African-American Achievers group will honor eight

Staff report

WARREN

Six people will be inducted into the Trumbull County African-American Achievers Association Hall of Fame, during a 6 p.m. Saturday event at DiVieste Banquet Hall, 754 North River Road. For tickets, which cost $25 per adult, call 330-719-3863.

The inductees:

Wanda Benbow, a 1971 graduate of Warren Western Reserve High School, was a special-education instructor for children with multiple handicaps and severe behavioral problems in the Warren City Schools.

She was instrumental in the introduction of black history to the Warren schools curriculum. She also coached Special Olympics. She continues to assist students with private tutoring sessions.

She was co-founder and coordinator of the Korey Stringer Community Foundation and served as a volunteer supervisor for Help Hotline. She volunteers at the Rape Crisis Center. She also volunteers with Girl Scout Troop 324 and Relay for Life.

Troy Wood, a 14-year Warren resident, has four children and is the co-founder and director of Mind, Body and Soul Asset Development Center, a nonprofit agency that seeks to empower families through holistic wellness.

He also is co-founder of Kenny Troy Embroidery, which offers youth- entrepreneur apprenticeships to youths residing in public housing.

He serves on Warren’s Strategic Planning Committee, is on the ministerial staff at Genesis Christian Community Center and serves as a mentor and program director of Hoops for Homework. He has also produced a music CD.

Charlene W. Allen has been executive director of Alliance Community Outreach Program Inc. since 1997. In 2009, she was the recipient of Flying High Inc. Do Good Award; ESOP Above and Beyond Award and the A. Phillip Randolph Institute Community Service Award.

She also is assistant treasurer of Trinity Baptist Church and secretary of the Friends of Sutliff Museum Committee. She is a member of the board of Trumbull Metropolitan Housing Authority Girard Manor Housing and Morgandale Commons Inc.

She’s also a member of the Mahoning Valley Organizing Collaborative board and coordinator of the Mahoning Valley Youth Collaborative.

Prescott Burgess, a player with the Baltimore Ravens of the National Foofball League, was born in Warren and remained here until age 4, when he moved with his brothers to Columbus.

He returned to Warren for his freshman year in high school, where he excelled in basketball and established a relationship with the late coach, Frank Bubba.

As a senior, Burgess was the No. 1 high school football recruit in Ohio and No. 4 in the country. He played college football at the University of Michigan and began his career with the Ravens in 2007.

Pastor Gerald L. Morgan and his twin sister were born April 21, 1950. His spiritual birth began in December 1974. In 2001, he was then appointed Pastor of Hoyt Street Church of God in Christ.

In 1983, he was the first person in Warren to establish an official Martin Luther King Day celebration. From 1989 through 2001, he was chairman of the State Sunday School Convention. He established Flourishing Ministries Community Development Group in 2001. He also served as NAACP vice president from 2002-05 and then as president from 2005-07.

Kevin Lamont Watson Sr. graduated from Warren Western Reserve High School and earned a certified dietary-manager license at the University of Akron. He served in the Army as a communication specialist and is dietary director at Washington Square Healthcare Facility.

He’s been a volunteer with Elite Basketball Program for five years and assists in the Building Individual Life Lessons Program. He organized a program after his son K’miel L. Watson was shot and killed on the west side of Warren in 2005 with a goal of helping to save other children.

He has been coach and assistant coach for several teams including AAU basketball for boys and girls in grades 6-12. He coached three teams in the last five years to national championship tournaments in Fort Wayne, Ind. He coached Warren Little Raiders in 2006 and Niles Red Dragons in 2007 and 2008.

Two students will be awarded scholarships:

Brittany Dowell, 17, is a senior at LaBrae High School, where she is ranked third in a class of 92 students and maintains a 3.97 grade-point average.

She has been a member of the National Honor Society for two years and is president of the Spanish Club. She has been a varsity cheerleader for three years, a clarinetist in the symphonic band for four years and a majorette in the marching band for three years.

She is a member of student council and Bascom Buddies, a tutoring program. She is a mathematics and reading tutor for students in kindergarten through second grade.

She is a Girl Scout, having earned her Bronze, Silver and Gold award — the highest award in Girl Scouts.

Justus D. Parker is a senior at Warren G. Harding High School, where he maintains a 3.93 grade-point average.

He was on the honor roll his entire educational career and ranked No. 1 in his class during his junior year in high school.

He is a two-year letterman on the varsity basketball team, tutors fellow teammates and is a church youth leader. He is the representative and participant of the annual Trumbull African-American Festival and youth representative and usher for The A. Phillip Randolph Organization.