Celebration of Champions 2000
<- Back to Celebration of Champions 2001
The Smith Family Foundation's The Secret of Living is Giving award
is presented annually to a few extraordinary givers. It is bestowed to
those rare individuals who encourage and nurture our youth by teaching
them the timeless value of serving others. The award depicts two images,
each highly symbolic of the Foundation's mission and vision.
 |
Bob Leibold Photo May 2000 |
Michelangelo's famous image of God giving the gift of life to humanity
is at the top of the award. It's there to remind us that He wants all
His beloved children to pass on the spark of love expressed by selfless
service to one another.
Set into the front of the base is a golden Secret of Living is
Giving medallion. According to Christian tradition, the pelican represents
not only strength, grace and endurance, but a community helping each of its
members. Legend says that when there is no food for her family, the selfless
pelican tears her breast. She then feeds her young with her own blood, thereby
making the ultimate sacrifice for youth and community. As the pelican finds strength
in giving to others, it is our intense hope that our community's young
people will find that same strength and learn the secret of living is giving.
May God help us all to become those inspiring role models our youth so
desperately need today by becoming givers - not takers - in this world!
Celebration of Champions 2000 - An
Evening With Danny Glover
(Excerpts from brochure.)
2nd Annual Tribute Dinner - May 24, 2000
Honoring Cleaster V. Mims and C. Dean Gregory
Special Guest Speaker
Danny Glover
The Secret of Living is Giving Award Presentations by
Professor Walter E. Williams and Anthony & Dede Munoz
Emcee
Courtis Fuller
Danny Glover
 |
Danny Glover is known as a versatile screen actor, but he has worn
director's and producer's hats, worked on stage and in television,
and works for a variety of causes around the world. He speaks regularly
to young people about the value of education and self-determination, supports
and is a spokesman for literacy programs, and promotes human rights
issues and economic development in Africa and the Caribbean. He
has served on the board of Amnesty International, and is a
supporter of numerous arts organizations. |
Danny Glover's interests as an artist are as wide-ranging as the geography
of his commitments to humanitarian causes. He has worked in stage, screen,
and television as a actor, producer, and director. He serves on the board
and is a spokesperson for the Walden House, a drug rehabilitation center
in his hometown of San Francisco. He serves as the first Goodwill Ambassador
for the United Nations Program, which focuses on eradicating poverty, regenerating
the environment, creating jobs, and advancing the rights of women. And he finds time
to read the poetry of Langston Hughes in "An Evening with Langston and
Martin," a two man stage production with actor Felix Justice reading
from the works of Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Glover's long list of film credits includes Places in the Heart,
the Lethal Weapon series, Beloved, The Color Purple, and To Sleep
With anger, for which he was also executive producer. He trained
at the Black Actors Workshop of the American Conservatory Theatre,
and has appeared in numerous stage productions, including Master Harold
and the Boys. He has been executive producer of several HBO films, including
Buffalo Soldiers.
Glover has won two NAACP Image Awards, 3 Cable ACE awards, an Emmy nomination,
and is a member of the Black filmmakers Hall of Fame. He is also vitally interested
in helping young people rid themselves of addictions, stay out of gangs and prison,
and is a powerful spokesperson for literacy, education, and
self-determination. He has served as spokesperson for the Coors Literacy
Program and the VISA "Read Me a Story" campaign. He also works with the
Transafrica Forum, which promotes the advancement of human rights and
sustained economic development in Africa and the Caribbean, and he has
serviced on the boards of Humans Rights Watch and Amnesty
International.
Glover also finds time to support many nonprofit visual and performing
arts organizations and institutions of higher learning, and is currently
on the boards of Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame and the Robey Theatre Company.
He has been Artist-in-Residence at New York University and has made numerous
appearances at universities and colleges across the country.
Cleaster V. Mims
 |
Cleaster Whitehurst-Mims returned to college after work, marriage,
and raising a son to graduate cum laude from Xavier University in
1970. Today, she is a full-time professor at Xavier, CEO and Board
President of the Marva Collins Preparatory School, an educational
consultant, and a motivational speaker. She has been recognized as
one of President George Bush's "Thousand Paints of Light," as an Ohio
Hometown Hero, and has received the NAACP's Marian Wright Elderman Service
Award. |
C. Dean Gregory
 |
C. Dean Gregory entered his family's business at age 12 as a busboy
and dishwasher at the Montgomery Inn. Today, as managing partner of
the Montgomery Inn Boathouse, he says his duties till include bussing
tables and washing dishes, but he also finds time for his family's tradition
of community involvement. A 1999 recipient of the Greater
Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce Tiffany Award, his community
activities include the Cincinnati Scholarship Foundation, American
Cancer Society, Childrens Hospital, and the One Way Farm. |
Walter E. Williams
 |
Professor Walter E. Williams is perhaps best known for his syndicated
newspaper column, but he is also Chairman of the Economics Department at
George Mason University, the author of six books, and has written
over 80 articles for both scholarly reviews and popular magazines.
He has made scores of radio and television appearances, is an
occasional substitute host for the "Rush Limbaugh" show,
frequently gives testimony on policy issues before congressional
committees, and has received numerous fellowships and
awards. |
Anthony & Dede Munoz
 |
Pro Football Hall of Famer Anthony Munoz is a tireless spokesman for
families, community, and Christian values, and a fundraiser for worthy
causes. His many NFL achievements and awards are matched by such community
recognition as the Forty-Second Annual Ohio Governor's Awards for improving
the quality of life for all Ohioans. He speaks regularly to high
school students about the dangers of drugs and alcohol, has
assisted Christian missions to Mexico, and works with City Cure,
an inner-city ministry. |
Courtis Fuller
 |
Courtis Fuller is a news co-anchor for WLWT-TV and host and producer
of Issues in Cincinnati, voted Best Public Affairs Program by the Ohio
Society of Professional Journalists. His many honors include awards from
the National Academy of Arts and Sciences, the Ohio Society of
Professional Journalists, and the National Association of Black
Journalists. He has received the Cincinnati NAACP's
Wright-Overstreet Leadership Award and the Martin Luther King, Jr.
Outstanding Community Service award. |
Dear Friend,
In this world we all know there are really two kinds of people:
those who give, and those who take. Although selfless service can
pay rich dividends, it rarely receives the recognition it deserves.
Too often self-indulgence and instant gratification rules over service
to others.
With every beat of my heart, I believe this needs to change. I think
we need the will of the people - especially young people - to
undergo a tremendous shift away from self-centeredness. That's why I
founded The Smith Family Foundation in 1996. Our mission is to spark
selfless service in the youth living in the Greater Cincinnati community.
Our vision is to brighten the world with young people striving to serve others.
And that's why we choose this motto of profound truth: "The Secret of Living is
Giving."
I hope you share our goal of positively influencing our youth to
build a better planet. If so, please consider attending the Foundation's
second annual "Celebration of Champions 2000" tribute dinner. During this
event we will publicly acknowledge the efforts of two adults who are extraordinary
givers of note. Both have encouraged our youth to also become givers and learn the
timeless value of altruism.
By attending Celebration of Champions 2000, you can stand up
and help us give a pat on the back to our "champions" who already
know that as we nurture others among us, we are in turn nurtured.
Share the joy as they receive an award recognizing their selfless
service. They are truly inspiring role models who know firsthand
that many of life's most treasured moments are those spent helping
others. At The Smith Family Foundation, we believe the seed of a champion
is inside every child. But turning today's children into tomorrow's champions
requires prayer, training, education, opportunities for service, and recognition
for accomplishment. Come... Join our efforts to make the world a brighter place
for present and future generations. Together we can do it! See you May 24th.
All the best, always,
Gale E. Smith
Founder and CEO