Africa International House
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Labor Day Weekend · August 31 - September 3, 2007
2007 Grand Baba and Grand Yeye
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Grand Baba
As a tribute to his business acumen, Garth became the first Black person to be elected President of The Illinois Press Association (IPA).The IPA is the state's largest newspaper association. The IPA is the official trade organization for Illinois' weekly and daily newspapers. Garth is only the second Black person in the nation elected president for a statewide press association. Garth currently sits on the Board of Government Affairs Committee, Jliinois Press Association. He has served as a board member for 15 years. In addition to this, Garth was elected a stockholder in the Cook County South Suburban Publishers Association His business savvy and knowledge in the publishing industry allowed him to also serve as Chairman of The Midwest Black Publishers Association. In December 1998, Garth received honors when he was appointed a member of Governor-Elect George Ryan's Transition Team. Garth served as a member on the Illinois Public Safety and Violence Prevention Team. Governor- Elect George Ryan appreciated Garth's role and support of his election and appointed him a member of the Board of Directors for the Illinois Inauguration 1999, Inc. In 1995, Garth founded the QBG Foundation in memoiy of his youngest son, Quentis lB. Garth. Garth is Chaixrnan of the Foundation, which currently provides scholarships to 25 students attending various universities and colleges around the country. The scholarships for 1998 totaled over $115,000 in annual tuition disbursements. A dedicated activist and leader in the business community, Garth maintains memberships and positions with several business organizations. He is Chairman of the Chatham Business Association, and serves as a board member of the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition. He is also a board member of the Government Affairs Committee of The National Newspaper Publishers Association, and holds memberships with the Far Southside Business Association, the NAACP, Chatham Lions Club and Chicago Association of Black Journalists. Garth
has been the recipient of numerous awards and honors, both
locally and nationally, for service and philanthropy. These
awards have become trademarks of his extraordinary character
and commitment to the Black community.
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Grand Yeye
This role enables her to oversee WGN's various public service campaigns, reaching over 56 million homes. As manager of WGN-TV Children's Charities, a fund of the McCormick Tribune Foundation, 25 million dollars have been raised and donated to organizations focusing on children's issues. Dee began her career as a radio personality, quickly moved to WGN-TV as newscaster, Talk Show Host, Staff Announcer and Editorial Spokesperson. Dee is known for her extensive charitable work in various communities and her commitment to social service. She is a nationally recognized motivational speaker and is in constant demand as a toastmistress, panelist moderator and fund-raising strategist while also hosting a variety of television specials. Merri Dee has made the welfare of children waiting to be adopted in Illinois her pet project. Illinois' Governor recently commended Dee and WGN for increasing the number of adoptions in the State of Illinois over 50 percent. Most recently, she was selected by the U.S. Secretary of Health & Human Services for the Adoption Excellene Award for her exceptional work and accomplishments in creating permanency for children who wait in foster care. A strong believer in education, Dee has hosted the United Negro College Fund's "Evening of Stars" 25 years, serving two years as the "volunteer" general chairman of the nationally televised event, assisting in raising over 30 million dollars for student scholarships. She is one of the founders of "Athletes for a Better Education," where she worked with high school athletes, their parents, coaches, educators, and other sports representatives. Six of these athletes are professional basketball players, coaches or managers. Dee is considered both unique and courageous because of her strength to survive gunshot wounds to the head when she and a television guest were kidnapped from the TV station. Lobbying state and city politicians, she assisted in the passage of Illinois' first Victims Bill of Rights legislation that has served as the model for the United States of America. Today she travels nationwide sharing her knowledge on how "A Victim Becomes a Survivor." She is the recipient of numerous awards, including:
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William
Garth Sr. is publisher and CEO of the Chicago Citizen Newspapers
Group, Garthco, Inc. and Chairman of the Quentis Bernard Garth
(QBG) Foundation. Garth is the guiding force behind what is
known as the largest Black-owned chain of weekly newspapers
in the Midwest (the Citizen
Merri
Dee, Director of Community Relations, celebrates over 30 years
at Chicago's WGN-TV. She serves as liaison between WGN-TV
and community organizations, ensuring the station serves the
needs of the diverse coverage areas and represents Tribune
Company nationally.