Dominion to Honor Nine in 18th Annual Strong Men & Women: Excellence In Leadership Educational Series

January 17, 2008

RICHMOND, Va. – Dominion, one of the nation’s largest energy producers, will honor nine renowned African-Americans selected for their accomplishments and leadership through its 18th annual Strong Men & Women: Excellence in Leadership educational series.

Gov. Timothy M. Kaine will be one of the speakers at the awards gala tonight at the Richmond Marriott Hotel in downtown Richmond.

Strong Men & Women highlights the accomplishments of selected African-American role models and tells their stories in an educational series distributed during Black History Month to more than 3,000 schools across Dominion’s natural gas and electric franchise service areas in Virginia, northeastern North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia.

"If these nine honorees are a sample of the role models the youth of today will emulate, then our world is in good hands," said Thomas F. Farrell II, chairman, president and chief executive officer.  "One of the responsibilities of today’s leaders is to mold the children of today into the decision-makers of tomorrow and into good corporate and community citizens."

The 2008 honorees are:

  • Israel L. Gaither – first African-American commander of the U.S. Salvation Army, Alexandria, Va.
  • Nikki Giovannirenowned poet, lecturer and distinguished professor at Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va.
  • Ulysses Hammond, J.D.*vice president of administration at Connecticut College, New London, Conn.
  • Rosalyn S. Hobson, Ph.D.associate dean, School of Engineering at Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Va.
  • Peter Lawson Jonescounty commissioner in Cuyahoga, Ohio.
  • Charlene J. Marshall*first African-American woman mayor in Morgantown, W.Va.
  • James McLurkinleader in the field of Distributed Robotic Systems, Boston, Mass.
  • Vivian W. Pinn, M.D.first full-time director of the Office of Research on Women’s Health at the National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Md.
  • Esther H. Vassarfirst African-American woman appointed chair of theVirginia Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control, Richmond, Va.

*Attending the Cleveland, Ohio, ceremony Feb 7.

High school juniors and seniors in Virginia and North Carolina participated in the Strong Men & Women: Excellence in Leadership student writing contest.  The students were invited to write essays about an African-American leader featured in the Strong Men & Women series.  Winners receive a Dell laptop, and their schools each receive a $1,000 cash award.

This year’s essay winners are:

  • Emily Dutton – Massaponax High School, Fredericksburg, Va.
  • Matthew James Mason – Frank W. Cox High School, Virginia Beach, Va.
  • Chioma Urama – South County Secondary School, Fairfax County, Va.
  • Warché Downing – Plymouth High School, Plymouth, N.C.

Information about Strong Men & Women can be found on the Internet at www.dom.com, keyword "strong."

Dominion is one of the nation's largest producers and transporters of energy, with a portfolio of approximately 26,500 megawatts of generation, 7,800 miles of natural gas transmission pipeline and 1 trillion cubic feet equivalent (Tcfe) of proved natural gas and oil reserves.  Dominion also owns and operates the nation's largest underground natural gas storage system with about 960 billion cubic feet of storage capacity and serves retail energy customers in 11 states. For more information about Dominion, visit the company's Web site at http://www.dom.com.

###

Editor's note: Biographies of the honorees will be available at the awards ceremony.  Video b-roll, sound bites and media kits will be on hand for television stations; a downloadable image of the honorees’ portrait is available online, and photographs will be available after Jan. 22.

 

CONTACTS:    
Media:

Daisy Pridgen, (804) 771-6115