Black educator group receives $10K for scholarship fund

The Northeast Texas Alliance of Black School Educators announced Wednesday evening, during their second annual Blue Apple Awards Ceremony, that they have received a $10,000 donation from the Patterson Troike Foundation

The Alliance received this donation to its Pathway Foundation to help provide scholarships to under-served student populations.

Since being founded in 2012,

NETABSE has grown to more than 200 members and has given out 12 scholarships to local area high school seniors.

This donation should allow them to increase that number.

President Toney Favors said the impact of this donation cannot be understated because in order for individuals to make their way through the process of becoming an educator, it takes funding.

“Thank you to this team, because this is really huge,” Favors said. “We’re now able to provide funding. I do remember last year many people wanted to donate to the organization — well guess what — it’s tax-deductible because we’re 501c3 status. So those two things, along with the membership with the state, were some of the goals we wanted to hit. But we’re not through.”

Favors’ said state membership — which they have been working to increase — is up to 82 members, from a previous count of 21. This is the number of local members who are also affiliated with TASBE, the state-wide organization.

The original purpose of the ceremony was to announce Blue Apple awardees and install executive board members via a Zoom meeting.

The Blue Apple awardees, awarded for being active members, are as follows:

■ Central Office Personnel of the Year: Jennell Ingram

■ Principal of the Year: Karen Brown

■ NETABSE Student of the Year: Juvard Anthony

■ Higher Education Member of the Year: Lee Williams, III

■ Ambassador of the Year:

Bridget Ivory

■ Teacher of the Year: Patricia Barlow

A special appearance was also made by TASBE President Dr. David Harris, who announced the installation of nine NETABSE executive board member positions.

These members included: Dr. James Morris, chaplain; Jasmine Gill, historian; Chad Pirtle, parliamentarian; Barbara Sears, correspondence secretary; Brittney Brookes, financial secretary; Dr. James Morris, treasurer; Dr. Sandra Austin, recording secretary/middle school conference chairperson; Lee Williams, III, president-elect; and Toney Favors, president.

“What an honor and pleasure it is to be on this Zoom with such distinguished awardees this evening,” Harris said. “I’d like to congratulate each and every one of you for acknowledging and seeing that there is something within you, and I can feel the excitement and joy that someone selected you to be a part of this great organization. “