Miss Black US Ambassador encourages higher education

Pageant winner uses platform to help youth fulfill college dreams.

Jasmine Flowers is a very busy woman these days. She works full time as a medical assistant and is in the middle of applying to graduate schools to become a physician assistant. The Suwanee resident also mentors young girls who are homeless. As of two weeks go, Flowers added even more to her plate — the responsibilities that come with being crowned Georgia’s Miss Black US Ambassador, designed to give women of color a platform to better their communities. In July, she will compete in a pageant for the national title. Flowers talked about what she hopes to achieve with her most recent opportunity and why this pageant speaks to her heart.

What can you tell people who don’t know about Miss Black US Ambassador?

Basically, the organization is meant to give young African-American women the opportunity to have a platform to discuss issues that matter to them. My whole platform is to give underprivileged youth the tools necessary to get to and to complete college.

: Was college always an option for you?

My brother and I are the first students in our family to get fouryear degrees. I always knew that what I wanted to do was going to require more schooling and my parents always wanted more for me. My desire to push kids to consider college is because my parents didn’t necessarily have that and I was lucky enough to have it. What are your passions? My professional passion is medicine. I have always loved medicine and looked at it like a mystery, trying to figure out what is wrong with someone. Personally, I have grown a big heart for volunteering. It went from being something that I did to put on my resume to something I really care about.

What do you really care about?

I love learning and that is why I started mentoring and tutoring. While I was in college at UGA, I became a mentor for sixth graders. After I graduated, I started tutoring at an emergency girls’ shelter. I love seeing the light bulb go off when kids understand something. I love coming back every week and seeing the girls’ progress. I feel like I am helping them get where they need to be.

Was Miss Black US Ambassador your first pageant or did you grow up competing in them?

I did a couple of pageants when I was younger and that was fun. As I got older, more things took up my life — music, being in orchestra and school. When I graduated from UGA, I decided that I really wanted to do another pageant. I really fell in love with this one because it focuses on being beautiful on the inside and what you are doing to change your community. Community service is weighted the most, not whether you are a size 2 or how you look in a bathing suit.

How do you handle some of the questions and negativity about the role of pageants in today’s world?

Even before I decided to do another pageant, I thought, “How are my friends going to react? Are they going to be judgmental?” I really think pageants give you the opportunity to be who you are. Putting yourself on a stage, you have no choice but to demonstrate confidence.

Is gaining confidence especially important for African-American women?

I think that applies to all women. What I will say is that with African-American pageants, you don’t have to fit into such a mold. They are more about embracing things that are cultural.

There are other benefits, like scholarship money, right?

The state Miss Black US Ambassador organization awards scholarship money, then there is an opportunity for more scholarship money if you win at the national level. The biggest prize is the money and being able to promote your platform on a larger scale. I am a big believer that when the doors of opportunity open, you go through them.

Temporary 90-day valet service to be provided

A temporary 90-day valet service will be provided in Cobb County’s Waddell Street parking deck.

Georgia Valet Service will pay $5,000 to Cobb County to lease 50 parking spaces, according to an agreement approved 5-0 Tuesday by the Cobb County Board of Commissioners.

At the end of the 90 days, this proposal will be reassessed to determine whether a longer-term agreement will be beneficial to the county, Marietta, the Downtown Marietta Development Authority and Cobb’s Legal and Property Management Departments, said Cobb Support Services Agency Director Eddie Canon.

Andrew Pringle, owner and operator of Georgia Valet Service, told the commissioners his company will pay no revenue to Marietta.

The selected 50 spaces are on the seventh floor of the Waddell Street deck that is owned by the county, Canon said.

This service will be limited to 5 to 11 p.m. Thursdays and Fridays and all day Saturdays. Free, unassisted patron parking still will be available on all remaining floors.

Canon said he will bring a second bid for another parking deck in 60 days. Information: GaValet.com.

Johns Creek renews police substation lease

The Johns Creek City Council has renewed a lease for space in a shopping center for a police department substation.

The lease is for 1,402 square feet in the Old Alabama Square shopping center at 3005 Old Alabama Road, a property anchored by a Fresh Market and managed by Phillips Edison & Co. Police have occupied the space since April 2012.

The department opened the substation after identifying a public safety need for a greater police presence in the southwest part of the city, according to a staff report. The lease is for one year and automatically renews for up to four successive, one-year terms, terminating on March 31, 2022. Total annual lease payments start at $35,470.56 the first year and rise to $38,414.76 by the fifth year.