Jody Victor: This weekend we are having one of our major conferences and we are totally excited because Wintley Phipps will be joining us! He and his wife will be spending time with our organization. Wintley will perform on Saturday evening and then again on Sunday morning. Our organization supports Wintley and the US Dream Academy 110% and they are fired up to hear his amazing voice. Many of them watched him on CSPAN as he performed for the inauguration but they know hearing him in person will be breathtaking.

As you know from reading my blog, Wintley has accomplished quite a bit over the years. We are very fortunate to have him and his family in our lives. He has touched so many of us and we know this weekend he will do the same. Kathy, Steve, Joe and I will be in the front row as he performs. We are some of his biggest fans!

Have a great day,

Jody Victor

Jody Victor: Ohio State professor chosen as finalist in Flight 93 National Memorial Project Competition

As I was doing research on OSU today I came across this very interesting article on an OSU professor.  As many,  I vividly remember Septermber 11^th and think is wonderful that congress has authorized a creation of a national memorial at the Pennsylvania crash site.  I wish the best of luck to Laurel McSherry!

OhioState’s Knowlton School of Architecture Professor Laurel McSherry was chosen as one of five finalists, from a field of 1,011 entries, in the Flight 93 National Memorial Project Competition. In 2002, Congress authorized the creation of a national memorial to honor the actions of the passengers and crew of United Airlines Flight 93 which was hijacked and crashed on September 11, 2001 in Somerset County, Pennsylvania, killing all on board.

McSherry will receive a $25,000 honorarium and an invitation to participate in Stage II of the competition. The honorarium is to be used to further develop the design, which will be submitted on June 15. A second jury will announce a winning design by September 11, 2005, the fourth anniversary of the attacks. Two weeks later, the design will be submitted to Congress and the Interior Department, which will oversee the development.

McSherry, head of the landscape architecture section at OhioState, was assisted by Terry Surjan of the Arizona State University School of Architecture to design, "Fields, Forests, Fences." The design uses fences as barriers, markers and memorial. The sacred ground of the crash site would feature a birch grove with 40 stone markers that include the names, hometowns and birth dates of the passengers and crew of Flight 93. Fencing would also be used as a place for the public to pay tribute to Flight 93's victims.

Fore more information on the Flight 93 Memorial Project,
see http://www.flight93memorialproject.org.

Best Wishes Laurel!

Jody Victor

Jody Victor: History of Valentine’s Day.

Many people think that Valentine’s Day is a day for greeting card company’s to make extra money. Even though that is the case, there is actually a story behind this special day. The following information was found on theholidayspot.com.  What are you doing with your Valentine today? Enjoy!

According to church tradition St. Valentine was a priest near Rome in about the year 270 A.D. At that time the Roman Emperor Claudius-II who had issued an edict forbidding marriage.
This was around when the heyday of Roman empire had almost come to an end. Lack of quality administrators led to frequent civil strife. Learning declined, taxation increased, and trade slumped to a low, precarious level. And the Gauls, Slavs, Huns, Turks and Mongolians from Northern Europe and Asian increased their pressure on the empire's boundaries. The empire was grown too large to be shielded from external aggression and internal chaos with existing forces. Thus more of capable men were required to be recruited as soldiers and officers. When Claudius became the emperor, he felt that married men were more emotionally attached to their families, and thus, will not make good soldiers. So to assure quality soldiers, he banned marriage.
Valentine, a bishop , seeing the trauma of young lovers, met them in a secret place, and joined them in the sacrament of matrimony. Claudius learned of this "friend of lovers," and had him arrested. The emperor, impressed with the young priest's dignity and conviction, attempted to convert him to the roman gods, to save him from certain execution. Valentine refused to recognize Roman Gods and even attempted to convert the emperor, knowing the consequences fully.
On February 24, 270, Valentine was executed.

While Valentine was in prison awaiting his fate, he came in contact with his jailor, Asterius. The jailor had a blind daughter. Asterius requested him to heal his daughter. Through his faith he miraculously restored the sight of Asterius' daughter. Just before his execution, he asked for a pen and paper from his jailor, and signed a farewell message to her "From Your Valentine," a phrase that lived ever after.


Valentine thus become a Patron Saint, and spiritual overseer of an annual festival. The festival involved young Romans offering women they admired, and wished to court, handwritten greetings of affection on February 14. The greeting cards acquired St.Valentine's name.

The Valentine's Day card spread with Christianity, and is now celebrated all over the world. One of the earliest card was sent in 1415 by Charles, duke of Orleans, to his wife while he was a prisoner in the Tower of London. The card is now preserved in the BritishMuseum.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Jody

Jody Victor: Oprah’s Angel Network honors Wintley Phipps with Use Your Life Award.

Oprah Winfrey announced Oprah's Angel Network on September 18, 1997, to inspire people to use their lives and to reap the truest rewards that come from giving to others. "I want you to open your hearts and see the world in a different way," said Oprah. "I promise this will change your life for the better."

Oprah's Angel Network is currently involved in building rural schools in 10 different countries (China, Ecuador, Ghana, Guatemala, Haiti, India, Mexico, Nicaragua, Sierra Leone and Tanzania). Thirty-four schools have been built through Kids Can Free the Children, providing education for thousands of children in remote areas of the world.

Millions of viewers, several celebrities and sponsors joined in the effort. To date, Oprah's Angel Network and its support foundation have raised over $17 million: five million dollars from viewers responding to The Oprah Winfrey Show: ChristmasKindness South Africa; 5.1 million dollars from viewer donations; and an additional seven million dollars from celebrity contributions and sponsors such as Jeff Bezos of Amazon.com and Paul Newman of Newman's Own. Oprah personally covers the administrative costs of the organization so that 100% of all funds raised go to charity.
About the Use Your Life Award

Oprah's Angel Network established the "Use Your Life Award" in April 2000, and since then has awarded it to individuals who through their charitable organizations are making a difference in the lives of others. Oprah says, "I would encourage you to look inside yourself, to see what you have to offer…and use that to give back to the world."

Supported by donations from actor Paul Newman, founder of "Newman's Own"; Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon.com; and from donations by The Oprah Winfrey Show viewers, the "Use Your Life Award" helps recipients to expand their programs and to continue helping those in need.

To date, 54 "Use Your Life Awards" have been presented—totaling six million dollars! Wintley Phipps of the US Dream Academy has received this award. Since receiving the Use Your Life Award, a second US Dream Academy site has opened in Washington, D.C. The U.S. Dream Academy has redesigned their center to accommodate more students, streamlined their curriculum, and developed an in-house Web site that hosts academic instruction and educational games for students in grades 3 to 5. The U.S. Dream Academy has also recruited mentors from local colleges.

More information can be found on www.oprah.com

Jody Victor: We are very proud of all Wintley has accomplished over the years. We are excited that Oprah has honored him with this wonderful award. Congratulations to Wintley and the US Dream Academy.

Jody Victor: Who is Wintley Phipps?

Wintley Phipps was born in Trinidad, raised in Canada and educated in the United States. He was exposed to hymns and church music during his childhood but came in contact with black American gospel during his college days in Alabama. It was then when he started writing gospel music and learned of his gift. Wintley earned a master’s degree in divinity from AndrewsUniversity.

Wintley founded the U.S. Dream Academy, which is a nationally honored values centered e-classroom empowering at-risk children to achieve their dreams in the new millennium. The U.S. Dream Academy is a youth-focused program that speaks to the alarming cycle of inter-generational involvement in the criminal justice system, effectively lifting the children of prisoners and those failing in school, out of this devastating cycle.

Over the past 25 years Wintley has traveled across North America, Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia, Bermuda and the Caribbean performing for presidents, celebrities and people of faith. He’s sung for US Presidents and the Vatican and appeared as a special guest on the Oprah Winfrey Show and CBS Nightwatch. Wintley was also nominated for a Grammy in 1988 and 1989.

Kathy, Steve, Joe and I hold Wintley very close to our hearts. Wintley is a dear family friend and we are blessed to be a part of his life. We have supported Wintley from the beginning and know his future is extremely bright. We are excited that Wintley has performed at our

MarkerMan events and has touched many of our friends lives. If you haven’t already heard Wintley perform, we hope you have the opportunity to hear his amazing voice in the near future.

Have a great day!

Jody Victor

Billy Florence and Jody Victor are honored to be on the US Dream Academy Board of Directors.