BEAUMONT – Lamar Institute of Technology will celebrate Black History Month with a program from 9-11 a.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 24, in the Multi-Purpose Center.
The event will open with Tropical Disturbance, a Beaumont steel drum band, playing a concern on the courtyard outside the Multi-Purpose Center beginning at 8:30 a.m.
Other performers during the event will be the Clifton J. Ozen High School Choir, Common Grounds Performing Arts Ensemble and the LIT Dancers with Purpose.
Tracie Payne, owner of CUSH magazine, is the guest speaker for the event.
Payne earned a bachelor’s degree in education from Texas Southern University in Houston. After moving to Beaumont with her husband, James, she taught at Austin Middle School for three years while pursuing a master’s degree in education, emphasis on guidance and counseling, from Lamar University. She worked with IEA and was part of a counselor-instructor team teaching inside the Minnie Rogers Juvenile Justice Center.
Besides her work with CUSH, Payne spends hours volunteering through various social, community and civic organizations. She and her husband have a daughter, Taryn, and two sons, Joshua and Caleb.
The Star Awards, a recognition given to African-American LIT graduates who have exemplified great achievement in their fields of study along with community service and volunteerism, will also be announced at the event.
The 2010 recipients are:
Priscilla Pitre is the honoree from the Department of Allied Health & Sciences at LIT. Pitre graduated cum laude in 2009 with an associate of applied science degree in child care and development. While a student at LIT, Pitre was active in Phi Theta Kappa and the Student Government Association. She is now employed with the Beaumont Independent School District.
Yolanda R. Minnefield is the Star Award winner from the Department of Business Technologies. In 2005, she graduated magna cum laude with an associate of applied science degree in accounting technology. While at LIT, she earned several honors, including President’s List, National Dean’s List, and she was inducted into Phi Theta Kappa. Minnefield works at ExxonMobil for SNC Lavalin Engineering, Inc., of Houston, a contracting firm. She is the administrative assistant for the operating services second line supervisors there.
Capt. Earl White is the Star honoree for the Department of Public Service and Safety. He is a 1980 graduate of the LIT Regional Fire Academy. Currently, he works at the Beaumont Fire Department in the Fire Prevention and Arson Division. He is a member of the Beaumont Professional Firefighters Local 388 Executive Board and the Red Cross board. White is also active in the PTA.
The public is invited. For more information, call (409) 880-2292.