Kappa Alpha Psi Holds 39th Awards Celebration
The Sarasota (FL) Alumni Chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. held the 39th Annual Steve Lewis Awards Celebration on Saturday, April 23, presenting scholarships to young men, and recognizing their Citizens of the Year and Kappa men of the year. The program is named in honor of Steve Lewis, a charter member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity and was the chapter’s first Polemarch.
Scholarships were presented to Alzavien Houston, William Morange, Amari Brewer and Karmani Gregory. Alzavien graduates from Palmetto High School where he has participated in football and track. He maintains a 2.87 GPA and has been accepted at Clark University. William graduates from Sarasota High School where he participated in the Teen Aircraft of Manasota, Literacy Council of Sarasota County, The Boys & Girls Club, Faulnaber Fab Lab Volunteer, Leadership Sarasota Youth Program and with the Agape Youth Program. William maintained a 3.94 GPA and has been accepted to Duke University where he will major in Biology or Chemistry.
Amari graduates from Bayshore High School where he has been a standout basketball player and a member of the Advanced Via Individual Determination (AVID) Program. He enjoys sports, animals, and watching educational videos. Amari maintained a GPA of 3.7368 and plans to work towards a degree in Forensics to become a Forensic Investigator. Karmani graduates from Southeast High School where he was a standout basketball player and played travel basketball around the state and country. He plans to major in sports physical therapy and continue on to a master’s program. Karmani had a rigorous IB, AP, and honors curriculum and maintained a 3.79 GPA. H was in the top 15% of his graduating class.
The Sarasota County Citizen of the Year was Dawnyelle Singleton and Manatee County’s Citizen of the Year was Dr. Sharon Nico Jefferson. Singleton is a candidate for the Sarasota County School Board and is a nonprofit education professional. She currently works for a local nonprofit agency focused on early childhood, parenting education, and mental health services. She is a product of the Sarasota County Public School system and is a graduate of Florida State University. She holds memberships with Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., Sarasota Black Caucus, ASALH, and the League of Women Voters. She is a graduate of Leadership Sarasota, Gulf Coast Leadership Institute, and a 2021 graduate of the Florida Institute for Political Leadership.
Dr. Jefferson is a graduate of Palmetto High School and went on to earn her college degree from Florida A&M University, then received her bachelor’s degree in Interdisciplinary Social Sciences from the University of South Florida. She also earned a master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction from National-Louis University, a Specialist Degree, and a Doctorate Degree in Educational Leadership from Argosy University. She founded the Rosalyn Walton Education and Enrichment Services, Inc (RECESS Education) and facilitates the annual Juneteenth Reading Conference. She has published a children’s book entitled, To My Children…Life is Not a Crystal Stair.
Omar Edwards received the Kappa Man of the Year Award, Timothy Dawkins received the Polemarch Man of the Year Award and a special award for 20 years of service went to Alfonza Mobley.
Pictures:
1. Citizens of the Year, Dr. Sharon Nico Jefferson and Dawnyelle Singleton with Rod Martin and Polemarch Aaron Randall.
2. George Smalls, Rod Martin and Aaron Randall are shown with scholarship recipients (left to right) William Morange, Alvalien Houston and Karmani Gregory. Not pictured is Amari Brewer.
3. Kappa Men of the Year: seated Henry Marsh, Alfonza Mobley, Omar Edwards and Timothy Dawkins. Standing left to right Keenan Wooten, George Smalls, Polemarch Aaron Randall and Rod Martin.
