Deborah Flagg, on left and Virginia W. Harris
From left, Beverly P. Johnson, C. Delores Mitchell, Deborah Flagg, and Virginia W. Harris
From left, Virginia W. Harris, Theresa Kellum, Gloria McKeldin, Jacqueline Lyons, Ingrid Jackson, Reinza Woods, Johnnie Bone, Angela Love, Michalle Morris, Ruthie Hereford, Colleen Canion
Virginia Harris
Kay Pendleton
The National Coalition of 100 Black Women, Chattanooga Chapter, Inc. celebrated its 22nd Annual Meeting at Hawkinsville Baptist Church. The guest speaker was newly elected National President, Virginia W. Harris, a 26-year member of the NCBW Metropolitan Atlanta Chapter and immediate past national first vice president. President Harris challenged the chapter to be intentional with respect to its membership recruitment and to stay focused on the national mission and its advocacy agenda. She administered the oath of office to 2017-19 officers.
Rev. Dr. L. Kay Pendleton was also a program participant at the annual meeting. Her witty approach to the installation of new officers delighted the audience and kept everyone well entertained, said officials. Rev. Dr. Pendleton resides in Columbus, Ga. and is the first female pastor of the St. Mary’s Road United Methodist Church.
Also attending and participating at the annual meeting was C. Delores Mitchell, president, National Coalition of 100 Black Women, Knoxville Chapter. President Mitchell was accompanied by Knoxville Members Alecia Mitchell, first vice president and Stephanie Hill, financial secretary and chaplain.
Several chapter members traveled to Baltimore, Md. to attend the 18th Biennial Conference, “Celebrating 35 Years of Empowering Women in Pursuit of Justice,” where the chapter received national recognition for its programs and advocacy activities. Under the leadership of Immediate Past President Beverly P. Johnson for the second consecutive fiscal year, the chapter was designated a “Model Chapter.” This designation is bestowed upon chapters who score 90 points and above on their annual Standards Report, a chronicle of a chapter’s performance based on predetermined criteria established by the National Office. Last fiscal year, the Chattanooga Chapter scored a perfect 100 points on its Standards Report and is one of six out of 62 NCBW chapters to accomplish this feat.
The chapter also received 1st Place Public Policy award for its advocacy work in the community, which included sponsoring three political candidates’ educational forums, participating in the Chattanooga Women’s March, conducting voter education forums and voter education drives, legislative involvement with the Chattanooga City Council and petitioning Governor Haslam and the state legislature to support installing seat belts on school buses in the wake of the Woodmore bus tragedy. This latter action also garnered attention for the chapter at the 18th Biennial Conference where delegates passed a resolution on “School Bus Seat Belts to Support Student Safety in which the Woodmore tragedy was specifically referenced.
The fiscal year ended with the installation of new officers who will serve the chapter for the next two fiscal years, Oct. 1, 2017-Sept. 30, 2019. Deborah Flagg was elected president. Other elected officers are Colleen Canion, second vice president; Ruthie Hereford, third vice president; Angela Love, corresponding secretary; Michalle Morris, recording secretary; Theresa Kellum, financial secretary; Gloria McKeldin, treasurer; Johnnie Bone, chaplain; Ingrid Jackson and Jacqueline Lyons, members at-large; and Reinza Woods, historian. Michele McNeill-Emery is immediate past national president and Beverly P. Johnson is immediate past chapter president.
The mission of the National Coalition of 100 Black Women, Inc. is to advocate on behalf of Black women and girls to promote leadership development and gender equity in the areas of health, education and economic empowerment.