Business

Carver Shareholders Elect Two New Directors

THE SAVANNAH TRIBUNE — During their annual meeting held April 16, 2019, the shareholders of Carver Financial Corporation elected Cathy P. Hill and Reverend Da’Henri Thurmond to the corporation’s Board of Directors. Carver Financial Corporation is the bank holding company that owns Carver State Bank.

Published

5 years ago

May 7, 2019

Oakland Post

By The Savannah Tribune

During their annual meeting held April 16, 2019, the shareholders of Carver Financial Corporation elected Cathy P. Hill and Reverend Da’Henri Thurmond to the corporation’s Board of Directors. Carver Financial Corporation is the bank holding company that owns Carver State Bank.

Reverend Thurmond is currently the Senior Pastor of St. Paul C. M. E. Church in Savannah, Georgia. In July 2008, Rev. Thurmond was appointed Pastor in Charge at St. Paul where, at that time, Rev. Dr. Henry R. Delaney was the Senior Pastor. In July 2009, Rev. Thurmond was became the Senior Pastor at St. Paul.

Prior to becoming accepting the call to become a preacher of the gospel of Jesus Christ, Reverend Thurmond was employed as a Respiratory Therapy Supervisor and a Senior Clinical Oncology Specialist in pharmaceutical and biologic sales For four years, he served under Rev. Dr. Donald Jordan, pastor of the Trinity C. M. E. Church in Augusta, Georgia. In 2005, he was appointed pastor of the Rock of Ages C. M. E. Church of Augusta.

A native of Augusta, Reverend Thurmond, Sr. is the third of four children born to the late Mr. Earl H. Thurmond, Sr. and the late Maxine Thurmond. He received his early education in the Richmond County, Georgia school system and is a graduate of Westside Comprehensive High School. He graduated from Georgia Southern University where he was inducted into the Gamma Beta Phi Honor Society. He is a magna cum laude graduate of the Medical College of Georgia where he was inducted into the IMHOTEP society as well as Who’s Who in American Colleges and Universities with a Bachelor of Science in Respiratory Therapy. He is a 2015 magna cum laude graduate of the Interdenominational Theological Center, Phillips School of Theology with a Masters in Divinity, where he received the Bishop Thomas L. Hoyt Scholarship and the Isaac B. Clark Preaching Award. He is currently pursuing the Doctor of Ministry designation from United Theological Seminary in Dayton, Ohio.

Rev. Thurmond currently serves as the Chairman for the Joint Board of Finance for the Central Georgia Region and a member of the General Connectional Board of the C. M. E. Church. He was a delegate to the 2010, 2014 and 2018 C. M. E. General Conferences and the World Methodist Conference in Durban, South Africa. He serves on the Board of Directors of Step Up Savannah and is a member of the the African American Ministers Leadership Coalition, the Savannah Alliance of Pastors and a mentor at Otis Brock Elementary. He is a proud life member of the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity.

Rev. Thurmond and his wife, Antionette Johnson Thurmond, are the parents of a son, D. Ramsey, Jr., and a daughter, Barbara Maxine.

Cathy Hill is Founder and President of The Plummer – Hill Group, LLC providing professional services that include business development and strategic planning. She is also a Managing Director with Golden Seeds, Inc., a discerning network of investors, seeking and funding high-potential, women-led businesses. Hill retired from Georgia Power after 33 years having held management positions in real estate, transportation fleet operations, engineering, power delivery, customer service, external affairs and assistant to the president & CEO.

As Georgia Power’s Land vice president, Hill led efforts to acquire, protect and manage the company’s real estate assets that included 85,000 acres of land, 60,000 acres of water, 4,000 leased lake front properties and six full-service campgrounds. She oversaw the company’s largest real estate sale, acquisition of properties for critical service lines, timber harvesting, reforestation and wildlife enhancement efforts, as well as land engineering, record services, and Georgia Power archives.

Hill also served as vice president of Coastal Region from 2008 to 2016. In Coastal Region, which includes Savannah, she provided overall leadership for engineering, construction, sales, customer service, economic development, governmental relations and community development. Under her leadership, more than $450 million in capital investments were made to upgrade UD network, distribution and transmission systems in coastal Georgia.

Hill received a bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering from Georgia Tech and a Master of Business Administration degree from Georgia State University. She completed the executive management program at Harvard University. As a 2010 fellow of the International Women’s Forum, she studied at the prestigious Judge School of Business at Cambridge University. Hill is a graduate of Leadership Georgia, the Regional Leadership Institute and Leadership Atlanta.

Hill is currently a member of the Savannah State University Foundation. She is a past-chairman of the Board of Directors of Armstrong State University, Armstrong State University

Educational Properties Foundation, Creative Coast, and United Way of the Coastal Empire. In addition to serving on the board of directors for 8 years, she served as vice-chairman of the Savannah Economic Development Authority. Hill also served on the board of directors for the Georgia Natural Resources Foundation, Savannah Area Chamber of Commerce, Savannah Technical College, Georgia Tech – Savannah, Ossabaw Island Foundation, Step Up Savannah, Memorial Medical Health Foundation, MDC, Inc. and SunTrust Bank – Savannah. She currently serves on the Board of the Georgia Tech Alumni Association and Georgia’s WIN List.

Governor Nathan Deal issued a resolution in 2017 and the state of Georgia’s House and Senate issued 2009 resolutions commending Hill for her professional and civic work. She was honored as 2017 Woman of the Year by the United Way of the Coastal Empire’s Women’s Legacy Council. In 2015, the King Tisdale Cottage Foundation presented Hill with the Reverend James M. Simms Public Service Award. She was awarded the “2014 Community Star” by Georgia Ports Authority, 2014 “Woman of Distinction” by Girl Scouts of the Coastal Empire and 2014 “Hero” by the American Red Cross for lifetime professional and community achievements.

Hill and her husband, Mitchell, reside in McDonough, Georgia with their two children Mitchell, Jr. and Candace.

Chartered on February 23, 1927, Carver is the oldest bank headquartered in Savannah. Only 21 of the almost 5000 banks in the United States are owned by African Americans and Carver is one of the older of these institutions. Most of the other banks that are owned by African Americans are located in much larger metropolitan areas.

The other Carver Directors who were reelected are Robert E. James, E. Bruce Adams, E. G. Miller, William E. Stiles, Sr. and Robert E. James, II.

This article originally appeared in The Savannah Tribune.

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Oakland Post: Week of October 30 – November 5, 2024

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of October 30 – November 5, 2024

Published

18 hours ago

November 1, 2024

Oakland Post

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Business

Chevron Reports Progress in Flaring, Emissions at Community Town Hall

At the first in a series of community town halls on Oct. 16, Chevron Richmond reported a reduction in year-over-year flaring incidents, both in number and duration, and detailed new technologies and processes that will further drive down emissions and heighten community awareness about operations. Chevron employees also answered questions from the community and listened to concerns at the town hall, which was hosted by Ceres Policy Research and held at CoBiz in downtown Richmond.

Published

5 days ago

October 28, 2024

Oakland Post

Community member Kathleen Sullivan speaks at the Chevron town hall. Photo courtesy Richmond Standard.

By Mike Aldax

The Richmond Standard

Chevron employees also answered questions from the community and listened to concerns at the town hall, which was hosted by Ceres Policy Research and held at CoBiz in downtown Richmond.

Similar town halls will be held twice per year over the next five years as part of a settlement agreement with the Bay Area Air Quality Management District (BAAQMD).

The goal is to increase transparency about flaring and increase opportunities for the community to get answers to their questions about potential impacts to the community.

A key output is the creation of a Community Action Plan, or CAP. The CAP aims to create a two-way dialogue between Chevron and neighbors around flaring and environmental compliance.

“Chevron’s focus in this process is one of learning and engagement,” said Brian Hubinger, public affairs manager at Chevron Richmond. “We felt the most efficient way was to bring together a broad selection of community members rather than just think about what it would take to comply with the settlement agreement.”

The first town hall drew a few dozen members of the community, including Chevron employees, representatives of fence-line neighborhoods and members of local environmental organizations.

During the event, Chevron employees reported that 19 BAAQMD-reportable flaring incidents occurred at the refinery from October 2022 to September 2023 with a total duration of 270 hours. During the same period this year, 18 flaring incidents occurred with a total duration of 159 hours, marking a 41% decrease in duration.

Further gains are expected with the implementation of Flare IQ, set to be installed this year and next on all of the refinery’s flaring systems. Flare IQ is described as a supercomputer with an algorithm that gathers data from operations and enables employees to address potential issues before they occur.

Chevron also reported a 40% decrease in particulate matter emissions since the completion of the refinery modernization project in 2018.

In addition, flare gas volume related to Chevron’s new hydrogen plant project, built as part of the modernization project, decreased by 85% since 2019. The hydrogen plant has also reportedly made the refinery 20% more efficient.

“We’re really proud about that,” said Kris Battleson, manager of health, safety and environment at Chevon Richmond.

Neighborhood council leaders joined the president of the local NAACP in lauding the effort toward transparency and accountability. Among them was Vernon Whitmore, president of the Sante Fe Neighborhood Council and member of the 15-person CAP committee.

“The way we were able to talk openly and freely with Chevron – honestly, bluntly and frankly – while developing this program was very good,” Whitmore said. “And it was something that was well-needed at this time.”

Still, residents are skeptical, including Kathleen Sullivan, a longtime community advocate who also serves on the CAP committee. But she added, “you can’t complain about something and not be involved in the solution.”

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Bay Area

S.F. Mayor London Breed Meets with Black Businesswomen Supporting Her Campaign

San Francisco Mayor London Breed met with 50 supporters at Cafe 22 in San Francisco’s Union Square hosted by cafe owner LaRonda “Sug” Smith, who is also president of the Enterprising Women Networking SF Chapter of the American Business Women’s Association. Wearing a royal blue pantsuit, Breed happily greeted the group of seniors, business owners, and longtime community members.

Published

5 days ago

October 28, 2024

Oakland Post

San Francisco Mayor London Breed addresses her supporters at a Meet and Greet at Cafe 22 on Mason Street in Union Square. Photo By Carla Thomas.

By Carla Thomas

Wearing a royal blue pantsuit, Breed happily greeted the group of seniors, business owners, and longtime community members.

The mayor stated that the race is a close one competing with wealthy opponents, however she feels confident in her track record of accomplishments, qualifications and being a native San Franciscan.

“My opponents may have the money, but I’ve got the people,” she said .

In response to COVID-19’s impact on Black-owned and serving businesses, in 2020 Mayor Breed launched the African American Revolving Loan Fund, providing zero-interest loans of up to $50,000.

In 2022, Mayor Breed ensured the loans nade to 51 businesses were forgiven. Through her ‘Opportunities for All’ initiative she ensured all 13- 24-year-olds have access to paid internships and a career pathway. Since its launch in 2018, the program has made over 10,000 placements. Ninety-five percent were people of color and 23% were African American.

In 2022, Mayor Breed launched the Black 2 San Francisco initiative hosting HBCU, Historically Black Colleges and Universities for summer programming, a part of her downtown economic recovery and revitalization efforts.

Launched in partnership with the San Francisco Department of Public Health and Expecting Justice, Breed provided a monthly income of $600-$1000 to expecting mothers of color to reduce the economic stress that leads to racial birth disparities.

The program was the first of its kind in the nation and will expand from 150 recipients to 425. Breed helped fund a new small business hub at the City’s African American Arts and Cultural District.

In 2021, Mayor Breed proclaimed Juneteenth as an official City holiday, celebrating the Black community’s resilience and emergence from slavery.

Mayor Breed also reinvested $60 million of City funds annually to assist the City’s Black community in breaking a cycle of poverty.

Business training assisted 350 entrepreneurs,

Over 50 businesses entered or renewed leases,
1,000 residents completed workforce training,
Over 50 families and seniors secured mortgages and 6,000 households were provided nutritional support.
1,000 hours of mental health support and 38,000 young people were provided support
Nearly 1,000 youth recieved literacy and mentorship support, and nearly 40 educators were supported.

“A people that are 5% of the population, should not be 40% of the homeless population or condemned to poverty,” said Breed. “It’s not all about the numbers, but the overall disparity.”

Breed says she understands the plight of the underserved and is a mayor for all people but the data shows the African community left behind.

“When you uplift a community, you uplift the City and we invested in the Latino communities and in the Stop Asian Hate movement with resources to address those challenges,” said Breed. “Because ultimately, as mayor, it is my job to serve and protect all of the City.” “I’ve helped over 20,000 exit homelessness and increased our shelter capacity by 70%.”

The attacks Mayor Breed has experienced recently have reminded her that being a Black woman, you have to work twice as hard and yet be unfairly and overly scrutinized. However, Breed says she will continue to fight to lead San Francisco for another term.

“Mayor London Breed is for our people and all people in this city,” said LaRonda Smith who was awarded a proclamation from the mayor’s office. “This city is her community, she cares and has supported so many communities, organizations, and small businesses to prove it.” The event also served a celebration of Cafe 22’s three years in business at 325 Mason St. in San Francisco.

Attendees included business owners Del Seymour of Code Tenderloin, Velma Landers and Idella Hill of the ABWA, and Julianne Banks.