The Rev. Frederick Douglas Jr. was an elder in the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference of the United Methodist Church.

Douglas died Monday, April 1, 2013 at his residence in West Chester. He was 71.

He was born and raised in Chester. Douglas attended Chester public schools, graduating from Chester High School in the class of 1959.

Douglas furthered his education at the University of Pennsylvania School of Allied Medical Professions. He obtained his masters of education from West Chester University and his Ph.D. from Ohio State University. He later answered the call to the ministry and entered Drew University School of Theology where he received his master of divinity degree. He also received an honorary doctorate from Albright College.

Douglas practiced physical therapy at Magee Memorial Rehabilitation Hospital, Philadelphia General Hospital, Womack Army Hospital, Delaware Curative Workshop, Crozer Chester Hospital, and Septa Medical Department. He also maintained a private physical therapy office in Chester.

He pastored six local congregations and served as chaplain at the Methodist Home for Children in Philadelphia.

Douglas was a member of Mu Chapter of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc.

He is survived by his wife, Valerie Smith Douglas; son, Steven Douglas; daughter, Tezrin Douglas; parents, Frederick and Arlena Douglas, Sr.; brothers, Aaron, (Peggy), Brian, (Shirley) and Eric; sisters, Arlena Alston, Carrie Washington (Allen) and other relatives and friends.

The first viewing will be held April 5 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at West Chester United Methodist Church, 129 South High St., West Chester. The Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. service will be held at 7 p.m. The second viewing will be held at 8 a.m. on April 6 at the church. Services will follow at 10 a.m.

Burial will be in Valley Forge Memorial Gardens in King of Prussia.

Catherine B. Laws Funeral Home handled the arrangements.

Charles Scott Jr. was a bricklayer.

Scott died Saturday, March 23, 2013. He was 65.

He was born July 13, 1947 to the late Sandra U. Scott and Charles Scott Sr. in Chocowinity, N.C. He was eldest of three siblings.

Scott was educated in the Philadelphia public school system and graduated from Edison High School. He served in the Army during the Vietnam War from May 26, 1967 to May 25, 1973.

He was well known in West Philadelphia and North Philadelphia, where he grew up. He developed a love for basketball while growing up in North Philadelphia.

“He was always seen with a ball in his hand and on the court practicing,” his family said.

Scott earned a four-year scholarship to South Carolina State College. However, he decided to pursue his passion for bricklaying.

“He lived and breathed construction work, even when he was sick, and he still had hope of returning to bricklaying,” his family said.

Scott’s hobbies included drawing, painting, cooking and photography. “He always had a camera in his hand and would always be seen taking pictures of friends and family,” his family said.

In 1972, Scott married Joyce Norman, and from their union a daughter was born.

He is survived by his daughters, Jill Scott, Stacy Gongales, Charnita Scott and Asia Vinson-Scott; a sister, Vickie Scott-Weed; brother in-law, Charles Weed; aunt, Andre Whitfield of Washington, N.C.; four grandchildren; friend, Marvin Crawford, and other relatives and friends.

A memorial service will be held April 13 at 2 p.m. at Terry Funeral Home, 4203 Haverford Ave.

Ora L. Wooster Funeral Home handled the arrangements.

U.S. Rep. Robert Brady of Pennsylvania’s 1st congressional district honored 49 students on Tuesday with the Congressional Award Medal at Furness High School in Philadelphia.
The ceremony highlights Congress’ highest honor for youth and recognizes young Americans who have dedicated hundreds of hours of service to their communities.

This ceremony is unique, as Pennsylvania’s 1st congressional district, which consists of Delaware County, has produced 49 Congressional Award Medalists this year— more than most districts across the nation. Receiving Bronze, Silver, and Gold Medals, the participants have dedicated thousands of hours to Voluntary Public Service, Personal Development and Physical Fitness. Setting challenging yet measurable goals, participants do not win the Congressional Award, they earn it!   

The Congressional Award Foundation is a public-private partnership created by Congress in 1979 to promote and recognize service, initiative and achievement in America’s youth.
The late Sen. Malcolm Wallop of Wyoming and late U.S. Rep. James Howard of New Jersey sponsored the initial bipartisan legislation creating the Congressional Award.

The program is open to young people ages 14-23, regardless of mental or physical challenges. The Congressional Award program was designed to teach participants to set and achieve personally challenging goals that build character, and foster community service, personal development and citizenship. 

The Congressional Award National Office, located in Washington, D.C., reviews the participant’s goals and activities as submitted in the official record book.

Participants follow guidelines established in the Congressional Award Act, Public Law 96-114.  Members of the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate recognize their constituents who earn the Congressional Award Medals at local, citywide or statewide ceremonies.
The National Office serves as a liaison between the medalists and congressional offices.

Cheyney University’s fourth annual Entrepreneurial Business Plan Awards event is planned for 5 p.m. on Wednesday, April 24. Author of the book "From the Courtroom to the Kitchen” and host of the TV show “Sugar Rush,” Warren Brown will give the keynote address at 6 p.m. in Dudley Theatre.

Brown will share his story of leaving a career as a litigator for the federal government to start his bakery, CakeLove, in 2002. Since then, he has been recognized for his entrepreneurial spirit by a number of local and national media outlets including The Oprah Winfrey Show and The Today Show.  

Warren Brown is the founder and owner of CakeLove and Love Café. His organization includes seven retail storefronts in the Washington, DC metropolitan area. He has been recognized for his entrepreneurial spirit in  local and national media including The Oprah Winfrey Show, The Today Show, and national advertisement campaigns for American Express and Dell computers. He is the author of two cookbooks, “Cake Love - How To Bake Cakes From Scratch” and “United Cakes of America Celebrating Recipes From Every State,” published in May 2010.

Brown is a member of the board of Kid Power-DC, a local non-profit organization that conducts after school arts programs for DC youth. He also contributes his free time and energy to charitable causes by speaking to young students and rising entrepreneurs about business development and finding one’s passion. Warren Brown graduated from Brown University with a BA in History and from George Washington University with a Juris Doctor and a Master's degree in Public Health. He resides in Washington, D.C. with his wife and daughter. 

The event is open to the public and free of charge. For more information, contact ELC Project Development Coordinator Reginald Whiteside at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or (610) 399-2683.

–SOURCE: CHEYNEY UNIVERSITY

Cheyney University rolled out the red carpet in February for a group of 80 Executive MBA students from the University of Ghana visited the campus to take part in an International Economic Development Workshop. 

Cheyney’s Chief-of-Staff and Deputy to the President, Sheilah Vance arranged for the visit with the help of Dr. George Colton, Dean of Graduate and Continuing Studies; Gedeon Mudacumura, Director of CU's Master of Public Administration (MPA) Program; Eric Hilton, Executive Director of Enrollment Management; Stephen Hughes, Director of the University’s Aquaculture Research and Education Laboratory (AREL); Adedoyin Adeyiga, Professor and Director of the National Science Foundation Building Excellence and Access through Research (BEAR) Program; Vice President of Student Affairs Dr. Suzanne Phillips; Sharon Cannon, Executive Director of CU's Entrepreneurial Leadership Center (ELC); Keith Bingham, CU's archivist; and the Honorary Consul General for Ghana, Michael Griffin.

The students began the day with breakfast at CU's Center City location — hearing from Drs. Colton and Mudacumura. VP Phillips and Vance also brought greetings on behalf of President Michelle Howard-Vital, who welcomed students at CU's main campus later in the day.  

Ghana's Ambassador to the U.S.--His Excellency Daniel Ohene Agyekum--also visited the Center City location to bring greetings before heading back to Washington.  Ambassador Agyekum said that he was impressed with the CU facility, had heard great things about CU, and that he hoped this visit was the start of a long and fruitful partnership between CU and Ghana. He also agreed to visit CU's main campus in the fall.

The Ghanaian students toured the impressive high-tech facility and got their admissions, MPA and housing questions answered before boarding a bus for CU's main campus, where they had lunch and enjoyed a reception at the Great Hall in Carnegie.  This gave the visitors an opportunity to interact with CU students and faculty.

CU Ambassadors took groups of the Ghanaian students on tours of the campus on what turned out to be a cold, snowy day--something the visitors were not used to.  

"It was definitely cold for them," Griffin said. "They come from 90 degree temperatures so the weather is a big factor for them.  That's why, he believes, Ghanaian MBA students will choose to come to study at CU in the summer, when the weather is more to their liking.

"I want to very seriously do some type of exchange program between Cheyney University and the University of Ghana," Griffin exclaimed.  He is interested in a program that facilitates a bilateral relationship.

A big highlight of the tour came when Biology Associate Professor Stephen Hughes, showed them around the artificial tilapia and basil farm on campus. CU earns profits from its tilapia and basil sales.

The visitors had a busy afternoon, hearing from Associate Professor and Director of International Programs Norma George, who serves as advisor to international students.; Honorary Consulate Griffin regarding International Economic Development featuring Agribusiness;  Adeyiga; Cannon, who talked about the services at CU's ELC; Bingham, who gave students a brief history of the nation’s first historically black college; and Sesime Adanu, Director of Cheyney's Institutional Research and a native of the Volta Region of Ghana.

While in the U.S., the students also toured Temple, Howard, Harvard and Princeton Universities but Griffin says that most of the students liked Cheyney the best. 

"They were very happy," he said. "They felt that everyone was very warm, very welcoming and very informative.  I felt that the aquaponics part was incredible information for them.” 

CU even gave the students goodie bags and workshop certificates, something Griffin said no other university did.

Griffin returned to Cheyney University in March to discuss possible joint ventures.  He met with Vance, Colton, Mudacumura, Hughes, Adeyiga, and Lawrence Green, CU's Director of Sponsored Research, to put some options on the table, including wind power. According to Chief of Staff Vance, "We are working on a follow up plan to develop collaborations in renewable and sustainable energy and agriculture with Ghana, Rwanda, and Nigeria."

"The idea of a solar energy power facility on campus" is exciting, Griffin said.