Business

Carver Shareholders Elect Two New Directors

THE SAVANNAH TRIBUNE — During their annual meeting held April 16, 2019, the shareholders of Carver Financial Corporation elected Cathy P. Hill and Reverend Da’Henri Thurmond to the corporation’s Board of Directors. Carver Financial Corporation is the bank holding company that owns Carver State Bank.

Published

5 years ago

May 7, 2019

Oakland Post

By The Savannah Tribune

During their annual meeting held April 16, 2019, the shareholders of Carver Financial Corporation elected Cathy P. Hill and Reverend Da’Henri Thurmond to the corporation’s Board of Directors. Carver Financial Corporation is the bank holding company that owns Carver State Bank.

Reverend Thurmond is currently the Senior Pastor of St. Paul C. M. E. Church in Savannah, Georgia. In July 2008, Rev. Thurmond was appointed Pastor in Charge at St. Paul where, at that time, Rev. Dr. Henry R. Delaney was the Senior Pastor. In July 2009, Rev. Thurmond was became the Senior Pastor at St. Paul.

Prior to becoming accepting the call to become a preacher of the gospel of Jesus Christ, Reverend Thurmond was employed as a Respiratory Therapy Supervisor and a Senior Clinical Oncology Specialist in pharmaceutical and biologic sales For four years, he served under Rev. Dr. Donald Jordan, pastor of the Trinity C. M. E. Church in Augusta, Georgia. In 2005, he was appointed pastor of the Rock of Ages C. M. E. Church of Augusta.

A native of Augusta, Reverend Thurmond, Sr. is the third of four children born to the late Mr. Earl H. Thurmond, Sr. and the late Maxine Thurmond. He received his early education in the Richmond County, Georgia school system and is a graduate of Westside Comprehensive High School. He graduated from Georgia Southern University where he was inducted into the Gamma Beta Phi Honor Society. He is a magna cum laude graduate of the Medical College of Georgia where he was inducted into the IMHOTEP society as well as Who’s Who in American Colleges and Universities with a Bachelor of Science in Respiratory Therapy. He is a 2015 magna cum laude graduate of the Interdenominational Theological Center, Phillips School of Theology with a Masters in Divinity, where he received the Bishop Thomas L. Hoyt Scholarship and the Isaac B. Clark Preaching Award. He is currently pursuing the Doctor of Ministry designation from United Theological Seminary in Dayton, Ohio.

Rev. Thurmond currently serves as the Chairman for the Joint Board of Finance for the Central Georgia Region and a member of the General Connectional Board of the C. M. E. Church. He was a delegate to the 2010, 2014 and 2018 C. M. E. General Conferences and the World Methodist Conference in Durban, South Africa. He serves on the Board of Directors of Step Up Savannah and is a member of the the African American Ministers Leadership Coalition, the Savannah Alliance of Pastors and a mentor at Otis Brock Elementary. He is a proud life member of the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity.

Rev. Thurmond and his wife, Antionette Johnson Thurmond, are the parents of a son, D. Ramsey, Jr., and a daughter, Barbara Maxine.

Cathy Hill is Founder and President of The Plummer – Hill Group, LLC providing professional services that include business development and strategic planning. She is also a Managing Director with Golden Seeds, Inc., a discerning network of investors, seeking and funding high-potential, women-led businesses. Hill retired from Georgia Power after 33 years having held management positions in real estate, transportation fleet operations, engineering, power delivery, customer service, external affairs and assistant to the president & CEO.

As Georgia Power’s Land vice president, Hill led efforts to acquire, protect and manage the company’s real estate assets that included 85,000 acres of land, 60,000 acres of water, 4,000 leased lake front properties and six full-service campgrounds. She oversaw the company’s largest real estate sale, acquisition of properties for critical service lines, timber harvesting, reforestation and wildlife enhancement efforts, as well as land engineering, record services, and Georgia Power archives.

Hill also served as vice president of Coastal Region from 2008 to 2016. In Coastal Region, which includes Savannah, she provided overall leadership for engineering, construction, sales, customer service, economic development, governmental relations and community development. Under her leadership, more than $450 million in capital investments were made to upgrade UD network, distribution and transmission systems in coastal Georgia.

Hill received a bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering from Georgia Tech and a Master of Business Administration degree from Georgia State University. She completed the executive management program at Harvard University. As a 2010 fellow of the International Women’s Forum, she studied at the prestigious Judge School of Business at Cambridge University. Hill is a graduate of Leadership Georgia, the Regional Leadership Institute and Leadership Atlanta.

Hill is currently a member of the Savannah State University Foundation. She is a past-chairman of the Board of Directors of Armstrong State University, Armstrong State University

Educational Properties Foundation, Creative Coast, and United Way of the Coastal Empire. In addition to serving on the board of directors for 8 years, she served as vice-chairman of the Savannah Economic Development Authority. Hill also served on the board of directors for the Georgia Natural Resources Foundation, Savannah Area Chamber of Commerce, Savannah Technical College, Georgia Tech – Savannah, Ossabaw Island Foundation, Step Up Savannah, Memorial Medical Health Foundation, MDC, Inc. and SunTrust Bank – Savannah. She currently serves on the Board of the Georgia Tech Alumni Association and Georgia’s WIN List.

Governor Nathan Deal issued a resolution in 2017 and the state of Georgia’s House and Senate issued 2009 resolutions commending Hill for her professional and civic work. She was honored as 2017 Woman of the Year by the United Way of the Coastal Empire’s Women’s Legacy Council. In 2015, the King Tisdale Cottage Foundation presented Hill with the Reverend James M. Simms Public Service Award. She was awarded the “2014 Community Star” by Georgia Ports Authority, 2014 “Woman of Distinction” by Girl Scouts of the Coastal Empire and 2014 “Hero” by the American Red Cross for lifetime professional and community achievements.

Hill and her husband, Mitchell, reside in McDonough, Georgia with their two children Mitchell, Jr. and Candace.

Chartered on February 23, 1927, Carver is the oldest bank headquartered in Savannah. Only 21 of the almost 5000 banks in the United States are owned by African Americans and Carver is one of the older of these institutions. Most of the other banks that are owned by African Americans are located in much larger metropolitan areas.

The other Carver Directors who were reelected are Robert E. James, E. Bruce Adams, E. G. Miller, William E. Stiles, Sr. and Robert E. James, II.

This article originally appeared in The Savannah Tribune.

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Oakland Post: Week of April 24 – 30, 2024

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of April 24 – 30, 2024

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2 days ago

April 26, 2024

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State Controller Malia Cohen Keynote Speaker at S.F. Wealth Conference

California State Controller Malia Cohen delivered the keynote speech to over 50 business women at the Black Wealth Brunch held on March 28 at the War Memorial and Performing Arts Center at 301 Van Ness Ave. in San Francisco. The Enterprising Women Networking SF Chapter of the American Business Women’s Association (ABWA) hosted the Green Room event to launch its platform designed to close the racial wealth gap in Black and Brown communities.

Published

1 week ago

April 20, 2024

Oakland Post

American Business Women’s Association Vice President Velma Landers, left, with California State Controller Malia Cohen (center), and ABWA President LaRonda Smith at the Enterprising Women Networking SF Chapter of the ABWA at the Black Wealth Brunch.

By Carla Thomas

The Enterprising Women Networking SF Chapter of the American Business Women’s Association (ABWA) hosted the Green Room event to launch its platform designed to close the racial wealth gap in Black and Brown communities.

“Our goal is to educate Black and Brown families in the masses about financial wellness, wealth building, and how to protect and preserve wealth,” said ABWA San Francisco Chapter President LaRonda Smith.

ABWA’s mission is to bring together businesswomen of diverse occupations and provide opportunities for them to help themselves and others grow personally and professionally through leadership, education, networking support, and national recognition.

“This day is about recognizing influential women, hearing from an accomplished woman as our keynote speaker and allowing women to come together as powerful people,” said ABWA SF Chapter Vice President Velma Landers.

More than 60 attendees dined on the culinary delights of Chef Sharon Lee of The Spot catering, which included a full soul food brunch of skewered shrimp, chicken, blackened salmon, and mac and cheese.

Cohen discussed the many economic disparities women and people of color face. From pay equity to financial literacy, Cohen shared not only statistics, but was excited about a new solution in motion which entailed partnering with Californians for Financial Education.

“I want everyone to reach their full potential,” she said. “Just a few weeks ago in Sacramento, I partnered with an organization, Californians for Financial Education.

“We gathered 990 signatures and submitted it to the [California] Secretary of State to get an initiative on the ballot that guarantees personal finance courses for every public school kid in the state of California.

“Every California student deserves an equal opportunity to learn about filing taxes, interest rates, budgets, and understanding the impact of credit scores. The way we begin to do that is to teach it,” Cohen said.

By equipping students with information, Cohen hopes to close the financial wealth gap, and give everyone an opportunity to reach their full financial potential. “They have to first be equipped with the information and education is the key. Then all we need are opportunities to step into spaces and places of power.”

Cohen went on to share that in her own upbringing, she was not guided on financial principles that could jump start her finances. “Communities of color don’t have the same information and I don’t know about you, but I did not grow up listening to my parents discussing their assets, their investments, and diversifying their portfolio. This is the kind of nomenclature and language we are trying to introduce to our future generations so we can pivot from a life of poverty so we can pivot away and never return to poverty.”

Cohen urged audience members to pass the initiative on the November 2024 ballot.

“When we come together as women, uplift women, and support women, we all win. By networking and learning together, we can continue to build generational wealth,” said Landers. “Passing a powerful initiative will ensure the next generation of California students will be empowered to make more informed financial decisions, decisions that will last them a lifetime.”

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Business

Black Business Summit Focuses on Equity, Access and Data

The California African American Chamber of Commerce hosted its second annual “State of the California African American Economy Summit,” with the aim of bolstering Black economic influence through education and fellowship. Held Jan. 24 to Jan. 25 at the Westin Los Angeles Airport Hotel, the convention brought together some of the most influential Black business leaders, policy makers and economic thinkers in the state. The discussions focused on a wide range of economic topics pertinent to California’s African American business community, including policy, government contracts, and equity, and more.

Published

1 week ago

April 20, 2024

Oakland Post

Toks Omishakin, Secretary of the California State Transportation Agency (CALSTA), answers questions from concerned entrepreneurs frustrated with a lack of follow-up from the state. January 24, 2024 at the Westin Los Angeles Airport Hotel, Lost Angeles, Calif. Photo by Solomon O. Smith

By Solomon O. Smith, California Black Media

The California African American Chamber of Commerce hosted its second annual “State of the California African American Economy Summit,” with the aim of bolstering Black economic influence through education and fellowship.

Held Jan. 24 to Jan. 25 at the Westin Los Angeles Airport Hotel, the convention brought together some of the most influential Black business leaders, policy makers and economic thinkers in the state. The discussions focused on a wide range of economic topics pertinent to California’s African American business community, including policy, government contracts, and equity, and more.

Toks Omishakin, Secretary of the California State Transportation Agency (CALSTA) was a guest at the event. He told attendees about his department’s efforts to increase access for Black business owners.

“One thing I’m taking away from this for sure is we’re going to have to do a better job of connecting through your chambers of all these opportunities of billions of dollars that are coming down the pike. I’m honestly disappointed that people don’t know, so we’ll do better,” said Omishakin.

Lueathel Seawood, the president of the African American Chamber of Commerce of San Joaquin County, expressed frustration with obtaining federal contracts for small businesses, and completing the process. She observed that once a small business was certified as DBE, a Disadvantaged Business Enterprises, there was little help getting to the next step.

Omishakin admitted there is more work to be done to help them complete the process and include them in upcoming projects. However, the high-speed rail system expansion by the California High-Speed Rail Authority has set a goal of 30% participation from small businesses — only 10 percent is set aside for DBE.

The importance of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) in economics was reinforced during the “State of the California Economy” talk led by author and economist Julianne Malveaux, and Anthony Asadullah Samad, Executive Director of the Mervyn Dymally African American Political and Economic Institute (MDAAPEI) at California State University, Dominguez Hills.

Assaults on DEI disproportionately affect women of color and Black women, according to Malveaux. When asked what role the loss of DEI might serve in economics, she suggested a more sinister purpose.

“The genesis of all this is anti-blackness. So, your question about how this fits into the economy is economic exclusion, that essentially has been promoted as public policy,” said Malveaux.

The most anticipated speaker at the event was Janice Bryant Howroyd known affectionately to her peers as “JBH.” She is one of the first Black women to run and own a multi-billion-dollar company. Her company ActOne Group, is one of the largest, and most recognized, hiring, staffing and human resources firms in the world. She is the author of “Acting Up” and has a profile on Forbes.

Chairman of the board of directors of the California African American Chamber of Commerce, Timothy Alan Simon, a lawyer and the first Black Appointments Secretary in the Office of the Governor of California, moderated. They discussed the state of Black entrepreneurship in the country and Howroyd gave advice to other business owners.

“We look to inspire and educate,” said Howroyd. “Inspiration is great but when I’ve got people’s attention, I want to teach them something.”