Saturday, July 27, 2013
Sunday, July 21, 2013
Scholarship Information - Friday, July 19, 2013
Please Note: If you prefer, you may access the letter below in PDF Format by Clicking Here!
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Friday, July 19, 2013
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Friday, July 19, 2013
Dear Family & Friends,
July 11-14 the family celebrated the 40th Annual Reunion in
grand style. Thank you to the Cleveland
Chapter and to all who attended this historic event. I have received many positive comments from
those who attended and those who have seen photos, videos, the newsletter, or
spoken with others.
I have also received several inquiries regarding the absence of
scholarship awards for the first time since 1984. I hope to alleviate some confusion by
addressing that issue here. If you
attended the Friday Evening Banquet you probably recall my message from the
lectern entitled Dreams Do Not Die. The message, hastily prepared in my mind as I
was handed the microphone, was meant to explain the absence of the awards while
cushioning the impact of that absence.
The priorities and needs of our young people include education,
inspiration and the acknowledgement of others, particularly family. That is why in 1984, using personal funds, I
established the Synnia Solomon Scholarship Fund, giving full recognition to
Synnia Solomon, who many of us recognize as The
Dreamer, because in fact, Dreams Do
Not Die.
Understanding the needs of our young people and recognizing that none
of us are here forever, in the late 1980’s one of the local reunion chapters
agreed to fund the scholarship awards during their turn at hosting the
reunion. That bold and positive move was
repeated over and over again for the next twenty plus years, and continued through
the 2012 Reunion in Atlanta, because, Dreams
Do Not Die.
When I was asked to present the scholarship awards at the 2013 Reunion
in Cleveland, I accepted that invitation as an honor to continue the long
standing tradition of presenting chapter awards to deserving young people,
because after all, Dreams Do Not Die.
I discovered at 2:30 PM on Friday that no funds had been allocated for
scholarships to be presented during the 2013 Reunion. Many years ago, I decided that I could best
serve the family not by being a member of the local chapter, but by promoting
the use of technology, maintaining web sites, blogs, a Family Facebook Page,
publishing a family newsletter, and paying the costs of those and similar
efforts; because, Dreams Do Not Die.
The Bertram & Willie Gardner
Citizenship Awards that were handed out at the Friday Banquet were
originally planned for distribution privately on the following day. The reason for that privacy was to respect
the planning and work of the Cleveland Chapter.
The citizenship awards were privately funded and had nothing to do with
the reunion. Several individuals have
asked me about the future of the Synnia Solomon Scholarship Awards. As has been the accepted practice for over
twenty years, that question can best be answered by the hosting chapter.
I close by thanking God for causing me to create and fund the
Citizenship Awards at such a time as this, so that in spite of the
circumstances, recognition and inspiration flowed on Friday evening as further
evidence that Dreams Do Not Die!
Henry Ford
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