OXFORD,
Miss. – Five people are to be honored for achievement and service
Saturday (March 7) during the University of Mississippi Alumni
Association’s Black Alumni and Family Reunion.
The honorees are
Dorothye (Dottie) Quaye Chapman Reed of Atlanta, Robert M. Walker of
Jackson, Nate Wayne of Duluth, Ga., Tina Mabry of Los Angeles and Edith
H. Kelly-Green of Memphis.
The Alumni Association hosts a dinner
for the award recipients at 7 p.m. at The Inn at Ole Miss. The five are
being recognized during halftime of the Ole Miss-Mississippi State
basketball game.
“It is with great pride we recognize the
stellar achievements of these most worthy recipients,” said Timothy
Walsh, executive director of the UM Alumni Association. “As we welcome
black alumni back to campus, the celebration of these individuals and
their unique contributions can only enhance what we expect to be a most
enjoyable and memorable event for all.”
Reed is to receive the Dr. Jeanette Jennings Trailblazer Award, which recognizes Ole Miss alumni or former students who served a vital role to the progress of black faculty, staff, alumni and/or students on campus. Jennings was hired at UM in 1970 as the first black faculty member. She taught social work and was co-adviser of the Black Studies Program,.
Walker is to receive the Reverend Wayne Johnson Community and Civic Award, which recognizes exceptional service by Ole Miss alumni or former students through commitment to their community in a civic, ministerial or volunteer capacity. A native of Oxford, Johnson was instrumental in founding the Oxford Development Association and its many programs: a cafe, day-care center, co-op grocery and credit union.
Wayne is to receive the Celebrated Athletic Award, which recognizes former Ole Miss student athletes or coaches for success in the field of athletics after their tenure at the university. Mabry and Kelly-Green are to receive the Alumni Achievement Award, which recognizes Ole Miss alumni or former students for exceptional achievement in his or her chosen professional field.
Reed spent three years as the first black admissions counselor at the university and four years as assistant director of the Student Center at East Tennessee State University. She has more than 20 years corporate experience with two Fortune 500 companies. She is the associate editorial manager for the Southeast Region in the Construction Information Division of McGraw-Hill Cos. She is an active member of the National Association of Women in Construction and a certified NXLevel entrepreneurial trainer and construction industry technician. She and her husband, Donald L. Reed Sr., reside in Atlanta. They are the parents of three sons.
Walker, chief administrative officer for the city of Jackson, was the first black to receive a graduate degree from the university, in 1968, and was recipient of UM’s Distinguished Service Award in 1989. A former instructor and history professor at UM, Rust College, Tougaloo College and Jackson State University, he also served as a guest lecturer at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. A member of the Mississippi Civil War Battlefields Commission, he was a founding member of the Foundation for the Mid-South, served as chairman of the board of commissioners of the Mississippi Library Commission and has received a number of gubernatorial appointments.
Walker was elected to the Warren County Board of Supervisors twice, and mayor of the city of Vicksburg three times. During his first term as mayor, he formed the Mississippi African American Monument Committee, which led to a monument commemorating the service of infantry regiments of African descent being erected in the Vicksburg National Military Park in 2004. He was recognized as Mississippi’s Public Administrator of the Year in 1993. He and his wife, Sylvia, have three daughters and three grandsons.
Wayne played for the Ole Miss Rebels football team and is a past recipient of the Chucky Mullins Courage Award. With an undergraduate degree in criminal justice, he worked briefly for the Oxford Police Department before being drafted by the Denver Broncos in 1998. During his two-year tenure, the Broncos won Super Bowl XXXIII. He later played for the Green Bay Packers, where he became known as “Mr. Monday Night” due to his tendency to make big plays. Wayne signed a four-year deal with the Philadelphia Eagles in 2003 and played with the team in Super Bowl XXXIX.
Wayne and his wife, Tamiko, own and operate Knight Sports Inc., a sports agency firm; and a Cold Stone Creamery in Atlantic Station in Duluth. They have three children.
A native of Tupelo, Mabry earned her bachelor’s degree in political science and psychology from UM in 2000. She later attended the University of Southern California’s School of Cinema-Television, where she received an MFA in film production in 2005. Her short film “Brooklyn Bridge to Jordan” has been accepted by more than 50 film festivals worldwide, and it has won multiple jury and audience awards, including Best Director. The film has aired on Showtime, BET J, and was voted No. 1 on the season finale of LOGO’s “The Chick List: Best in Short Film”.
Mabry’s directorial debut project was “Mississippi Damned,” an independent feature film based on her personal experiences growing up in rural Mississippi. She is writing a supernatural thriller for director Pratibha Parmar, who directed the documentary “Warrior Marks.”
Kelly-Green was inducted into the Ole Miss Hall of Fame in 1999. She is the founding chair of the Ole Miss Women’s Council for Philanthropy, in which she funded a $100,000 endowed scholarship. She has served as a board member of the University Foundation and MomentUM Campaign. She is on the executive board of the Ole Miss Alumni Association and sponsored a room at The Inn at Ole Miss.
After earning her bachelor’s degree in accountancy in 1973, Kelly-Green became the first black professional employee at Deloitte and Touche in Memphis. She passed the Certified Public Accountant exam and rose to senior accountant at D&T. She joined Federal Express and worked there for almost 30 years, becoming the first black woman at FedEx to attain officer status. As vice president of internal audit and quality, she received three Five Star Awards, the highest performance award from the company.
Before retiring in 2003, Kelly-Green served as interim CEO of Aeroxchange, a multi-airline global e-commerce marketplace formed by FedEx and 11 other major airlines. She owns Kelly-Green Enterprises LLC, which invests in real estate and food and beverage franchises, such as Lenny’s Sub Shop.
For more information, visit http://www.olemissalumni.com/alumninews/awards?intro.asp