http://www.clarionledger.com/apps/pb...73232841670638
January 13, 2006
Historic gathering a healthy boost
The Clarion-Ledger
Hundreds of Mississippians are expected to partake in a smorgasbord of free health screenings at this weekend's historic meeting of the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority.
Some 1,200 AKA members will arrive in Mississippi for the sorority's 98th National Founders Day celebration starting today in Jackson and Mound Bayou. They'll be met by such medical luminaries as Dr. Kenneth P. Moritsugu, the U.S. deputy surgeon general.
"This is huge for Mississippi," said Juanita Sims Doty of Jackson, national program chairman of AKA. "This is the first national meeting of AKA in Mississippi, ever, and we'll be commemorating the Mississippi Health Project."
AKA, an African-American service sorority with 170,000 members, sponsored the Mississippi Health Project, 1935-1942; it provided health services for 15,000 Delta residents around Mound Bayou. The sorority was praised by then-first lady Eleanor Roosevelt.
To commemorate that project, AKA will dedicate a marker in Mound Bayou today, said Linda Marie White, AKA's national president. "This is probably our largest gathering ever. It will be an experience of a lifetime."
AKA also will hold two community health expos, running simultaneously at the Jackson Medical Mall in Jackson and the Delta Health Center in Mound Bayou, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. today. Screenings will be available for cholesterol, glucose, blood pressure, vision, hearing, dental health and more.
On Saturday, AKA will have its National Founders Day luncheon on the Jackson State University campus, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. The event ends Sunday with a 9 a.m. ecumenical service at the Marriott Hotel in Jackson.
Other VIP guests include Patricia Grady, director of the National Institute of Nursing Research; Michael Oberdorfer and Angelia Neal of the National Eye Institute; Tony Beck of the National Center for Research Resources; Elisa Gladstone of the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases; and Yvonne Maddox of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.
To be late is absolutely out of the question...
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