Portland Observer, July 21. 1982 Page 5
OK, WHAT A NIGHT!
Photos:
Richard Brown
DON CLARK
by C. Eddie Edmondson
lt was d ifficult to determine who
last Friday evening’ s audience
deemed to be the most popular o f
the 11 Portlanders receiving
achievement awards from the Port
land Observer for their special con
tribution to the community.
When Ronnie Herndon, co-chair
man o f the Black United Front, d i
rector o f the Albina Ministerial A lli
ance's Headstart daycare programs,
and one o f the few people in Port
land whose name alone could draw
a news conference, starts the pro
gram with a standing ovation when
he picks up his Man o f the Year
award, one honestly has to wonder
who is capable o f following that act.
“ I ’d like to thank my grandmoth
er and grandfather, who gave me a
chance at this thing called lif e , ”
Herndon said, putting heat on those
who had to follow.
W ell, several people, it turned
out.
One o f them, not surprisingly,
was C ity Commissioenr Charles
Jordan whose ta ll, slim , athletic
build easily puts him heads over
many o f the people receiving O ut
standing Achievement awards.
“ Confidence and support is the
lifeblood o f any p o litic ia n ,” the
Commissioner reminded those who
stood to applaud him, “ and 1 hope
CONGRESSMAN RON DELLUMS
I ’ve merited it all the way.”
Besides Jordan, others who re
ceived the O utstanding Achieve
ment awards included Earl Want-
land, president o f Tektronix; V.F.
Booker, president o f the American
State Bank; Harry Glickman, execu
tive vice president o f the Portland
Trailblazers; Cora Smith, owner o f
Cora Smith Hair Designs; Gretchen
Kafoury, 13th District State Repre
sentative; Multnomah County Exec
utive Don Clark; and Edna Robert
son, coordinator o f the Northeast
Neighborhood Office.
Depending on what inner meter
you were monitoring when you were
there, women were clear favorites o f
the audience. One clear favorite was
88-year-old Ruth Haefner, who re
ceived the Outstanding Public Ser
vice Award. A member o f the Port
land N A A C P since 1937, Mrs.
Haefner was recognized for her long
years o f commitment to racial, sex
ual and age equality.
‘ ‘ I know we’ ve accomplished a
lot, but we have got a long way to
g o ,” she said. I f she’ s w illin g to
continue the struggle, who among
us wants to be caught o f his feet
when this grandlady steps forward
and calls for action?
But fo r youth, beauty and, o f
course, intelligence, the greatest ap
plause seemed to this reporter to go
to Linda Williams, City Hall report-
er for the Oregonian
“ Linda W illiam s took a lo t o f
heat from those in our p o litic a l
system for her conscientious report
ing,” said television sports reporter
Ed Whelan, who as Master o f Cere
monies, introduced the award reci
pients to the audience.
“ In the course o f doing my work
I have tried to shed light on your
city governm ent,” Ms. W illiam s
said. The smile on her soft, brown
face—haloed by a moderately cut
A fro —almost took precedence over
her words. But she was her ever-in-
formative self: the communicator of
truth.
“ I wish that I could say we (jour
nalists] always give you the truth.
The truth is someone's version o f
reality,” she added. “ Thank all o f
you who trusted me to present your
news to you through the Oreenn-
JUDY WATTS for GRETCHEN KAFOURY
COMMISSIONER CHARLES JORDAN
EDNA ROBERTSON
CORA SMITH
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