Withrow University High School students are dressed for the “Men of Honor, A Salute to African-American Men” formal dinner, accompanied by FamiliesFORWARD staff members. From left are Winston Combs, Kenneth Alexis, Julian Stewart, James Bankhead, Deborah Allsop (FamiliesFORWARD executive director/CEO), Darrell Henry Jr. (FamiliesFORWARD prevention specialist), Larry Lucas, Kyle Williams, Lakisha Porter (FamiliesFORWARD college coordinator) and Lorenzo Campbell.

7 Withrow students attend
prestigious ‘Men of Honor’ dinner

Seven Withrow University High School students attended the “Men of Honor, A Salute to African-American Men” formal dinner honoring five Cincinnatians Nov. 21 at the Savannah Center in West Chester.

Kenneth Alexis (a 10th-grader), James Bankhead (11th), Lorenzo Campbell (9th), Winston Combs (8th), Kyle Cummings (11th), Larry Lucas (12th) and Julian Stewart (9th) attended the prestigious event. They were selected by FamiliesFORWARD After-School Program staff members and were accompanied by FamiliesFORWARD’s Deborah Allsop, executive director/CEO; Darrell Henry, prevention specialist; and Lakisha Porter, college coordinator.

The black-tie ceremony, sponsored by Toyota, Western & Southern, UC Health, Cintas Corp., the Spring Grove Family of Companies and Messer Construction, and presented by the Abercrumbie Group, each year celebrates the accomplishments of African-American men in Greater Cincinnati. Mistress of ceremonies was Adrienne Trimble, general manager for diversity and inclusion at Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America.

The 2015 honorees were:

***Herbert R. Brown, member, board of directors, Western & Southern (business). Brown also is a member of FamiliesFORWARD’s board of trustees.
***Dr. Kenneth Davis, professor of surgery and clinical anesthesia, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine (medicine).
***Richard Dyer, president and general manager, WLWT-TV (media).
***The Rev. Dr. Damon Lynch Jr., pastor, New Jerusalem Baptist Church (civic service).
***Stanford Williams, vice president, chief inclusion & diversity officer, Messer Construction (economic inclusion).

As part of the recognition, each honoree awards a $2,500 grant to the organization of his choice. Brown donated his grant to FamiliesFORWARD for its work at Withrow.

—Bill Ferguson Jr.

Withrow University High School students are dressed for the “Men of Honor, A Salute to African-American Men” formal dinner, with Darrell Henry Jr., FamiliesFORWARD prevention specialist in front. 

Withrow University High School students, with Darrell Henry Jr. (fifth from left), FamiliesFORWARD prevention specialist and "Men of Honor" honoree Herbert Brown (sixth from left), who sits on Western & Southern's board of directors as well as FamiliesFORWARD's board of trustees.