WARREN NASA official to speak at local NAACP event

The speaker has run more than 10,000 miles and completed 25 marathons.
WARREN -- Dr. Julian M. Earls, new director of NASA's John H. Glenn Research Center at Lewis Field, will be the featured speaker at the annual Freedom Fund Banquet of the Warren-Trumbull County Branch of the NAACP.
The banquet will begin at 6 p.m. Sept. 27 in W.D. Packard Music Hall. Social hour starts at 5.
Reservation deadline is Sept. 17.
Tickets are available by calling (330) 392-1533.
They also are available at Clyde's Hairstyling, 1601 Youngstown Road, 394-7477; Fine Arts Council of Trumbull County, 347 N. Park Ave., 399-1212; and RBG Music, 1958 Palmyra Road S.E., 394-7036.
Background
Earls, who moves up from deputy director at Glenn to director Oct. 1, is a life member of the NAACP. A Portsmouth, Va., native, he has been married to Zenobia for 41 years. They have two adult sons.
He is a Jennings Foundation Distinguished Scholar Lecturer and has written 27 publications both technical and educational. He has been a Distinguished Honors Visiting Professor at numerous universities throughout the nation.
A distance runner, Earls has run more than 10,000 miles in the past five years and has successfully completed 25 marathons, including the Boston Marathon. He also served as an Olympic torchbearer for the 2002 Winter Games, carrying the flame for a segment through Cleveland.
He earned his bachelor's degree in physics from Norfolk State University, his master's degree in radiation biology from the University of Rochester School of Medicine, and his doctorate degree in radiation physics from the University of Michigan.
He also earned the equivalent of a second master's degree in environmental health from Michigan and is a graduate of the Harvard Business School's prestigious Program for Management Development.
He was awarded the honorary Doctor of Science Degree by the College of Aeronautics in New York and the Honorary Doctor of Pedagogy Degree from the Nova Southeastern University in Florida.
Earls has twice been awarded NASA medals for exceptional achievement and outstanding leadership. He also has received the Presidential Rank Award of Meritorious Executive in the Senior Executive Service.
For banquet information, call Colette Parker at (330) 393-4924.