Ebony Lifeline will honor achievements

Photo

The Vindicator/Geoffrey Hauschild SUPPORTERS: Ebony Lifeline Support Group’s banquet committee members, from left, Jackie Martin, Toni DiMargio, Pat Traylor and Ed Prayor Sr., pose at Church Hill Counseling in Liberty. Not pictured are committee chairman Bob Thomas and member Jack Carter.

YOUNGSTOWN — Ebony Lifeline Support Group, a self-help group for minorities, is having its 13th Annual All Sports Banquet on Oct. 23 at Our Lady of Mount Carmel social hall, 343 Via Mount Carmel.

The event will begin at 6:30 p.m., and dinner will be served at 7. After dinner, new inductees will be entered into the Ebony Lifeline Hall of Fame.

This year’s inductees are Shirley Carson, bowling; Willie Profitt, bowling; Benny Harrell, bowling and golf; Rick Adams, football; Joe Conley, football and educator; Rigo Castillo, soccer and coach; Iris Irwin, baseball; Mike McClendon football and coach; Henrietta Williams, contributor, track, basketball coach and educator; Roland Smith, football and coach; and Frank “Doc” Mason (posthumously), bowling and contributor.

For the fifth year, Ebony will present the McCollough Williams Jr. Community Service Award to a junior or senior minority student from Youngstown City Schools who serves the community and participates in sports.

Claude Bentley will be the master of ceremonies, and the guest speaker is former NFL official Sanford Rivers.

Anyone wishing to attend may buy a banquet ticket ($30 per person; $220 for table of eight) by contacting Bob Thomas at (330) 261-1825, Ed Prayor at (330) 743-6193, or Pat Traylor at (330) 792-0234. A special invitation is extended to those who were previously inducted into the Hall of Fame.

About the group

Ebony Lifeline Support Group was developed as a grass-roots movement in 1984 through the efforts of Robert Thomas and Luther Stubbs. The goal was to provide an alternative for minorities who had trouble succeeding in established self-help groups such as Alcoholics or Narcotics Anonymous. Meetings were at the Alcoholic Clinic of Youngstown.

Since then, this alternative approach has expanded to four such groups operating in the Youngstown-Warren area.

On July 27, 1988, Ebony Lifeline Support Group officially became incorporated, and in the 1990s, it began outreach programs focusing on community prevention activities and targeting the area’s youth population.

As part of its efforts to restore pride and dignity to the black community, Ebony founded a sports exhibit, which features pictures and trophies from local athletes and is housed in the Mahoning Valley Historical Society building on Wick Avenue. Since the inception of the sports exhibit, many inductees have expressed pride in being recognized for their achievements.

Receiving support

Anyone who needs help regarding addiction recovery issues that are specific and unique to minorities can contact Ebony Lifeline Support Group. The group works in cooperation with area treatment facilities, employers and others.

Support group meetings are Sundays from 8-9 p.m. at Homeless Solutions at Passages, 550 W. Chalmers St. Enter from Cleveland Street. The meeting is in the lounge. For a list of other available meetings, call Thomas at his number above.