Published on April 28, 2016
On April 21, the Prince Hall Masonic Foundation of Connecticut and Composite Lodge #22 of Bloomfield’s Willie B. McLendon Scholarship Fund presented the James Ralston/David G. Carter Sr. Youth Education Innovator Award to five individuals for creating, developing educational programs and engaging in activities to support young people. The event took place at Bethel A.M.E. Church in Bloomfield.
Honorees included the late Dr. David G. Carter (posthumously), retired chancellor of the Connecticut State Colleges and University System; Walter Luckett, corporate executive at Unilever Home and Personal Care, North America (HPCNA) and Hall of Fame basketball player who established the Walter Luckett Foundation to develop young people; Clifford Stamm, engineer at Stanadyne, founder of the Connecticut Freemasons Foundation and the Masonchip International Child Identification Program; Rufus Jones, Travelers Insurance vice president and president of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Greater Hartford and the BSL Educational Foundation; and Eastern Connecticut State University Public Relations Officer Dwight Bachman, who has written numerous feature stories over the years lifting young African American students, along with organizations in the community that support young people.
“If we don’t tell our story, who will,” said Bachman. “I always encourage young people to read to learn the wonderful story of our people. Journalist Carl Rowan once wrote, “Learning has liberated more people than all the wars in history.”
Written by Ed Osborn
