On Saturday, 2/23/19, the ASU DeKalb County Alumni Chapter kicked off it's 10th annual scholarship gala at the Georgia International Convention Center. As the evening began, Miss ASU 2018-19, Janese Bibbs, made a special appearance and graced us with her presence as she welcomed all guests and introduced our mistress of ceremony, Dr. Maria Boynton, President of ASU DeKalb chapter. Dr. Boynton acknowledged all guests while providing much history about how the Hearts of Fire gala began as well as the Spirit of Community awards and previous recipients. Treasurer-Immediate Past Chaplain Michelle Jones came with a lovely prayer for our beloved alma mater and all of the supporters and alumni. President Marion Fedrick greeted all alumni and guests and presented information on the many changes ASU has implemented as well as the accomplishments of current students. She also announced that over 4,000 prospective students applied for Fall enrollment as well as her excitement for the upcoming open house on March 2nd. In regards to finances, President Fedrick shared that ASU has had a clean audit, a first in 20 years of the institution's history (*insert handclap*). Next we had our award presentations. First, Scholarship and recruitment committee chair, Tamara Nelson presented the Spirit of Community award to the Davis-Bozeman Law firm, a firm serving 25 years in the community and continuous support for the Hearts of Fire gala. Attorney Mawuli Davis, Esq. graciously accepts his award and presents two of his interns, who are also incoming ASU freshmen. Next, President Boynton and Coleman Wilson presented brother 'Smitty' $500 towards his endowment scholarship. President Boynton also went on to acknowledge recent graduates of ASU and introduced the speaker of the evening, Aleshia Cowser, film director of the upcoming film, 'Bricked', a film touching on the subject matter of mental illness. Ms. Cowser educated the audience on what mental illness is and challenged us to redefine what mental illness was to us. She reminded us that we need support from others for prayer and accountability. Stress is the #1 killer of people and it is important to keep our thoughts and ourselves in a better mental state. She also reminded us to do what we can in our respective fields to help each other and kill the negative stigma of mental health; she concluded her speech with the motto, "We Can Empower Each Other Through Education." Our final presentation of the evening concluded with President Boynton presenting a check to the ASU Foundation in the amount of $11,000 as well as the infamous 50/50 raffle. If you would like to give to ASU, please text ASUGives to 7177. And the night concluded with fun moments with the Ramily doing the Wobble, Electric slide, Soul Train line, and many photo ops. Thank you to all ASU DeKalb Chapter Members for your hardwork and support and also to our community supporters for another great event. Below are a few captured moments. Be sure to check out the photo album for more photos. We hope to see you all next year. Don't forget the following:
Next Business Meeting
Saturday-March 9, 2019 10:30AM
The Exchange Park
2771 Columbia Drive, Decatur, GA 30034
In His service,
Lequvia Ousley