Miami Herald - March 7, 2005
Hannah Sampson, hsampson@herald.com

From a high school honor student to the president of a college, the five people who will be honored as African-American Achievers later this month cover all walks of life.

Besides the student, Tanesha Clarke, and Florida Memorial College President Albert E. Smith, honorees include author Maude Lewis Storr, funeral home owner Alfred "Zack" Straghn and Francois Leconte, founder of a social service agency.

JM Family Enterprises and subsidiary Southeast Toyota Distributors are sponsoring the 2005 African-American Achievers event, set for March 23 at the Broward County Convention Center in Fort Lauderdale.

Storr, 79, of Fort Lauderdale, is being honored for her contribution to arts and culture. She retired in 1992 as assistant director of special programs for the Broward School Board and has recently been active in raising money for the African-American Research Library and Cultural Center. She is the author of several children's books about the lives of African-American settlers in Fort Lauderdale.

Smith has been president of Florida Memorial College, South Florida's only historically black college, since 1993. In his tenure there, enrollment rose and the college went on a capital campaign, raising about $30 million. Smith, of Pembroke Pines, previously played minor league baseball and served in the U.S. Army Medical Service Corps. He recently announced that he plans to retire from his position at the college in 2006.

Clarke, the Jerome Edmund Gray Youth Achiever, is a senior at Stranahan High, where she participates in the student government council, color guard, medical magnet program and various clubs. She volunteers at Kids in Distress, Memorial Manor Nursing Home and Broward General Medical Center. Clarke, of Hollywood, will receive a four-year scholarship to Florida State University from the Jim Moran Foundation. She plans to major in physical therapy.

Straghn, the business and entrepreneurship honoree, owns Straghn & Sons Tri-City Funeral Home in Palm Beach County. He was president of the local chapter of the NAACP for 15 years and helped build the Spady Museum in Delray Beach. He has taught Sunday school for 50 years and, for the past 25 years, has organized a Thanksgiving Day dinner for homeless and needy families. He lives in Delray Beach.

Originally from Haiti, Leconte left Port-au-Prince about 15 years ago and eventually made his way to Miami, where he worked to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS and to help victims. He started Minority Development & Empowerment Inc., a social services agency based in Fort Lauderdale that helps immigrants from Haiti and the Caribbean. Leconte, a Pembroke Pines resident, was honored last year in Washington for his efforts.

The event's sponsors will donate $5,000 to the charity of each honoree's choice.

The event will be held at 6:15 p.m. March 23 at the Broward County Convention Center, 1950 Eisenhower Blvd., Fort Lauderdale. To make reservations, which are required, call 866-516-2497, e-mail achievers@jmfamily.com or go online to www.jmfamilycom.

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