Nine members graduated from the Focus 21st Century Minority Leadership Program during a ceremony on Saturday, April 30, on the Pioneers Memorial Complex. Vernell Larkin, a retired educator who was a member of the program’s charter class in 1991, was the speaker, organizers said in a press release.
The 2022 graduates are:
- Asya Bell, a teacher at Madisonville North Hopkins High School
- Nikki Chambers, Hopkinsville Water Environment supervisor at Moss Water Treatment Plant
- Twan Doan, a teacher at Hopkinsville High School
- Sherica Ferguson, a teacher at Freedom Elementary School
- Nichelle(Niecy Hillis, a certified fair housing coordinator and accupancy specialist for Kentucky Housing Corp.
- Rhoda Knight, owner of SBN and co-owner of Lo’Phine’s Speciality Catering
- Lucretia McGee, general manager at Zaxby’s
- Verdell Smith, retired from Urology Associates as a purchasing manager in Nashville, Tennessee
- Shannon Snorton, clerk at the Christian County Circuit Clerk’s office
Ferguson and Bell were the Focus Spirit Award recipients in recognition of their motivation, inspiration and dedication.
Jennifer P. Brown is co-founder, publisher and editor of Hoptown Chronicle. You can reach her at editor@hoptownchronicle.org. She spent 30 years as a reporter and editor at the Kentucky New Era. She is a co-chair of the national advisory board to the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues, governing board president for the Kentucky Historical Society, and co-founder of the Kentucky Open Government Coalition.
