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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 29, 2004)
Page AIO itu ^Jortlanò ffibscruer December 29, 2004 M etro ìl!l ^JortÌanò (©bscruer o ni ni u n i t y a 1 e il d a r Business Meeting Join North/Northeast Business Association m eetings on the first Monday of each month from 6 to8 p.m. at Albina Community Bank, 2002 N.E. Martin Luther King BI vd. Morning networking meetings are the third W ednes day of each month from 7:30 to 9 a.m. at the Blazers BoysandGirls Club, 5250 N.E. Martin Luther King Blvd. For more informa tion, call 503-249-0487 or visit www.nneba.org. Contracting with Portland Gain Computer Skills The Sun program offers a com puter class for parents starting Jan. 3 at King Elementary School. To register, call 503-916-6156or 503-319-3425. Volunteer Option If you are looking for a volunteer opportunity, check out Bradley- Angle House to end domestic violence. Bilingual women and women o f color are especially needed. For information, cal1503- 282-9940. Crack the Code Crack the code to filling out fi nancial aid paperwork with the help o f the ladies o f Beta Psi Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority. The workshop is at Portland State University from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. For questions and more information, call 503- 725-8766ore-mail Nicole Harris at dst_betapsi@ yahoo.com . Volunteer for Hospice Kaiser Permanente offers train ing for hospice volunteers Tues days and Thursdays from 12:30 to 4 p.m. from Jan. 18 through Feb. 3 with one Saturday ses sion on Jan. 29. For more infor mation or to register, call 503- 499-5285or503-499-5408. Get Schooled Learn how to help to improve schools and jobs at a forum with State Superintendent of Public Instruction Susan Castillo and President of Oregon’s AFL-CIO Tim Nesbitt at 7 p.m. Jan. 13 at the Hollywood Senior Center, 1820 N.E. 40"'. Free and spon sored by the Multnomah County Democratic Party. photo by M ark W asiiington /T he P ortland O bserver Lyndell Walton of CMTS Construction, a minority-owned firm, is part of the multicultural workforce contracted to operate a huge boring machine to dig the big pipe sewer overflow project on Swan Island. City renews push for a diverse workforce by J aymee R. C u n T he P ortland O bserver The city of Portland has a new mission to do business with minority-owned and emerging companies. Greg Wolley, program coordinator for profes sional services and small business development, was recently hired to keep minority- and women- owned businesses as well as emerging small businesses in the loop when the city contracts services. “There was a disparity study in the mid 1990s that documented large gaps in the numbers of minority- and women-owned business that were contacted to do work in the city,” W olley said. As a result, Portland plans to expand minority contracts in the professional and technical fields, includingjobs in architecture, engineering, infor mation technology, training, marketing, outreach, graphic design, finance and insurance. W olley is helping to create opportunities for small businesses with new rules that give more weight to emerging and minority-owned busi nesses and better outreach functions to alert the com panies o f contracting opportunities. One business that has benefited from out reach efforts is CM TS, a construction firm that has contracted with the city to work on a big pipe seweroverflow project on Swan Island. CM TS is owned by an African American and has women and people o f color in executive positions. “Historically— this is just human nature— people h i re people that they know and that they 're familiar with and feel have done a good job in the past. This creates an insular culture,” Wolley said. “The city o f Portland hired me to help to instigate a culture shift within the city.” The city will hold a professional services out reach event in February for small business owner to meet project managers that do hiring. Local agencies such as TriMet, the Port o f Portland and Portland Development Commission will be in attendance. For more information, call 503-823-6860 or e- m ail g w o lle y @ c i.p o rtla n d .o r.u s o r v isit w w w .portlandonline.com /om f/purchasing for contracting opportunities. Learn in London Portland Com munity College offers a learning opportunity to earn credit in London. An infor mational meeting is from 6 to 7 p.m. Monday, Jan. 10 in the Spruce Room of the CC Building at the Sylvania Campus, 12000 S.W. 49lh Ave. The London trip is set for March 3 1 through June 11. For more information, call 503-614-7151. Get Fit, Stay Healthy! Sankofaa Health Institute offers a free diabetes support group from 6 to 7:30 p.m. every third Thursday at Alberta Simmons Plaza, 6707 N.E. Martin Luther KingJr. Blvd. For more informa tion, call 503-285-2484. Creative Space For Dance Aurora Dance Studio, 5433 N.E. 30th (at Killingsworth), offers an array o f classes for children, teens and adults at all levels of ability. Call 503-249-0201 or visit online at w w w .hevanet.com / auroradance for additional in formation. Work For Change Community Advocates invites those interested in protecting children from abuse to become an event volunteer, event out re a c h , te c h n o lo g y e x p e rt, graphic artists or office support team member. For more informa- tion.call 503-280-1388. Home Improvement The Community Energy Project holds free workshops on water conservation and w eatheriza tion. For more information, call 503-284-4962. Rally Against Hate Event to denounce racist fliers T ocom bat the actions o f a hate group, several com m unity organizations, in cluding the O regon C om m ission for Black A ffairs, are planning a Saturday, Jan. 8 U nity Rally to show that to ler ance is m ore pow erful than prejudice. The hate group plans to g ath er on the same day at a southw est Portland park to distribute flyers w ith racist m es sag es to se v e ra l n earb y n e ig h b o r hoods. But instead o f confronting the haters in a potentially violent en co u n ter, Unity Rally organizers w ant the public to jo in them for a l p.m. rally on Jan. 8 at the M ultnom ah C enter, 7688 S.W . C apital Hwy. The rally w ill include speakers such as com m unity and governm ent leaders, m usic, an activity room for kids and a display o f signs and banners prom ot ing ju stice and understanding. P articipants are asked to m ake signs, banners or w ear buttons prom oting a m essage o f peace, ju stice and tolerance and to dow nload a poster available at w w w .portlandonline.com /oni. F or m ore in fo rm atio n ab o u t the events, visit w w w .tolerance.org or call Emi ly Gottfried at 503-295-6761. Bridge Builders Prepare fo r 8th Annual Gala Portland’s Keith Dempsey sat on the steps at Georgia Tech with tears in his eyes. It was his freshman year in high school and while visiting colleges with 24 other mem bers from the Bridge Builders’ Prospective Gents Club, he wondered if he would ever get the opportunity to actually enroll in one o f the prestigious institutions from the tour. With ju st average grades at the time, Dempsey was not sure that he would be accepted to any school. And if he were accepted, where would the dollars come from? O ver the next three years, Dempsey changed his study habits and graduated from Parkrose High School with a B aver age. He remained active in Bridge Builders by participating in the Kikao wa Ndugu study sessions at University of Portland, performing with the cane precision team and serving as the club’s eighth president. “My advisors from the gents kept telling me that if I handled my business, they could get me in T u sk eg ee,” says D em psey. Tuskegee, known for its training o f the famous Tuskegee Airmen, was D em psey’s first choice o f colleges. The training o f fighter pilots was a major draw for a young black male who aspires to be a commercial airplane pilot. Dempsey ju st relumed home after his first semester at Tuskegee, where he is majoring in aeronautical engineering. “The first semester was hard," he adm it ted, “but I think you will be proud o f my grades.” Elaborate chorography is part of the annual Bridge Builders Kwanzaa Gala and Rites of Passage ceremony. On Friday, Dec. 31, his mother Gloria Brock will sit in the Newmark Theatre and shed tears o f joy for a son who fulfilled a dream. The Bridge Builders will honor Dempsey and 16 other college freshmen each with their own success story at the 8th annual Kwanzaa Gala and Rites of Passage Ceremony. continued on page A 5
