The United Negro College Fund (UNCF) North Florida Chapter held its 14th Annual Leaders’ Luncheon at the Hyatt Riverfront. Keynote speaker for the event was retired astronaut Winston Scott kept the audience of over 350 spellbound with his memories of space travel while stressing the importance of education. The audience also heard firsthand the importance of their philanthropy from student speaker, Asia Cheek a senior at Edward Waters College who thanked UNCF for enabling her to pursue her degree in Biology on her journey to becoming a physician. A highlight of the afternoon included UNCF North Florida honoring the CEO of Jackson Transportation Authority (JTA) Nate Ford as the UNCF Corporate Champion of Education and former Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum as the UNCF North Florida Community Champion of Education.
UNCF was founded in 1944 to help black students attend and graduate from college. 37 historically black colleges and universities belong to the United Negro College Fund (UNCF) network. UNCF provides these institutions with a range of support to keep their programs strong and their tuition’s affordable.
Shown l-r is luncheon host Tenikka Hughes and John Bachman with CEO of Jackson Transportation Authority (JTA) Nate Ford (UNCF Corporate Champion of Education) and Gwen Hewitt (UNCF Area Development Director)
