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CENTENNIAL UPDATE Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. NOVEMBER, 2010 “Friendship is Essential to the Soul.”
Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. – International World Center – 3951 Snapfinger Parkway – Decatur, GA 30035 – Phone: (404) 284-5533 Fax: (404) 284-0333
MESSAGE FROM THE GRAND BASILEUS Brothers of Omega,
As we continue our steady march to the celebration of our 100th year of service to the nation through our esteemed brotherhood, Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc., I urge you to seize this once-‐in-‐a-‐lifetime opportunity to be a part of history. Stand with us as we gather from July 27th through July 31st for our Centennial Celebration in Washington, DC.
The Centennial Committee is hard at work preparing an extraordinary schedule of events that will restore and invigorate our brotherhood as we prepare for our second hundred years. The holidays are approaching quickly, and it is easy to find ourselves caught up in the excitement of family, friends and festive gatherings. While we do, we must also keep our “eyes on the prize.” Early Registration at the price of $375.00 will be closing on the last day of December. After that date, the price of registration increases, and it gets just a little tougher to secure a room in the hotel of your choice. Remember, there will be no on-‐site registration.
We are hard at work on many outstanding programs like our SALUTE TO THE MILITARY that will pay homage to those who protect our shores from enemies foreign and domestic. And, we are making plans for our traditional “Omega Psi Phi Service Awards.” We will tell you a little more about those programs in this issue of the Centennial Update.
Meanwhile, if you have any suggestions, questions, or concerns, please feel free to contact OPP HDQ. We are all in this together, so let us work in unison for an extraordinary Centennial Celebration!
Fraternally,
Brother Andrew A. Ray Grand Basileus
CENTENNIAL SALUTE TO THE MILITARY
“We Salute our Military Omega Brothers: Past and Present”
The “Salute To The Military” is a premier event of the 2011 Centennial Celebration, combining the quiet dignity of acknowledging the brave sacrifices of those who have served our country in the past and in the present, with the pageantry of an evening that is alive with festive activities. The Salute To The Military Ball will take place at the Washington, DC Convention Center on Wednesday, July 27th, 2011, and it will serve as the official kick-‐off of the Centennial Celebration.
This event will be much more than an evening of pageantry and dancing. It will begin on July 23, 2011, when Brothers will gather at Wilberforce University in Ohio, to prepare for the four-‐day trip by horseback to Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia. The solemn ceremony, commemorating the historic ride of Colonel Charles Young, will be held on the cemetery’s hallowed ground and will be witnessed by a number of young men from Atlanta and Washington, DC, who were chosen for this life-‐changing experience based on their unique positions in their communities.
Ideas have been put forward proposing a “ceremonial sword” for this ride. The sword would travel throughout the various Omega Psi Phi Districts, allowing military brothers and the riders to pose for photos at their District meetings. At the conclusion of the Centennial Celebration, the sword will be enshrined at OPPF-‐IHQ in Atlanta, GA.
The Salute to Military Ball is on track to be a grand affair, featuring numerous dignitaries from Federal, state and local governments, as well as many celebrities who have gained national prominence in the arts and entertainment. For more information and to purchase extra tickets to the Salute to Military Ball, please visit the OPPF Official Web site: www.oppf.org.
OMEGA PSI PHI CREDIT UNION OFFERS EXCLUSIVE CENTENNIAL PACKAGES
The Omega Psi Phi Fraternity Federal Credit Union (OPPFFCU) has set its sights on building a membership that is twenty thousand strong approaching the
centennial year and beyond. With its focus on celebrating a legacy of fiscal responsibility and growth, the OPPFFCU has designed a special Centennial package for its
membership that is all-‐inclusive. Not only does it take the guesswork out of the planning process, but also it offers you a choice of several financial alternatives.
The Centennial packages listed below are available to all
Credit Union members who meet loan qualification requirements:
Founders Package -‐ $5,000 (Life Membership, Ring, Brick, Registration, Hotel, and Travel Expenses) Purple Package -‐ $3,000 (Ring, Brick, Registration, Hotel,
and Travel Expenses) Gold Package -‐ $2,000 (Ring, Registration, Hotel, and Travel Expenses)
We hope you will take advantage of this unique “bundling opportunity.” For further information, please call Brother
Norris C. Middleton at the OPPFFCU on (678) 546-‐5178.
Founders Bricks are now available for purchase on the Official OPPF Web site. Bricks are $500.00 each and include four (4) lines of inscription, with no more than 20 characters per line. The details for including your inscriptions are listed in the information section and must be followed implicitly. You must purchase your Brick no later than January 15, 2011, in order for your brick to be installed by the date of the Dedication of the Founders Brick Walkway. This event will take place on Saturday July 30, 2011. You may visit the OPPF Web site www.oppf.org at any time to purchase your brick. The purchase price of a brick is tax deductable.
CENTENNIAL SERVICE AWARDS RECOGNIZING YEARS OF DEDICATION Our Centennial Celebration provides the opportunity to recognize Brothers who have given unselfishly of their
time and energy in service to our esteemed brotherhood. During this once-‐in-‐a-‐lifetime celebration, Omega Pi Phi Fraternity, Inc. will recognize Brothers with 25, 40, 50, 60,
70, 75, or 80 years of service to our fraternity.
We salute these Brothers, because they not only have longevity in our organization, they also have lived by our guiding principles.
To receive an award, a Brother must have been financial for each of the immediate past 10 years, and he must be
financial for the 2010-‐ 2011 fiscal year. All Brothers, who receive an award, also must be in “good standing” with the fraternity.
Life Members who apply for an award must be in good standing with the Fraternity and must satisfy one of the
following conditions.
• If a Brother became a Life Member during or
prior to 2000, he has no past international dues obligations, and, therefore, is eligible for the award outright.
• If a Brother became a Life Member between 2000 and 2010, he shall be responsible for any international dues he did not pay for the period between 2000 and the year he became a Life Member.
• Back dues owed by any applicant for a service award in 2011 must be paid at the rate that was in effect for that year. The amounts were as follows:
YEAR DUES AMT.
• 1999-‐2001 $ 75.00
• 2002-‐2010 $100.00
If you are uncertain of your eligibility under these rules, please contact the Membership Department at OPPF-‐ IHQ
on (404) 284-‐5533. The staff will be happy to assist you.
Litt le Known Facts About Omega Psi Phi Fraternity Men
~1920 through 1960~
Langston Hughes: Black Poet
Laureate in the 1920s, excelled as a poet, a playwright, and a celebrated novelist. He was a lyricist, and humorist. Langston Hughes: An Omega Man!
William (Count) Basie: World renowned Jazz pianist and band leader. He was the first leader of a Kansas City style swing band to rise to national fame. William “Count” Basie: An Omega Man!
Sterling Allen Brown: Teacher, poet,
writer, and Professor Emeritus of Literature at Howard University, Has a foundation for folk culture and jazz music. He earned a Masters Degree in English from Harvard University in 1923. A major player in the cultural rise of jazz during the Harlem Renaissance. Sterling Brown: An Omega Man!
Dr. Carter G. Woodson: Father of Black History Month; Dean of the School of Liberal Arts at Howard University; founder and editor of the Negro History Bulletin, and the author of more than thirty books He completed his Ph.D. in history at Harvard in 1912. Dr. Carter G. Woodson: An Omega Man!
Roland Hayes: Internationally known tenor of the 1920's. He sang in five different languages, and was quite famous in capital cities across Europe as well as at home in the United States of America. Roland Hayes: An Omega Man!
Joe Black: Negro League and Major
League Baseball pitcher for the Brooklyn Dodgers who became the first Black pitcher to win a World Series game, in 1952. He held the record for the Lowest Earned Run
Average (ERA) in Baseball’s Major Leagues. Joe Black: An Omega Man!
Max Roach: New York drummer who helped shape modern jazz during the bebop era
of the 1940s and '50s. He paved the way for percussionists like Charlie Parker to move beyond the role of timekeeper and become true instrumentalists.
Max Roach: An Omega Man!
William DeHart Hubbard: First African
American to win an Olympic gold medal in an individual event. His 1925 jump of 25 feet 3½ inches (7.71 m) stood as a Big Ten record until Jesse Owens broke it in 1935.
William DeHart Hubbard: An Omega Man!
Roy Wilkins: American civil-‐rights leader who served as the executive director of the NAACP. He was a reporter for the Kansas City Call, and in 1923 he became the managing editor. Roy Wilkins: An Omega Man!
Dr. Edwin (E.B.) Henderson: A Captain and outstanding player on the Washington 12th Streeters from 1906 to 1910. He is known by many as the "Father of Black Sports History." Dr. Edwin (EB) Henderson: An Omega Man
James M. Nabrit Jr.: Joined Howard University’s law faculty in 1936, and taught the first formal civil rights law course at an American law school. He was Howard University’s second Black president and one the leading constitutional and civil rights lawyers. James M. Nabrit, Jr.: An Omega Man
Dr. LeRoy Walker: Served as president of the U.S. Olympic Committee. He has served the sport of track and field as both a coach and as a well-‐respected sports administrator. Dr. LeRoy Walker: An Omega Man!
OMEGA PSI PHI CENTENNIAL COMMITTEE
The following Brothers are committee members:
Dr. C. Tyrone Gilmore, 34th Grand Basileus, Chairman Dr. Dorsey C. Miller, Jr., 35th Grand Basileus, Vice-‐ Chair Dr. John S. Epps, Executive Director of the Centennial Conclave
Burnel E. Coulon, Co-‐Chair, 31st Grand Basileus Dr. Moses C. Norman, Co-‐Chair, 33rd Grand Basileus Lloyd J. Jordan, Esq., 36th Grand Basileus Dr. George H. Grace, 37th Grand Basileus James S. Avery, 28th Grand Basileus Dr. Edward J. Braynon, Jr., 30th Grand Basileus Kenneth A. Brown, Grand Marshal Larry A. Brown, Secretary Robert Littlejohn, Jr., 2nd Vice Grand Basileus Darrell G. Comer, Jr., Undergraduate Representative to the Supreme Council Noah Holt, Jr., Site Selection Chair, George A. Smith, OPPF Interim Executive Director Lawrence E. Moon, Chairman, Omega Life Membership Foundation, Inc. Theodore N. Greer, Immediate Past Chairman, Omega Life Membership Foundation, Inc. Henry Porter, Director, Omega Centennial Chorale Donald R. Lee, Coordinator, Col. Young Ride Project Aubrey “Nick” Pittman, Esq., Former Grand Counselor Anthony R. Knight, 3rd District Representative Keith R. Jackson, 7th District Representative Dr. Adam E. McKee, Jr., Former First Vice Grand Basileus Edgar Mathis, Former 7th District Representative Dr. Steve Johnson, Howard University Liaison George K. McKinney, Former 2nd District Representative Col. Conrado Morgan, Co-‐ Chair, Salute to the Military Dr. Walter Richardson, Chair, Salute to Education Tony Grant, Chair, Salute to Sports and Entertainment Isaiah Reese, Vice Chair, Salute to Sports & Entertainment Robert Holmes, Chair, Salute to Business, Civic and Political Involvement Walter Body, Vice Chair, Salute to Business, Civic and Political Involvement
The Centennial Celebration is ONLY 239 days from November 30, 2010. Register Now! Go to the Fraternity’s website; www.oppf.org
Information for insertion of Brothers pictures in Souvenir Journals for the Centennial Conclave salutes will be available on the website 12/21/10.