To View Video Profiles, Click The Links Above CINCINNATI – Fifth Third Bank Profiles in Courage, a public-private partnership that recognizes individuals in the African American community who inspire others every day, today announced its 2010 honorees: Bertram Charles Alexander, Tracy Gragston, William A. McClain, Annette L. Phelps and Gwen L. Robinson. The five Cincinnatians will be honored at the Profiles in Courage reception on Tuesday, February 2, 2010 from 6-8:30 p.m. at University of Cincinnati’s Alumni Center. The ninth annual Profiles in Courage recognition program is presented by Fifth Third Bank, WCPO-TV, the Urban League of Cincinnati, the University of Cincinnati and The Cincinnati Herald at the advent of Black History Month. The honorees will be featured in vignettes to air on WCPO TV-9 during the month of February. In addition to saluting the honorees, Fifth Third Bank will announce the winner of the Joan R. Herschede Profiles in Courage Scholarship, which honors the legacy of Mrs. Herschede, the first female director at Fifth Third Bancorp and whose philanthropic commitment inspired the community in a myriad of ways. The Fifth Third Foundation annually funds the $5,000 scholarship. The scholarship is presented each year to an African American female student from the University of Cincinnati. In addition to demonstrating a financial need, the scholarship recipient will be an example of a Profile in Courage in her own right, someone who has overcome challenges and met them head on. Finally, the student will be in good standing and have a minimum grade point average of 3.0. Fifth Third Bank Greater Cincinnati President and CEO Robert A. Sullivan and members of the Herschede family will present the scholarship award. Fifth Third Bank presents the 2010 Profiles in Courage honorees:
Bertram Charles Alexander
Charles Alexander grew up in the West End of Cincinnati. At the age of three, Charles witnessed the fatal traffic accident that killed his seven-year-old sister. The accident left him unable to speak for over two years. When he began speaking again at age six, Charles had an extreme case of stuttering, which he managed to overcome through speech therapy. Charles was lovingly reared by his “angels,” his mother and grandmother, and he went to work at age seven to relieve some of their financial burden, even placing cardboard in his shoes to extend their life. The loving examples of his angels has led him to a lifetime of volunteer work with the United Way, Bethany House, Clark Montessori, Duveneck Cultural Arts Center, Emergency Food and Shelter Programs Committee and the Board of Northern Kentucky University. Professionally, Charles has contributed to the world of architecture for 30 years and his acumen is on display at the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, Riverview East Academy, Center for American and World Culture at Miami University and The Greater Emmanuel Apostolic Temple. In this nomination for this award, his nominator wrote, “Charles is a quiet, gentle giant of a spirit…who asks for no accolades of self but for others to simply do a good deed for another as a manner of thanks.”
Tracy Gragston
Tracy Gragston was born and raised in Cincinnati and is the eldest of four children. For several years during his childhood, Tracey and his family of six lived in a one-bedroom apartment in the Evanston neighborhood. During these challenging times, Mr. Gragston’s mother always stressed the importance of education as the way to change their living circumstances. Mr. Gragston was matched with a Cincinnati Youth Collaborative mentor named Kent Wellington in high school, an experience that changed his life. Mr. Gragston went on to graduate from Walnut Hills High School. Having a mentor like Mr. Wellington had such a positive influence on Mr. Gragston that he became one himself and is today seeing several young men through their high school years. Mr. Gragston and his mentor remain good friends today. After high school, Mr. Gragston worked his way through college at Eastern Kentucky University and became the first in his family to graduate from a four-year university. Ever aware of the circumstances and people who made an impact in his life, Mr. Gragston believes in giving back to the people and community that helped him achieve his high school and college graduations. Today he is caring for his 79-year-old grandmother who is ill with kidney disease. It is a labor of love and, Mr. Gragston believes, is another way to pay back those who helped pave his way to success.
William A. McClain
William McClain was born in 1913 in Sanford, North Carolina, to a teenage mother. Throughout his childhood and young adult years, Mr. McClain was a severe stutterer, a challenge that he conquered when he won first place in a national intercollegiate oratorical competition in 1934, the same year he graduated from Wittenberg University. He earned his J.D. degree from the University of Michigan in 1937 and received L.L.D. degrees from Wilberforce University and the University of Cincinnati in 1963 and 1971, respectively. Mr. McClain is best known as Cincinnati’s City Solicitor from 1963-1972 when he became the first black in the United States to achieve such a high municipal legal post. He continued his legal career in private practice, as a lecturer and as a judge in the Hamilton County Court of Common Pleas and in the Municipal Court of Hamilton County. Mr. McClain served as trustee of the Urban League of Greater Cincinnati. He also was National President of the Alpha Delta Boule, Sigma Pi Phi Fraternity, which began in 1904 in Philadelphia to bring together a group of black business and professional men who had college degrees and distinguished themselves in careers and civic affairs.
Annette L. Phelps
Annette Phelps is co-pastor of Darrin & Annette Phelps Ministries at St. James Church in Walnut Hills. She is a passionate speaker on issues facing women, including joblessness, depression and mental illness, poverty and marital issues. Her inspirational speeches, passion and drive come from a lifetime of overcoming hardship. She overcame a childhood speech impediment to become one of the most sought-after orators in Cincinnati. After academic challenges caused her to drop out of college, Ms. Phelps became an entrepreneur and then went back to school decades later. She expects to graduate from the University of Cincinnati this year. Ms. Phelps also overcame her mother’s devastating death and fought back against an ensuing nervous breakdown to become co-pastor at St. James Church. When legal challenges mounted and her congregation dwindled to 11 members, Ms. Phelps persevered, raised funds to keep her ministry open, and launched an Internet ministry with 1,000 followers. Today her church and ministry empowers women economically, mentors young girls, promotes entrepreneurship in the community, provides meals to the needy, offers counseling and regularly visits sick, hospitalized and nursing care patients. Annette also runs a catering company, which hires young African American women. Most importantly, Annette is a devoted wife and mother to a child with a learning disability.
Gwen Robinson
Gwen Robinson’s passion for the African American community in Cincinnati has propelled her into a lifetime of service. Since 1995, Ms. Robinson has been president and CEO of the Cincinnati-Hamilton County Community Action Agency, which gives low- and moderate-income individuals the opportunity to improve the quality of life for themselves, their families and their communities through its various programs, including Head Start. She also co-founded Every Child Succeeds, which works through 16 provider agencies, and whose nurses, social workers and child development specialists provide home visits for first-time, at-risk mothers from pregnancy until a child’s third birthday. Every Child Succeeds has succeeded mightily—the infant mortality rates for program participants is less than one-third of the Hamilton County infant mortality rate. Ms. Robinson serves in numerous leadership positions for many non-profit organizations and her unyielding service has yielded much recognition, including the Cincinnati Enquirer 2006 Woman of the Year, YWCA Career Women of Achievement, Ladies of Distinction Honoree, NAACP Wright Overstreet Ward, and many more. Ms. Robinson’s passion, however, speaks louder than her accomplishments as many of those she’s helped will attest.
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