Replaced 1956 bronze medal just as golden for Olympian Margaret Matthews-Wilburn

After Margaret Matthews-Wilburn won the bronze medal in the 1956 Olympic Games in Melbourne, Australia, for the 4x100-meter relay, she was swept up in euphoria.

That glorious moment in Melbourne would turn to sadness decades later when Matthews-Wilburn discovered her bronze medal missing after speaking to students and showing them her prized medal during a school assembly.

“I didn’t know for several weeks that it was missing,” she said.

Front row (l to r): Dr. Rochelle Stevens, Margaret
Matthews-Wilburn and the Rev. Beatrice Holloway.
Back row: Donavan Ellison and Martin A. Truitt.
(Courtesy photos)

The bronze medal had vanished. But Matthews-Wilburn’s stupendous achievement and coveted bronze medal would not be lost to the ages, thanks to her goddaughter, Dr. Rochelle Stevens, a two-time Olympic gold and silver medalist.

“I was devastated to hear what had happened. I was like, ‘You never told me,’” said Stevens, who learned that Matthews-Wilburn’s bronze medal was missing when the two Olympians were interviewed for a television show.

On Dec. 23, Stevens surprised the legendary track star with a replacement bronze medal that arrived in time for a surprised medal ceremony at Word of Life Healing Ministry, where the Rev. Beatrice Holloway is senior pastor.

Holloway is Stevens’ mother and her former Olympic coach.

“Thirty years is a long time to be without my medal. It is so precious to me now,” said Matthews-Wilburn, who sprinted to a third-place finish in the 4x100-meter relay with teammates Mae Faggs, Wilma Rudolph and Isabelle Daniels.

Stevens knew how important the bronze medal had been to Matthews-Wilburn, who was 21 when that special moment in Melbourne was indelibly etched in the history books.

That’s why Stevens contacted Cindy Stinger of the United States Olympic Committee and the International Olympic Committee in Switzerland. While the glory days in track and field are gone, the bronze medal had been a source of pride for Matthews-Wilburn, a member of the famed Tigerbelle Sports Club at Tennessee State University.

“She’d never requested another medal or reported it missing,” said Stevens, compelled to do something without tipping off Matthews-Wilburn. “She said, ‘If I could get a duplicate…it doesn’t have to be the real thing, I would be happy.’”

Presenting the bronze medal to Margaret
Matthews-Wilburn.

Stevens requested a replacement medal in January. “They told us that it would take six to 12 weeks,” she said.

After an 11-month investigation, IOC voted to replace the bronze medal. The United Parcel Services delivered the replacement medal in December.

“We got it back and I thank God for Rochelle. It took a lot of effort,” said Matthews-Wilburn, choosing to rave about Stevens’ exploits on and off the field rather than talk about her on.

“Rochelle is a special person,” she said.

While it seems Matthews-Wilburn is downplaying her achievements, Rudolph spoke highly of her teammate’s athletic prowess on the field in a 1988 Sports Illustrated story that Ralph Wiley wrote entitled “Born to be a Champion.”

Wiley captured the heart and soul of the formidable Wilburns, a family of athletes: Barry Wilburn, cornerback for the Washington Redskins’ 1988 Super Bowl team; Kelvin Wilburn, who played cornerback for one year at TSU; their father, Jesse Wilburn, a star running back for TSU; and, of course, Matthews-Wilburn, a sprinter and the first American woman to leap a record 20 feet in the broad jump in 1957.   

Rudolph spoke highly about Matthews-Wilburn’s athleticism in Wiley’s story: “She could beat anybody on a given day, and she let you know the day might be today.”

A native of Griffin, Ga., Matthews-Wilburn was inducted into the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame in 1997 and the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame in 1998. She is a retired educator in Memphis.

After returning home from the ceremony, Matthews-Wilburn found herself at peace. “I slept with it [bronze medal] on my pillow,” she said.

Public forum fleshes out ideas to end opioid crisis in Shelby County

Thurston S. Smith speaks candidly about opioid addiction in Shelby County on Nov. 7
at Bartlett United Methodist Church. Joining him for a Q&A are (l to r) Dr. Alisa Haushalter,
director of the Shelby County Health Department; David Sweat, chief epidemiologist for
the health department; and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Griffith. (Photo by Elatris Estell)

“America has had a fixation on dope for a long time,” said Thurston S. Smith, laying out the facts to a group of community stakeholders attending a forum on opioid addiction Nov. 7 at Bartlett United Methodist Church.

A behavioral health consultant and trainer, and member of the Shelby County Opioid Response Task Force, Smith shed light on the origin of drug abuse and its societal impact in America, past and present.

The task force is comprised of experts and officials in Memphis and Shelby County charged with developing a plan to bring an end to the local opioid crisis. The plan is supported by the city, county, the Shelby County District Attorney’s Office, the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC), and other agencies.

Opioid addiction has become a public health nuisance and destroys too many lives – literally. It is spiraling out of control with deadly consequences that the Shelby County Health Department is trying to bring to an end.

Recent figures compiled by the health department bear this out: opioid related emergency department visits in 2017: 901; opioid related deaths from 2013-2017: 650; opioid prescriptions for pain in 2016: 674,033.

Drug abuse is costing America well over $500 billion annually “in criminal justice costs, lost work productivity, and health care,” Smith pointed out before joining other experts on a panel to take questions from the audience.

While the focus of the forum was on bridging the gap between opioid addiction and the faith-based community, Smith stated forthrightly: “There is no difference to people who are addicted to opioids, crack (cocaine), meth (methamphetamine) and marijuana.”

Those who succumb to either drug, whether illicit or prescribed, often struggle at the onset of the addiction with eventual long-term consequences – even death.

David Sweat noted that the average age of death in Shelby County from opioids is 40. “It’s hitting us on every level, every demographics, and all over Shelby County,” the chief epidemiologist for the health department said.

Opioid addiction and other drug abuses can also lead to jail time, said Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Griffith. “We’re trying to encourage law enforcement not to arrest everyone,” he said.

Except street dealers; they will be arrested, said Griffith, adding that it is much more costly to incarcerate someone than to treat their addiction.

“There is no one way to treat addiction,” said Dr. Alisa Haushalter, director of the health department and associate professor of Advance Practice and Doctoral Studies at UTHSC.

There is, however, a major gap in detox beds, said Dr. Haushalter, alluding to the difficulty of securing bed space for those who are drug-addicted. The faith-based community in this regard is called upon to do its part to help thwart the opioid crisis.

Three stakeholders from the faith-based community comprised the second half of the panel discussion: Melvin Lewis, founder, The GAAL House, a transitional center for men recovering from substance abuse; the Rev. Jesse Johnson, program director of No Whispers Initiative at Christ United Methodist Church, touting a ministry that stands up for voiceless individuals currently struggling with mental illness and addictions; and the Rev. Pat Kendall, a pastor at Hope Church, who launched Hope’s recovery ministry 15 years ago and now comprising over 30 recovery and support groups.

Lewis understands the need for intervention. He battled an addiction for 25 years before “God compelled me to help other men who are struggling with addiction,” said Lewis, now in his eighth year in recovery.

The Shelby County Health Department is ground zero for the Opioid Response Task Force in terms of strategy and implementation. The county is chipping in $2.4 million the first year to implement the opioid response strategy map.

The strategy includes launching a public awareness campaign, increasing affordability of evidence-based treatment options, creating an integrated data collection system, increasing access to and availability of Naloxone, and diverting individuals from criminal court into treatment and recovery.

“The problem is chemical dependency,” said Smith, adding, “We need to ensure that members of every community are given a seat at the table.”

Rhonda Myers tells a riveting story about her struggle with cancer

After listening to a riveting testimony on how cancer has ravaged Rhonda Myers'
body, Bishop Edward H. Stephens Jr., senior pastor of Golden Gate Cathedral, and prayer
warriors prayed for her healing and peace of mind. (Photo by Wiley Henry)

Five minutes into Rhonda Myers’ 20-minute testimony, tears started flowing in the room. She could barely get through the story without dabbing at the tears in her own eyes.

Each riveting detail gave the more than 120 women and a couple of men attending the annual Golden Gate Cathedral’s Breast Cancer Survivors’ Brunch on Oct. 20 all the reason to weep. And many of them did.

The majority of the women and one man in attendance are breast cancer survivors. They apparently felt Myers’ pain, her struggle, and her will to survive as she recounted how cancer has taken its toll on her body.

“I was scared at first. My words aren’t always correct. That’s why I had to write everything down on paper,” said Myers, 51, reluctant at first to take on the role of keynote speaker. 

“I wanted women to see how she has persevered. Women need to know how she has endured what she’s gone through,” said Anita Holloway, Golden Gate’s health ministry coordinator.

Holloway had asked Myers to let the Lord use her while telling her story.

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. According to the nonprofit Breastcancer.org, an estimated 266,120 new cases of invasive breast cancer are expected to be diagnosed in women this year in the U.S., along with 63,960 new cases of non-invasive breast cancer.

Men are at risk too. About 2,550 new cases of invasive breast cancer are expected to be diagnosed in men this year.

For more than 10 years, Holloway has coordinated the church’s Breast Cancer Survivors’ Brunch “to uplift and support women, to inspire each other with their stories, including those who have not gone through with breast cancer.”

“She (Myers) has a story to tell, and she has not given up,” said Holloway, moved to tears herself. After Myers finished speaking, she removed her wig to show other survivors that she is not defeated. Holloway sent up a prayer afterward.

Myers had participated in the survivors’ brunch the last two years, but not as a speaker. “This is the first time at the brunch where people wanted to hug me and kiss me,” she said. “I noticed that a lot of people were crying.”

Myers was first diagnosed with left breast cancer in October of 2012, five months after moving to Memphis from her native New Orleans to take a job as a certified nursing assistant at Spring Gate Rehabilitation Center.

Holloway is the supervisor on the night shift. Myers worked the three to 11 shift, but could no longer keep the job because of her failing health. “I had to quit after having the surgery,” she said

Myers was 45 years old then, the mother of three sons. One of them is deceased. After surgery, chemotherapy and radiation followed. During this time, her mother was sick back in New Orleans. She brought her to Memphis. She died two years ago.

 In July of 2013, doctors performed a mastectomy on Myers’ left breast. They discovered lesions under her left armpit. They also found a lump on her right breast. “I didn’t want them to do both breasts,” said Myers, eventually consenting to a lumpectomy.

At this point in Myers’ story, the roomful of breast cancer survivors was listening attentively to the speaker’s poignant message, as if some other malady would be revealed.

Her story continued to unfold; she wasn’t done yet. While undergoing treatment for breast cancer, “my back started hurting,” said Myers, who thought the pain had come as a result of the cancer treatment.

The intense pain drove Myers to Campbell Clinic, where doctors discovered that cancer had invaded her bones. “I had it in my lumbar area, clavicle, and a part of my lungs,” she said.

Not long after receiving the doctors’ dour bone cancer report, Myers started experiencing excruciating headaches. Again, she sought out a doctor. “I went to Germantown Hospital and had an ultrasound done,” she said.

The doctors found four times the amount of lesions in Myers’ brain. In a relative short number of years, cancer laid waste to most her body. It had attacked both of her breasts, her bones, and twice her brain. She’s being treated now at The West Cancer Clinic.

Myers said her words don’t always connect like she wants them to. It didn’t matter to the survivors. They understood her pain – and it gave them a reason to fight just as hard to survive.

Fields chooses gastric sleeve surgery to lose the unwanted pounds

LEFT: Sharon Fields at a prayer breakfast in 2017. RIGHT: With a new look and
a new attitude, Sharon Fields wears jeans for the first time in 10 years.

The most that Sharon Fields has weighed was 405 pounds. The weight was a heavy burden that she could no longer carry around on her five-foot frame. So she decided to do something about it.

“I’d made up my mind that it was time for a change. I have grandchildren and I want to be around for them,” said Fields, a community activist and administrative assistant for Agape Child & Family Services.

Fields’ resolve was strengthened when she learned that she could shed the unwanted pounds by undergoing gastric sleeve surgery. But first she had to prove that she could lose weight consistently before a bariatric surgery team in Tijuana, Mexico, would consider her for the weight-loss procedure.

Because Fields had gained an inordinate amount of weight, the doctors explained to her that a liver-shrinking plan was necessary to mitigate the risk of complications after the minimally invasive surgery.

“For 30 days, I could only eat a 4-oz portion of fish, chicken or turkey each day,” she said. “I also had to replace two meals a day with two protein shakes.”

The pre-op was successful. Fields loss the required weight to shrink her liver and was now prepared to head to Tijuana, a cultural mecca bordering San Diego, Calif. She left Memphis on a Tuesday (Sept. 26, 2017), had gastric sleeve surgery performed that Wednesday, and made it home the following Saturday.

Gastric sleeve surgery is a tool to reduce the size of the stomach to help chronically obese patients lose weight. The patient is placed under general anesthesia while a certified bariatric professional makes a small laparoscopic incision into the stomach to remove up to 85 percent of it.

This type of surgery can take less than an hour. Recovery generally takes about 15 days. Results, though not guaranteed, can vary for each patient. Rapid weight loss occurs when patients maintain a regimented diet plan.

 “I started seeing results immediately. My face and neck changed the same day,” said Fields, dropping 15 pounds the first week after the surgery. Before the month was out, she’d loss 45 pounds.

The weight was falling off rather quickly. “After 90 days, I went through a stall,” she noticed. “Then I started losing inches. Then I started losing more pounds. I loss 115 pounds in 10 months.”

Fields weighed in at 288 pounds less than two weeks ago. “I want to be half the size I was,” she said. “I want to be down to 200 pounds. I just want to make sure I’m healthy, though.”

Lugging so much weight around caused Fields’ health to wane. Her knees ached and she tired easily. If she had to walk a short distance, her breathing would become sporadic. She would have trouble catching her breath. She also had all the symptoms of sleep apnea.

“I wasn’t diagnosed with sleep apnea,” she said, “but I couldn’t sleep nonetheless.”

When looking back over the years, Fields recalls picking up weight when she was in her 30s. She said her weight gain was caused by emotional damage that bedeviled her at the onset of adulthood.

“I was in the 350-pound range for the last 10 years,” she said. “And I was close to 400 pounds about six years ago.”

The diet fads didn’t work, she said. She’d tried SlimFast, juicing, and other over-the-counter weight loss products. Still, the weight would come back. “I would lose 10 pounds and gain 15. I wasn’t consistent.”

Fields felt self-conscious, unattractive. Plus-size clothes were available, she said, but too expensive. However, depending on the setting and those close to her, she didn’t worry so much about the weight.

“My church family…my job…they just accepted me,” said Fields, assistant pastor of evangelism at the Pursuit of God Transformation Center. Her immediate family has been supportive too – her three adult sons, two grandsons, and granddaughter.

After the surgery, Fields’ new image started coming into focus. Now this active, single mother can see the results unfolding before her eyes – and she likes what she sees.

“I still have to eat right,” she said. “Gastric sleeve surgery helps you with portion control. If you don’t follow the plan, you can gain the weight back.”

Fields is determined not go down that road again.

Black Panther Party co-founder Elbert ‘Big Man’ Howard spent a lifetime fighting for people

Elbert "Big Man" Howard in 2012. (Photo by Wikipedia)

Those who knew Elbert Howard from the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense, or befriended him when he lived briefly in Memphis, referred to him as “Big Man” – not so much because of his six-foot, 250-pound frame, but largely because he stood tall on principle and commanded attention when he spoke out vehemently against injustices.

“He wasn’t just a large and imposing figure, it was the heart that he had for service,” said the Rev. Willie L. Henry Jr., a former member of both the Black Panther Party and The Invaders, a local Black Power youth movement somewhat akin to the Black Panther Party’s mission.

 Henry said he met the affable Mr. Howard in Memphis when Mr. Howard worked as a furniture salesman.

On July 23, Mr. Howard died in Santa Rosa, Calif., at the age of 80 and left behind an enduring legacy and indomitable spirit that encapsulate the man and the Party that he helped to shape into a formidable organization.

Santa Rosa is an hour’s drive from Oakland, Calif., where it all began in 1966 for Mr. Howard, Bobby Seale, Huey Newton, Reggie Forte, Sherman Forte and Bobby Hutton, the charter members of the Black Panther Party.

Mr. Howard fought until the end for human rights for all people, Carole Hyams-Howard wrote under her byline in the San Francisco Bay View National Black Newspaper about her husband and his legacy.

“Thanks to all of you who helped him, encouraged him, were patient with both of us, and loved him,” she wrote.

On Saturday, Aug. 25, Mr. Howard’s family, friends and comrades from the Party, both former and current members, will celebrate his life and legacy in the Bobby Hutton Grove in deFremery Park at 18th and Adeline St. in West Oakland, Calif.

The grove of trees was named for Bobby Hutton, who joined the Black Panther Party at the age of 17. He was killed in April of 1968 by Oakland police officers near deFremery Park.

Oakland had become a bastion of deep-seated angst that black residents were feeling about the police during that era of hostilities and civil unrest. Sporting tams to one side and taking up arms in a militaristic show of force, Mr. Howard and his comrades were prepared to defend the black community.

Although history has recorded much of the tumult and deadly confrontations between the Panthers and law enforcement, Mr. Howard and his comrades nevertheless continued to focus on the mission.

He alone was responsible for setting up a free medical clinic for sickle-cell anemia and a work-study program for parolees, his wife said. The Panthers also created a free breakfast program for poor school children.

“No where in history did a few people with determination and a few resources have such an impact on a lot of people across the country,” Mr. Howard reflected in a story in Memphis’ Tri-State Defender in 2006.

The first editor of the Party’s newspaper, The Black Panther, Mr. Howard was a prolific writer. He wrote about the inequities and economic depravation that often relegated black people to sub-standard living conditions.

He also spoke “truth to power” – to use a familiar cliché – and carried the Party’s message of “Power to the People” across the world. In fact, he would say, “Power belongs to the people.”

As the Party’s international spokesperson, he penned articles, wrote books and lectured extensively on some of the horrid conditions affecting African Americans and improving black America’s self-worth on treks to Africa, Europe, Asia, and the Caribbean.

“When Bobby Seal needed a defense during the trial of the ‘Chicago Eight,’ it was Big Man who kept things going,” Henry pointed out. Seal was charged with conspiracy and inciting a riot during the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago.

Mr. Howard was an active member of the Party from 1966 to 1974. After the police raids, jailings and killings, the Party was reduced to tatters. But the big man’s activism and penchant for social and economic justice never waned.

Condolences and tributes were published in the San Francisco Bay View for Mr. Howard, including those from his daughter and cousin.

“He spent his life fighting for the people…all over the world,” said Tammi Moore Miller, Mr. Howard’s cousin.

Mr. Howard meant so much to Tynisa Wilson. “Today, I lost someone so special, so great – my daddy,” she said.

UT rolls out its nationally accredited Mobile Stroke Unit

Dr. Andrei Alexandrov, professor and chair of the Department of Neurology at
UTHSC, and the medical director of the Mobile Stroke Unit team, shows the members
of the Intersocietal Accreditation Commission (IAC) the unit's advanced
technology. (Photo by Wiley Henry)

If you are having stroke symptoms, you should rush to the hospital as soon as possible. Every minute that you delay will cause the death of 1.9 million brain cells, a leading international nursing expert in acute stroke management warns.

“People should not wait when having stroke symptoms,” said Dr. Anne Alexandrov, a professor at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center College of Nursing and chief nurse practitioner of the UT Mobile Stroke Unit.

On June 26, Dr. Alexandrov and a team of clinical experts and administrators touted the virtues of the UT Mobile Stroke Unit, which was on display in front of the UTHSC Center for Healthcare Improvement and Patient Simulation (CHIPS) at 26 South Dunlap.

Weighing in at 14 tons, the comprehensive stroke center on wheels is equipped with a hospital-quality CT scanner with advanced capabilities for brain imaging as well as imaging of the blood vessels in the brain.

Launched in 2016, the $1.1 million stroke center is capable of responding and treating stroke emergencies on average 72 minutes faster than the traditional hospital response time and can improve the odds of recovery, the experts say.

Unlike other mobile stroke units, the team of experts on the UT Mobile Stroke Unit quickly preps the stroke patient before the trip to the catheterization laboratory, Neuro Intensive Care Unit or Hospital Stroke Unit, thus bypassing the emergency room altogether.

“If we get called by 911, we can go to the person’s house,” Dr. Alexandrov said. “We can do a CT scan, clinically examine the patient, and diagnose a stroke much faster…which is 72 minutes faster than going through an emergency department.”

The rollout of the Mobile Stroke Unit was also ripe for the announcement of the first-of-its-kind national accreditation from the Intersocietal Accreditation Commission (IAC) for patient safety, radiation safety, dedication, continuous improvement, and commitment to quality care.

The IAC is a nonprofit organization that evaluates and accredits facilities (including UT’s Mobile Stroke Unit) that provide diagnostic imaging and procedure-based modalities. The mission is to improve health care through accreditation.

The CT mobile unit is the first of its kind to receive accreditation in the country. It is a distinction that sets the technologically advanced mobile stroke unit a world apart from others.

Dr. Ken Brown, executive vice chancellor and chief operations officer for UTHSC, said this is a proud moment in UT’s history. He said the mobile stroke unit’s national accreditation “is a noteworthy accomplishment.”

 “The prestigious, three-year accreditation is in the areas of Neurological CT/Acute Stroke (computed tomography) and Vascular CTA (computed tomography angiography), both diagnostic imaging tools used on the unit to determine stroke treatment.”

“It’s [accreditation] a rigorous process,” said Mary Lally, IAC’s chief executive officer, referring to accreditation standards. “They have to have quality safety and safety for the patient.”

What UT is doing is innovative, she said, adding: “I understand the importance of this innovation and technology that will benefit patients. This technology will save lives. The team has paved the way for all others in stroke management.”

Dr. Andrei Alexandrov, professor and chair of the Department of Neurology at UTHSC, is the medical director of the Mobile Stroke Unit team. (He is married to Dr. Anne Alexandrov.) Since its rollout, the mobile CT unit has responded to emergency calls at least four to five times a day.

He said it takes the team approximately seven minutes to arrive at a diagnosis after the mobile stroke unit pulls up to the scene, which, he added for example, is three minutes longer for paramedics to assess patients with chest pain.

Stroke statistics are rather grim in the United States. It is the leading cause of death and the No. 1 cause of permanent disability in adults. Dr. Alexandrov and the stroke unit team are striving to reduce the treatment time to improve the odds of recovery after a stroke occurs.

Every minute counts.

Friends, relatives and business leaders pay tribute to Jesse H. Turner Jr.

Jesse H. Turner Jr., accompanied by his wife Joyce Hays Turner, chats with a supporter
who celebrated his retirement on June 20 after serving as president of Tri-State
Bank of Memphis. (Photo by Wiley Henry)

Friends, relatives and business leaders gathered June 20 underneath a tent on the parking lot of the Tri-State Bank of Memphis in the Whitehaven community to pay tribute to the bank’s president for his decades of service.

There was an intermittent drizzle and then a quick shower of rain at the most inopportune moment. But the inclement weather on that evening didn’t stop the retirement celebration for Jesse H. Turner Jr.

“This is about legacy,” Dr. Lucy Shaw Henderson, the bank’s board chair, explained to the 100-plus attendees. “We are what’s called a legacy bank. The Turner family is a significant part of that legacy.”

The legacy began in 1946, the year A. Maceo Walker and his father, Dr. Joseph Edison Walker (founder of the Universal Life Insurance Co.), founded the bank to serve the financial needs of the African-American community.

In 1949, Jesse H. Turner Sr., an ex-U.S. Army officer and CPA, was hired to balance the bank’s books. He would work his way through the ranks to become the bank’s president.

During the 1950s and ’60s, when the civil rights movement was reaching a boiling point, bank officials reportedly kept the vault open one night to provide bail money for protesters.

There were other incidents as well where the bank’s resources were doled out to support a cause or loaned to churches, organizations and black colleges. Community service was key to the bank’s legacy.

After the death of the elder Turner in 1989, his son replaced him as president in 1990. He had been a board member since 1983, served as chairman from 1994 to 2011, and CEO from 1989 to 2016. He’s stepping down from the helm, but will remain on the board.

“It was under Jesse’s leadership that this bank grew and prospered,” boasted William H. “Bill” Bufford, noting that Turner worked countless hours to steer the bank in the right direction.

The daylight hours often spilled over into the night, Bufford and the others at the podium attested. It was customary, they said, to get a call from Turner with something on his mind that he needed to discuss.

But that has been Turner’s modus operandi, each speaker noted. He is gentle, soft-spoken – as he is known – and to the point. So when Turner called after hours, the receiver would listen intently. 

Meanwhile, Turner continued to keep abreast of the latest trends in banking and sought to keep Tri-State Bank solvent. Unfortunately, time brings about a change and banking institutions often look for innovative ways to increase deposits.

In January 2016, Tri-State Bank announced the sale of its headquarters, a 23,000-square-foot building at 180 South Main St., to Beltz Investco GP for $3 million. The deal included Beltz becoming a depositor and stockholder.

The infusion of funds and the repositioning of the bank’s operations, including the $1 million renovation of its Whitehaven location, helped to extend the life of the black-owned bank.

Alden McDonald, president, CEO and founder of Liberty Bank & Trust in New Orleans, La., knows a lot about the banking industry and particularly the trials of black-owned banks.

McDonald has spent the last 50-plus years of his life in banking and laments the struggles that black bankers endure to stay competitive. “There was once 100 African-American banks [in the U.S.],” he said. “Today, it’s less than 20.”

McDonald and Turner are friends. He, too, has survived periods of financial instability. “We’ve gone through some serious times – all of us,” he said, and urged the assembly to pass down the message that institutions like Tri-State Bank are important.

Darrell K. Thomas, owner of Thomas Consultants, echoed McDonald’s sentiments. “Everyone has challenges, but this has been a great bank,” said Thomas, noting that he may be one of the bank’s largest depositors.

He added, “We need Tri-State Bank to succeed.”

Turner expects the next generation of bankers to grab hold of the legacy and steer the bank toward greater prosperity. “The final task of any generation is to hand the bank over to the next generation,” he said.