in this issue

MARICOPA COUNCIL OF
BLACK AMERICANAFFAIRS HAD
A SUCCESSFUL YEAR

We revised the constitution and by-laws to be in concert with the National and Regional bodies. We eliminated the president-elect position and extended the terms of office for two years to provide more consistency in the leadership.

We more than doubled the membership of the dues paying members fifty-two persons. Our goal from this point is to maintain a minimum of fifty dues paying members. The previous year our membership was 25. We started off this year with a base of two paid members.

We were able to secure pledges of approximately $18,000 to the foundation for scholarships.

We held one of the most successful African American Convocation for graduating students. The event was held at Phoenix College with approximately 150 persons in attendance.

Three thousand dollars ($3,000) in scholarships were awarded by MCBAA for 2001-2002. We reactivated the MCBAA Citizenship award and awarded three fifty dollars book awards. The Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority gave a fifteen hundred dollar ($1500) scholarship and the Phoenix College African-American Alumni Chapter gave six hundred dollars ($600) in scholarships. All African American students in attendance were given medallions.

A silent auction in conjunction with the Convocation was held and generated $1,003, which is dedicated to the scholarship fund. This was the first silent auction held by this organization.

We co-sponsored a HBCU (Historically Black Colleges and Universities) recruitment fair effort at Phoenix College. The fair consisted of several local HBCU alumni chapters in the Phoenix metropolitan area who displayed materials and information about their perspective colleges.

We have engaged in discussion with the African-American McDonald's franchises regarding scholarships for students to attend HCBUs. The primary HCBUs are the 39 colleges of the UNCF. We have been asked to participate in the McWalk on October 8, 20001. The event will take place in Scottsdale. I have also accepted a position on the advisory board of the Arizona UNCF chapter.

A donation of $100 was given in the memory of Dr. Wil Counts' mother to the Juneteenth Scholarship Fund. This organization has issued several scholarships to students attending colleges within the District.

MCBAA has been asked by the Western Region of Black American Affairs to host its Spring Mini-Conference in March of 2002. The Executive Committee has prepared a recommendation to the general membership to host this event.

We have also responded to several employment and student complaints from members. With few exceptions, we were able to make successful referrals or to advocate effectively on behalf of the individuals.

As President, I have had the pleasure to represent the District on several recruiting efforts in the District's efforts to attract new faculty and to develop a working relationship with HCBUs. An appeal to District African-American employees and staff resulted in the identification of 13 individuals of the District who are alumni of HCBUs.