VNN ANNOUNCES RESIGNATION OF NATIONAL EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR WILLIAM PARKER TAPS CHILDS-LONG FOR POSITION
By Latoiya Stout

In April 2004, William Parker announced his resignation as Voter News Network's National Executive. Parker assumed this position in August 2002 after serving as a State Representative for one term. VNN recruited Parker because of his excellent leadership abilities and his immense experience in state government operations. VNN's founder and publisher Donald V. Watkins described Parker as, "…a dynamic young political leader who has a gift for understanding pocketbook issues and a passion for protecting the rights of consumers." Parker was also described as having strong bipartisan relationships at the national level.

Sharon Childs-Long, Business Development Officer for Alamerica Bank and previously Editor-In-Chief for Voter News Network, has been named the new National Executive Director of VNN. Childs-Long also serves as the Education Committee Chairperson and will replace William Parker as the new National Executive Director.

He helped to develop strategic relationships with state and national governmental officials across America. He also represented VNN in the areas of public and media relations. Parker assisted in organizing a VNN fundraiser for New York Governor George Pataki in May 2002 which netted Pataki $65,000 in campaign funds. Parker was also instrumental in VNN's endorsement of Alabama Congressman Artur Davis who defeated 5-term Congressman Earl Hilliard in June 2002. Most recently, Parker played a major role in organizing the Voter News Network Scholarship Program which issued 30 $1,000 scholarships to high school seniors in the Birmingham Metropolitan area.

As for his reasons for leaving VNN, Parker has expressed a desire to pursue entrepreneurial projects in the private sector. We will miss William Parker and wish him well in his future endeavors.



VNN AWARDS $1,000 SCHOLARSHIPS AT DINNER
Reprint from The Brimingham News (AL.com) by JUDY HAISE, Social columnist

A dinner at the Birmingham Sheraton Hotel feted outstanding Birmingham high school seniors, who were each awarded a $1,000 Voter News Network Scholarship.

The essays on leadership written by the winners were deciding factors in selecting the winners, said Donald Watkins, VNN founder, as well as chairman of Alamerica Bank. He also was the dinner speaker.

"There is a wealth of intellectual talent among the youth in the Birmingham area," said Sharon Childs-Long, VNN's education committee chairwoman. "The application process revealed substance, character and ambition among the many students and the essays were awesome. This financial support by VNN is an investment in these students, because many of them are tomorrow's CEO's and elected officials."

Scholarship winners were selected by Childs-Long, Clarissa Harms, Alamerica Bank Board Director, and Brian Rogers, a December human resource graduate of UAB.

There to receive their scholarships were Parker High School's Erica Redwine of Powderly and Vanessa Green of Birmingham; Ramsay High School's Kenneth Robinson and Branden Washington of Birmingham, Cheneia Sanderson of Smithfield and Sydney Rucker, Jennifer Bogan, Jessica Spencer and Alicia Kindred, all of West End, Tiffany Stubbs of Ensley, Jared Miller of Winewood; Mountain Brook High School's Jennifer Goldstein of Mountain Brook; Midfield High School's Wesley Daniel Sims and Bridgette R. Smith of Fairfield; Shades Valley High School's Jessica A. Smith and Mauri Robinson of Irondale; Wenonah High School's Evette Crumpton of West End, Felicia Bimbo of Riley and Alexis Horton of Powderly; West End High School's Jamie Lewis of Powderly, Shanika Jones of west Birmingham, Maria Williams of West End and David Parker Jr. of Forestdale; Ensley High School's Joycelyn L. Smith; Vestavia Hills High School's Amanda Bowling; and Clay-Chalkville High School's Ryan Jones of Northeast Jefferson County.

Applications for the scholarships were made available on VNN's website, www.voternewsnetwork.com.



PATRICIA DE LILLE WINS PARLIAMENT SEAT
By Donald V. Watkins, Jr.

One year ago, Patricia De Lille left the Pan Africanist Congress (PAC), of which she was a member for 27 years, to form the Independent Democrats (ID). She described the party as being "…for those who want to get on with their lives and make South Africa work." Just as many political leaders speculated, De Lille has taken the political arena by storm. De Lille's ID party managed to beat the influential New National Party (NNP) by getting about 2% of the national vote. In Western Cape and Northern Cape, it managed to reach 7%. She is the first woman to lead a political party in Parliament.

When asked of her plan for ID over the next five years, De Lille stated, "Our task now is to build our structures, to consolidate the gains we have made. We certainly don't have time for coalition politics which, in any case, is a failure in this country." "We will implement the mandate from our voters. Certainly we will work hard not to let them down. Our style of opposition, my style of work, will never change," said De Lille. Where government does something good we will say so and motivate them to de better and, if they don't, we will also say so. We will not allow people to mess up our country."

Last fall, De Lille made a celebrated two-day visit to Birmingham, Alabama, in which Voter News Network gave $10,000 to sponsor her trip. Nichelle Gainey, Assistant Commissioner with the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) and Donald V. Watkins, founder of Alamerica Bank, organized her trip to Birmingham, which included a two-hour reception at the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute. Over 250 Birmingham residents attended the reception to welcome De Lille. Also, Mayor Bernard Kindcaid presented her with a key to the city.

De Lille has been described as having a "no nonsense" approach to politics. It has made her immensely popular with voters because she stands her ground and says what's on her mind. She stands up for the people and speaks for those who have no voice. She fights for the rights of women and children, victims of sexual abuse, the homeless, and people living with AIDS. De Lille has positioned herself to possibly become the first woman to hold the title as Prime Minister of South Africa in 2008.



FESTIVAL BRIDGES GAP BETWEEN LOCAL WOMAN, SOUTH AFRICAN
Reprint of Commentary by ELAINE WITT, BIRMINGHAM POST-HERALD

The Birmingham Festival of Arts used to be just that: an annual arts exhibition focusing on the offerings of one country per year.

When the event was renamed Birmingham International Festival several years ago, it branched out to explore the problems and politics of the featured countries.

Two years ago, the festival focused on the Republic of South Africa, and Nichelle Gainey was part of the local delegation that visited South Africa.

Gainey, assistant commissioner of the Southwestern Athletic Conference, was taken with South Africa's natural beauty and with a particular local dignitary, a member of the South African Parliament named Patricia de Lille.

At the time, de Lille was chief whip for the leftist Pan Africanist Congress, one of a number of minority parties that vie for power with the dominant African National Congress.

Despite an age difference of 19 years and the fact that they live in vastly different worlds, a pragmatic friendship took shape between the two.

Gainey, 33, describes herself as a former "military brat" who has made her career in the marketing of athletics.

De Lille, 52, was a laboratory technician in the paint industry when she became active in a chemical workers union. That launched a political career in which she became a vocal critic of the South African government, speaking out on everything from a bid-rigging scandal to the poor treatment of juvenile delinquents in adult prisons. De Lille, whose youngest sister was raped and murdered, has been an outspoken advocate for women's rights.
She has described as "lunacy" the AIDS policies of president Thabo Mbeki, who two years ago disputed the link between AIDS and the HIV virus and has held up the distribution of low-cost drugs to treat the infection.

When Gainey returned to Birmingham, the two kept in touch.

And earlier this year, when de Lille told Gainey she was leaving the PAC to help launch a new political party, Gainey offered to help.

This week, de Lille is in Birmingham raising money for the new Independent Democratic party. She isn't shy on ambition - she hopes to run for South African president in 2009. But her initial goal is that the party will win 5 percent of the seats in the South African Parliament in next year's elections.
South Africa is approaching the 10th anniversary of the new constitution that was adopted when the ruling white minority turned over power to the black majority in 1994.

"Having achieved that liberation, what do we do with it?" de Lille said during an interview on Wednesday.
"Now they're all in power and they've tasted the luxury of power ... they've forgotten where they came from," she said of the ruling ANC. "The struggle was for a decent life for all South Africans."
Poverty and unemployment have worsened since the new government came in, aggravated by South Africa's catastrophic HIV infection rate.
The new party is exploring innovative ways to build a base, including using the text messaging technology that is a standard feature on South African cellular phones.

Through her friendship with Gainey, de Lille said she has come to think of Birmingham as her second home. "I know thousands of people, but I have very few friends. I can count them on one hand," she said, naming Gainey as one of the few.
The Festival of Arts has moved on - this year it focused on Canada - and the friendship between Gainey and de Lille has moved on as well, putting its own mark on the term "foreign relations."

Elaine Witt's column runs Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday in the Birmingham Post-Herald.



10 DO'S AND DON'TS FOR GETTING AN IDEAL MORTGAGE
By Michael D. Larson, Bankrate.com

Here's the good news: More people than ever can buy a home.

Now for the bad: It's going to take a lot of patience, restraint and some careful planning to get there. That loan officer sitting across the table won't look kindly on the new Lexus you bought or the stack of credit card bills on the kitchen counter. And if you've only managed to put away $1,000 in savings by then, it'll be time to forget about the $300,000 beach house.

To pull the purchase off, try heeding some of the guidelines below that our experts suggest. It may not always be fun, but doing so will help get you where you want to go.

Pay your bills and start saving
"No. 1, pay your bills on time. There is no single element that can so dramatically impact the success of an application as your credit history," says Brian Israel, vice president of Chicago-based Harris Trust and Savings Bank's residential mortgage division. "Another thing, of course, is savings. People should have a good disciplined savings pattern."

"That's the kind of behavior that's going to make them a successful homeowner."

Everybody comes into the real estate market with a different perspective and level of experience. The fact that online mortgage applications, new loan products and rising interest rates are competing for attention these days makes it all the more difficult to give foolproof advice. But some general rules apply to pretty much anybody when it comes to getting the money to buy a home. So here are some of the do's and don'ts that buyers will want to consider.

Five do's
1. Make loan and other debt payments on time, especially over the months leading up to the filing of your mortgage application. It sounds simple, but every 30-, 60- or 90-day delinquency on a loan or credit card is going to reduce the credit score the lender ends up considering as part of the loan file. That score, in turn, will determine how good a loan you get -- if you get one at all.

2. If something has to be missed, miss the credit card payment first, followed by the payment on any installment loan you might have and finally, the payment for an existing mortgage. That's because credit scoring systems look at the performance of similar loans first when deciding what type of score to assign. It will give the most weight to the performance of another mortgage, for example, then the performance of something like an auto loan, which features fixed payments and a fixed rate the way many mortgages do. Lastly, it would evaluate the payment performance of so-called "revolving" loans, like credit cards, which feature variable payments that fluctuate with the outstanding balance.

"If you had to prioritize -- and we would hope you wouldn't be in that situation -- pay your mortgage loans, pay your installment loans, pay your revolving loans," Israel says.

3. Consider paying off more debt and putting down a smaller amount at closing. The move leaves borrowers with larger mortgages, but it will allow them to replace non tax-deductible, high-interest rate debt with lower-rate mortgage debt that features deductible interest.

"We see that trend in the marketplace, whether it's a refinance transaction or a purchase transaction," says Larry Hamilton, chief executive officer of SouthTrust Corp's mortgage lending division in Birmingham, Ala. "They are putting less equity in their homes, borrowing more against the homes and they're paying off consumer debt, at least for a while."

4. Get the mortgage first if multiple financial obligations are going to pop up in the near future. Numerous credit inquiries, such as new applications for credit cards, can hurt a borrower's credit score, especially if they're filed in the months prior to the home loan review process.

5. Increase the size of the down payment you're able to make by saving as much as possible, as often as possible. Don't put the savings into something volatile, such as an individual stock. But evaluate money market or other accounts that offer reasonable rates of return, automatic payroll deductions or other financial incentives to save.

"It depends on how much you have saved already, but I think it's important to take a portion of each month's income and set it aside for the down payment," says Brad Blackwell, senior vice president for retail mortgage banking at Seattle-based Washington Mutual Inc.

While these are all good steps to follow, borrowers have to think of what they shouldn't do as well. Resisting the temptation to splurge or slip-up in the credit arena are at the top of the list.

Five don'ts
1. First off, don't make any big purchases over the next couple of months. Besides the obvious fact that it makes less money available for the down payment, it might require you to get yet another loan. A significant debt such as a $15,000 auto loan will look bad to the mortgage lender's credit scoring systems. Plus, the human underwriter won't want to see you adding a couple of hundred dollars per month to your monthly expenses.

"Generally, as a rule of thumb, you want your total debt obligation to be no more than 36 percent of your gross monthly income," says SouthTrust's Hamilton. "You certainly don't want to load up on consumer debt if you're anticipating purchasing a home and you're unsure of what your mortgage payment is going to be and if you think you're within the range of exceeding that 36 percent requirement.

"2. Don't try shooting for that six-bedroom house in the Hamptons if it's going to be too much of a stretch in your current budget. Lenders consider what's known in the industry as "payment shock" when approving loans. Somebody who goes from a relatively small monthly housing payment to a huge one either won't qualify for a mortgage or will end up having to cover too much loan with too little money.

"If you've paid all your bills on time, but you've been paying $450 in rent with a roommate and now you're going to have a $1,650 principal and interest and insurance payment on a house, how would you handle your monthly payment?" asks Israel of Harris Bank. "You have to make sure you're comfortable about that kind of a debt load."

3. Don't just get pre-qualified for a mortgage, get pre-approved. To get pre-qualified, a borrower need only submit credit, income and debt information voluntarily to a mortgage broker or lender. That means the resulting estimate of the maximum mortgage and home that's affordable is exactly that -- an estimate. Before they can get pre-approved, however, home buyers must allow their lenders to pull credit reports, check debt-to-income ratios and perform other underwriting steps. That puts a borrower much closer to obtaining a loan and locking in a rate and term.

4. Don't forget what kind of money personality you have when getting a mortgage. By taking out a 30-year fixed rate loan rather than a 15-year mortgage and investing the money saved on monthly payments, you might earn a higher return on your money in the long run. But that approach won't work for people who spend any extra cash laying around on dinner and a movie twice a week. They can force themselves into saving and accumulating equity faster by going with the shorter term and higher payment.

5. Last but not least, don't forget that homeownership brings with it many burdens. The cost of defaulting on a loan is much greater than the penalty of missing a rent payment. Too many black marks on the financial history and it will be 23 percent interest credit card mailers that show up in the mailbox rather than the 9.9 percent ones your neighbor gets.



DR. CHARLES DREW: RENOWNED RESEARCHER, TEACHER, AND SURGEON
By Latoiya Stout

Dr. Charles Drew, born June 3, 1904 in Washington, D.C. had a major impact on the medical industry. Described as a renowned researcher, teacher, and surgeon, Drew was responsible for many life-saving procedures.

While a medical student at Columbia University, Drew did extensive research on the collecting and storing of blood. Through his research and experiments, he learned that blood plasma could be used instead of whole blood during blood transfusions. During this time, whole blood was extremely perishable and could only be stored for seven days before going bad. Because of Drew's new found discovery, blood was able to be stored and shipped great distances without perishing and had a less likely chance of becoming contaminated.

In 1940, Dr. Drew earned his Doctor of Medical Science Degree from Columbia University. He was the first African-American to receive this degree. Around this time, World War II was starting. Drew began the use of "bloodmobiles", which are still in use by the Red Cross today, to get blood plasma to the soldiers in need. Drew became the medical supervisor of the "Blood for Britain" project, which helped to save thousands of lives.

Drew eventually became the director of the Red Cross Blood Bank and assistant director of the National Research Council, where he was in charge of blood collection for the U.S. Army and Navy. He was also noted as speaking out against the military for their order to separate blood according to race of the donor, and African-American soldiers be refused. He condemned the policy as unscientific because there was no evidence that supported this claim that would cause soldiers to die needlessly waiting for "same race" blood. His statement was later confirmed by scientists.

In 1941, he became the professor of surgery at Howard University and in 1943 he became the first African-American surgeon to serve as an examiner on the American Board of Surgery. Although Dr. Drew died an untimely death at the age of 45 in 1950, he contributed so many techniques that are still in use to today to save millions of lives each year.