SECTION
B
L ife in the P ortland M etropolitan A rea
^Jortlanb (iPhseruer
Les Femmes Debs And C
w
“Growing To Be Men And Women... Phenomenally
Dana Fuller
Timothy Walter Adams
Keylah Boyer
Shireen Haynes
Kenee Evans
Les Femmes has trained 29 high
chool seniors for adulthood and is
»repared to present them in their 42nd
Annual Debutante and Cavalier Ball
respectful, gracious, well-mannered,
sensitive to the needs of others and
responsible. The fellows in our cava­
lier group stick together and when­
ever one cavalier is in trouble, brotli-
vivc "Rites of Passage” 1 can call
myself merely a prospective cavalier,
but I do epitomize all the qualities of
those who have already earned the
name ' Cavalier."
time giving back to the community
and puts her best foot forward. If asked
to do something which she has no
experience in, a debutante will not be
afraid to ask for guidance. These are
Les Femmes, a women’s ser­
vice club for youth, was one of the
first groups to introduce the “Debu­
tante” Balt to Portland. Their first
meeting was held A ugusts, 1951 by
twenty one African-American moth­
ers who recognized the urgent need
for a program to encourage social
growth and dev elopment of young
girls. The meeting took place at St
Philips Episcopal Church Hall,
where Mrs. Beatrice Levcrette was
elected the first president Mrs. Har­
riet Boyd is the present president
(1992-93). At this time Mrs Minnie
Belle-Johnson is the remaining ac­
tive charter member
Les Femmes has given elaborate
balls in the month of June, each year,
presenting the senior debutantes to
the community, thus climaxing the
year’s activities. For forty-two years
Les Femmes has maintained its ser­
vice commitment to youth with schol­
arship stipends to be given graduating
seniors pursuing higher education.
High structured programs, strict moral
codes and chaperoned activities are
the organization’s trademark Strong
programs reflective of cliangingtimes
are constant.
In 1979 Les Femmes began the
presentation of young men, the ball
now being named “Les Femmes Debu­
tante and Cavalier Ball”. Mr. Leslie
Hurst became the first volunteer di­
rector of Cavaliers in 1987, serving
until his death in 1990. Mr. Kevin
Fullcrbecame director o f Cavaliers in
1991 Mr. Fuller dev eloped the “Rites
of Passage” program for the graduat­
ing senior debutantes and cavaliers
which was adopted as a Les Femmes
program component in 1992. The pro­
gram focuses on responsibility, pride,
self discipline and cultural awareness.
T he D ebutante and C avalier
Alumni group was founded in 1992.
Alumni serv e in support capacities for
the current 100 youth participants in
the senior, junior, and middle school
ers are thereto support him Although
at times problems do occur between
brothers, cavaliers believe that con­
fronting a brother in a respectful way
sidesteps physical confrontation w hich
is more than unbecoming of a true
gentleman. Because I have yet to sur-
B oyer-A debutante is a positive
role model to her peers and the com­
munity as well. She is a young woman
who has a set of v alues that cause her
to carry herself w ith respect A debu­
tante is a young woman who sets her
goals and tries to meet them, spends
the qualities that 1 carry to qualify me
as a Les Femmes debutante.
H ayncs-1 feel th at 1 am as
debutante, because I carry many at­
tributes that are required. 1 am an
activ e student at Benson High School.
As seniorclass secretary and involved
n June.
Les Femmes exists to improve
he lives of African-American youth,
w hile p r e p a r in g th e m fo r life
ifter highschool. Students are encour­
aged to jo in th e o rg a n iz a tio n
as young as the sixth grade, although
m ost jo in w h ile fre sh m e n or
sophom ores in h ig h school. All
students in the program are required to
m a in ta in good g ra d e s, p erfo rm
community service and adhere to a
strict code of ethics. As a reward
for successfully com pleting these
tasks each participant in challenged
at a private ‘Rites of Passage’ then
presented at the formal ball after gradu­
ating from high school.
Each week through June, Les
Femmes and the Portland Observer
w ill fe a tu re th re e young people
who were chosen as 1993 debutantes
an d c a v a lie r. T h is w e e k m eet
T im o th y W a lte r A dam s (G ra n t
High School), Keylah Boyer (Central
Catholic High School), and Shireen
Haynes (Benson High School) who
will share with you why they are “cho­
sen.”
A dam s-T o me a cavalier is a com­
pilation of many things. He is polite.
Amiri Glover
Also this week meet Renee Evans
in student government, 1 have gained
(Grant
High School), Dana Fuller
leadership skills and accepted im­
(Jefferson
High School) and Amiri
mense responsibility. While the three
Glover
(Benson
High School) who will
varsity sports I played—volleyball,
share
with
you
why
they are “chosen.
basketball and tennis-has taught me
E vans-O ne can nev er find a snow
flake that's identical to another and
that’s how I see Les Femmes. Every­
one is unique in their own way. 1 can be
considered the class clown because of
my sense of humor. But I also know
groups. Alumni are also featured in
w hen to be serious And 1 am serious
many capacities throughout the an­
when I say that I am determined to
nual ball which exemplifies their
make it in life and to be the best that I
continued growth, development and
can be.
success.
Fuller-I have hopes and 1 have
This year's program emphasis
goals
just like any other person, but I
hasbeenoneducation, career choices,
have
the
willpower to achieve them. I
leadership, relationships, selfesteem,
strive
for
the
best so 1 can be ev erything
social and cultural development, re­
I
can
possibly
be, and let nothing stand
alities of the work place, peer pres­
in my way. My community means a lot
sures and youth and the criminal/
to me and I ’ve tried and I’ll keep trying
judicial sy stems. Community service
to make it better. My vision of a debu­
is an integral part of each group.
tante is an angel wrapped in all white
Professional and community lead­
and pearls, and yes, that angel will be
ers, Les Femmes members, who elect
me.
their own leaders, are utilized for
G lover-A cavalier goes thorough
programs, work shopsand interaction.
a great amount of preparation for man­
discipline and concentration. As a hood, and this is the significant part of
women, 1 hold my head up high and being a cavalier We don’t have to act
am proud of my past and look to my like gentlemen, because we are-R eal
men don’t pretend. You must earn the
future with
confidence I will alwayscontain right to be presented as a cavalier and
the willingness to grow and strive to this requires hard work and dedica­
tion.
be the best.
ASB’S Commitment To Help Improve MLK Jr.
Ms. Leah Van Horton couldn't
borrow the money herbusiness needed
to solidify ow nership of a building or
make im provem ents the building
needed to remain an attractive loca­
tion to draw business tenants Located
at 2000 Northeast Martin Luther King
Boulevard, thebuilding’s location w as
apparently viewed as not providing
some potential lenders the right risk-
reward equation.
Told variously by three large
banks she lacked in experience and a
credit history, or that these banks were
not engaged in making commercial
real estate loans, Ms Van Horton, a
chemistry graduate of the University
of Oregon, now asks herself, “Why
didn’t I go to American State Bank
right off the bat to explain why my
business needed to borrow and how 1
intended to repay the funds I wanted to
borrow?”
Fred Atiemo, an American State
Bank Loan Officer, worked closely
with Ms Van Horton to develop her
loan request into a package he could
sell to the Bank’s management Asked
why American State Bank made a
loan to Ms Van Horton when other
banks had turned her down. Ameri­
can State’s Chairman. Venerable F
Booker, replied, "It's a complex prob­ ted to making solid loans to the busi­
lem. Some people say it’s redlining or nesses and residents we share the area
discrimination But the fact is that the with
A fter liste n in g to M s. Van
larger banks' bread and butter comes
from everywhere but inner cities Thus Horton’s plans for her business. Cus­
those big banks don't hav e a commit­ tom Marble Counter Tops. American
ment to. ora stake in inner cities or the State Bank understood that Ms Van
normal business borrower who lives Horton's commitment to grow and
improve her busi ness pa ra Ueled A AB s
here or earns his living here
“On the other hand. Mr. Booker drive to continually build upNorthcast
said, "the Community Reinvestment Portland
Both want to accelerate economi­
Act works against the smaller inner-
cally
profitable commercial activities
city Black and minority banks To
in
the
area. Both recognize that only a
meet CRA requirements, big banks
prudent,
constant effort will bring the
must make loans in minority commu­
nght
kind
of jobs and businesses to
nities. They rely on their depth and
Northeast,
businesses
that have a eco­
strength to win the lowest-risk minor­
nomic
interest
in
creating
new and
ity customers, even using unbeatable
better
opportunities
for
themselves,
bclow-market rates to attract the saf­
est. highest-profile inner city borrow­ their customers and their community
Custom Marble Counter Tops, a
ers. T hat’s one way big banks, with
misguided support from the federal family business begun in the early 80 s
government, continually squeeze in­ provides man-made and solid-surface
ner-city minority banks Big banks products primarily to residential build­
like American State to take dispropor­ ers Ms. Van Horton's firm uses a
tionate risks Big banks w ere forced by chemical process to produce man-made
CRA Regulators to expend the im­ counter tops Solid-surface counter
mense effort sometimes necessary to tops, on the other hand refer to prod­
work with an inner city business owner ucts like Dupont Corian, Ncvamar
to develop a bankable proposition Fountainhead. Wilson Art Gibraltar.
American State Bank is a resident of Formica Suroll. and Aconite, which
the inner city We arc dceplv commit- Ms Van Horton's firm purchases in
block and custom cuts for builders.
The firm has supplied customers
as far away as Hawai i. Custom Marble
C ounter Tops has w orked w ith
Marriott Residence Inns In Seattle
and in the state of Idaho.
Just as ASB views each loan it
makes as another productiv e building
block for the community and its resi­
dents, Ms Van Horton looks at the
funds she has borrowed as the initial
step to help her generate revenues
larger than her loan. She stated, "1 will
invest those excess rev enucs back into
Custom Marble Counter Tops' facili­
ties in Northeast We w ill improve our
business, our facilities and our prop­
erties Our goal is to be a stand-out
business in Northeast, serving cus­
tomers near and far so that we can
continue to generate capital in our
home base and hopefully attract other
businesses to the area.” These arc the
same objectives ASB's Mr Booker
constantly advocates.
MLK Blvd Business Improve­
ment Association
As treasurer of the non-profit
MLK Business Improvement Asso­
ciation. Mr Booker also viewed an
ASB loan to Ms Van Horton as
strengthening the foundation of the
* * * * *
¿
“MLKBI A”. Founded near the end of
1992. the MLKBIA’s goal is to pro­
mote businesses located on MLK, Jr.
B lv d , strengthen those businesses and
attract new high-quality businesses,
all to build more jobs and broaden
economic opportunity.
At the recent MLKBIA meeting
Mr. Booker proposed the Association
create an investment club MLKBIA
members, as well as non-members,
can regularly contribute to a central
fund With oversight and approval
from the Association, funds will tar­
get small projects within the bound­
aries of the MLKBIA, for example,
small scholarships or rehabilitation of
housing units in Northeast.
The loan to Ms Van Horton and
her Custom Marble Counter Tops re­
lates directly to ASB and MLKBIA
Loaned funds arc used to strengthen a
local business That buttresses both
ASB and the MLKBIA Strengthen­
ing ASB builds its lending capability.
Strengthening MLKBIA means it can
undertake more projects Combined
strengthening of a business in North­
east. of ASB and of MLKBIA invigo­
rates all of Northeast and its ability to
increase desirable economic activ ity .
ASB And The Dilemma O f The
Ivd.
Small Business Borrower
ASB’s Mr. Booker will be the
first to say that ASB is a tough lender
“American State Bank, because of its
size, lacks the risk-taking capability
oflargerbanks, so ironically this places
the full burden of community dev el­
opment squarely on the smallest, fi­
nancial institution that, in fact, serves
Northeast Portland. That’s why, above
all, ASB must remain profitable.
American State Bank aims to be an
example of an extremely well run
busi ness while participati ng to its full­
est capability in the economic growlh
of Portland's inner city community.”
“ASB searches for the kind of
loans it can make to the Leah Van
Hortons ofPortland, “says Mr Booker
He goes on, "Aggressive and driven,
entrepreneurs with a dream or a new
idea for improving a product of ser­
vice. those are the kinds of businesses
that will build Northeast Portland,
businesses that w ill help us to capture
competitive capital from outside the
community Those arc the loans
American State Bank's officers arc
looking for They must be creditwor­
thy. They must make good business
sense That is, they must pass all the
credit tests applied by a pmdent banker
n •