Page AIO
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December 29, 2004
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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.
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