Title
To recognize the men of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Incorporated for hosting the 40th Annual Ohio District Conference to be held in Columbus, Ohio November 15-17, 2013.
Body
WHEREAS, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Incorporated was founded on December 4, 1906, and for the last 107 years has supplied voice and vision to the struggle of African-Americans and people of color around the world; and
WHEREAS, Alpha Phi Alpha, the first intercollegiate Greek-letter fraternity established for African-Americans, was founded at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York by seven college men who recognized the need for a strong bond of Brotherhood among African descendants in this country. These visionary founders are known as the "Jewels" of the Fraternity. While continuing to stress academic excellence among its members, Alpha also recognized the need to help correct the educational, economic, political, and social injustices faced by African-Americans; and
WHEREAS, Alpha Phi Alpha has long stood at the forefront of the African-American community's fight for civil rights, racial justice, and economic empowerment through leaders and trailblazers like: W.E.B. DuBois, Adam Clayton Powell, Jr., Martin Luther King, Jr., Thurgood Marshall, Jessie Owens and locally through leaders such as former City Council President Jerry Hammond, former City Council Member James Roseboro, Business Owner Lewis Smoot Sr., Robert "Bo" Chilton, CEO of the Impact Community Action Agency, Darryl Peal, President and CEO of South Central Minority Suppliers Council Central Ohio, Jordan Miller, President & CEO Fifth Third Bank, former Senator Ray Miller, former Federal Judge Grady L Pettigrew, Jr. and many others; and
WHEREAS, The Ohio District has had a long and distinguished history of community enrichment and has honored the Fraternity's legacy of leadership by earning a reputation for being an organization of servant leaders committed to the ideals of manly deeds, scholarship, and love for all mankind; and
WHEREAS, The 40th Annual Ohio District Conference will be hosted by Kappa Chapter - The Ohio State University; Omicron Rho -Otterbein College; Phi Chapter- Ohio University; Rho Upsilon - Dennison University; and Alpha Rho Lambda - Columbus Alumni Chapter with the 2013 theme of "Alpha OHIO: Leading the Way with Alpha Excellence"; and
WHEREAS, the positive impact the men of Alpha are having on our community is evident by the young lives that have been touched through programs such as Project Alpha, support for the March of Dimes, Alpha Esquires mentoring program and Big Brothers Big Sisters where the brothers have been recognized as the single largest group of African American male volunteers in the Midwest; and the more than $150,000 in merit scholarships provided to High School Seniors in Columbus Public Schools and the surrounding communities by the Alpha Rho Lambda Education Foundation; now therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF COLUMBUS:
That we do hereby congratulate the men of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. for their dedicated service and outstanding community contributions and thank them for choosing Columbus to host their 40th Annual Ohio District Conference at the Sheraton Columbus Capitol Square in Columbus on November 15-17, 2013.