for "Y
Witherspoon she w unable to, ....
attend the convention held July
20,1991 in Indianapol .
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