CLEVELAND, Feb. 3, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Dominion, one of the nation's largest energy producers, will honor two renowned African Americans selected for their accomplishments and leadership through its 22nd annual Strong Men & Women: Excellence in Leadership educational series. The awards ceremony is today, Friday, February 3, at 11:30 a.m. at the Cleveland Downtown Marriott Hotel at Key Center.

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 Ohio, Virginia, northeastern North Carolina, Pennsylvania and West Virginia.

"For the youth who dream about being a fighter pilot, an Olympian, an elected city leader or an educator, we have provided the role models for them," said Thomas F. Farrell II, Dominion president and chief executive officer. "The men and women we are honoring have reached those achievements and are living examples for the next generation of strong leaders."

The 2012 honorees at the Cleveland presentation are:

• Jean Murrell Capers -- first African-American female elected to the city council of Cleveland, Ohio.
• Shawna Rochelle Kimbrell -- first African-American female fighter pilot, U.S. Air Force, Nellis Air Force Base, Nev.

Dominion honored four other 2012 Strong Men & Strong Women during a January presentation in Richmond, Virginia:

• Christopher B. Howard -- first African-American president of Hampden-Sydney College, Hampden, Va.
• Dwight C. Jones -- Mayor of Richmond, Va.
• Carl B. Mack -- executive director of the National Society of Black Engineers, Fort Washington, Md.
• Debi Thomas -- first African-American athlete to win an Olympic medal in figure skating, Richlands, Va.

High school juniors and seniors in Ohio, North Carolina and Virginia 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.

The winners each will receive a notebook computer, and their schools each will receive a $1,000 cash award.

This year's Ohio essay winners are:

• Tianna O'Neal -- Charles F. Brush High School, Lyndhurst, Ohio
• Serenity Sanders -- SuccessTech Academy, Cleveland, Ohio
• Mikel Zeidenstein -- Boardman High School, Boardman, Ohio

More information about Strong Men & Women is available on Dominion's website at http://www.dom.com/about/education/strong/index.jsp; a portrait of the individuals being honored is available at http://goo.gl/aWLQG. The winning essays are available online at http://goo.gl/vIk9.  

Dominion (NYSE: D) is one of the nation's largest producers and transporters of energy, with a portfolio of approximately 28,000 megawatts of generation. Dominion operates the nation's largest natural gas storage system and serves retail energy customers in 15 states. For more information about Dominion, visit the company's website at www.dom.com.

SOURCE Dominion