Five distinguished dads took bows at the Hess Club as honorees at the Houston Morehouse Alumni Association's annual Father's Day Brunch fundraiser while mayoral candidate State Rep. Sylvester Turner moved the gathering to tears with remembrances of his father.
One of nine children, Turner recalled that his father, a Houston painter, taught his children the value of hard work and how to stand up for themselves.
The stylish gathering (many of the alumni wore the school's tailored maroon blazers, maroon and white bow ties and oxford shoes) was chaired by Morehouse grad Bryce Kennard with Comcast and Vernonville Asset Management providing sponsorship. The event raised funds for scholarships to Morehouse College, the all-male institution in Atlanta.
Recognized for their exemplary fatherhood were Tony Chase receiving the Dezra White Leadership Award; Eric R. Lyons receiving the Alvin Wardlaw Mentorship Award; Omar Reid receiving the Albert Price Sr. Community Service Award; Cedric Joubert, Distinguished Alumnus Award; James Robertson Jr., named Maroon Tiger Father of the Year.
The event included awarding Morehouse scholarships to two high school students and to two current students. They will join the ranks of distinguished Morehouse grads who include Martin Luther King Jr., film director Spike Lee, actor Samuel L. Jackson, Olympic gold medalist Edwin Moses and former Atlanta mayor Maynard Jackson.
Morehouse fans in the gathering included U.S. Rep. Al Green, Janice Reid, LaToshia and Will Norwood, Ray Purser, Yolanda Green, Alvia Wardlaw, the Rev. Joseph Ratliff, Michael Pearson and Derrick Reed, Pearland city councilman and 2014 Maroon Tiger Father of the Year.
U.S. Rep. Al Green, from left, Tony Chase and Sylvester Turner.
