Community Leadership Fundraiser
C/o Freda Leeper, CalWorks Office
City College, 50 Phelan Avenue B-609
San Francisco, CA 94112


For Immediate Release
August 26, 2003
FORMER WTVM NEWS REPORTER WELCOMES
COLUMBUS GUESTS TO SAN FRANCISCO FUNDRAISER

Columbus Residents attend Reception & Fundraiser honoring Jackie Wright.

(San Francisco)-It’s the year of Jubilee (50 Years) for San Francisco community leader, Jackie Wright. Instead of having a self-focused party, Wright asked friends to help plan a party that would benefit the City she has adopted as home. The University of Georgia graduate in both broadcast journalism (1984) and drama (1981) and former reporter for WTVM, Channel 9 sent out a news release inviting Columbus to San Francisco. The fundraiser held August 15, at the posh Lavash Restaurant, 4 Embarcadero Center had among its distinguished guests OZ Roberts of AFLAC, wife VJ Roberts of TSYS, and daughter, four month old Jessica Nicole. Additionally, Mary Nell McLendon of Columbus, a recently retired educator with over 30 years of service was also among the guests.

Janice Edwards of KNTV, NBC 11 was the emcee. Edwards remarked to the crowd that she was pleased to see that the guest of honor was actually in attendance. "As Jackie's friends and family, especially her family knows, she has a reputation of planning and pulling together successful events that she does not attend," said Edwards. "Jackie likes to bring people together and she says she need not be the focus; but tonight we will focus on her and her effort to support different charities together so that they can cross-pollinate and raise new funds as well as new friends."

Proclamations from San Francisco Mayor Willie L. Brown, Jr. and California State Assemblyman Mark Leno honoring Wright were among the surprises. “It was a humbling surprise to receive the proclamations from Kelly Castagnaro of the Mayor's Office and Adam Priest of Assemblyman Leno's office. I new my Aunt Mary Nell was coming, said Wright; “But I had no idea VJ and Oz would join the party especially with little Miss Jessica. What a delightful surprise!”

Former Los Angeles based actress, VJ Roberts, who had met Wright while studying drama at UGA, delighted the crowd as she talked about her last business visit to San Francisco in 2002,“The last time I was in San Francisco, I stopped by to see Jackie and I mentioned that Oz and I were having trouble conceiving. So, Jackie said ‘God has the last word on everything, so let’s pray about this.’ She included the prayer of Hannah found in the Old Testament and nine months later, Jessica Nicole was born.”

The evening was filled with tributes that included stories of Wright’s mentoring efforts and service to groups such as the Lorraine Hansberry Theatre. Theatre founders Quentin Easter and Stanley Williams spoke of Wright’s chairmanship of the 15th Anniversary Celebration of the theatre, which was held at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. More than $15,000 was raised in just four weeks of fundraising. “It was one of the most successful fundraising events the theatre has ever had,” said Easter. “The community really came out for the event. Jackie met Kamala Harris that night and here we are celebrating Jackie’s Jubilee that will in part support Kamala Harris’ campaign for District Attorney. Tonight is an example of the circle of life and Jackie is one of those people that helps make things flow for the betterment of all.”

The entertainment for the evening included a song by Wright’s niece Candis Wright, who sang “Journey to the Past” from the Disney Movie “Anastasia.” It was a debut of sorts for Candis, a singer and songwriter who has just begun a career in the music industry.

“Jackie opened the celebration to benefit the community,” said Belva Davis, a Bay Area news media icon. “It was a chance for the friends-old and new, and associates to pause a moment and contribute to organizations they support. The fast pace of life often keeps us from taking the time to write that check. So as Jackie says ‘we’re pausing to party with a purpose.’” Davis went on to say that Wright characteristically finds ways to enhance people and expand projects.

As president of the Golden Gate Chapter of American Women in Radio and Television, Wright increased the sponsorship and support level of the organization by setting a fund raising standard that was six times higher than the organizations previous support level. Additionally, she established the AWRT Belva Davis Diversity Scholarship, in recognition of the fact that Belva Davis was the first woman of color in the nation to join the organization.

Nearly $5,000 was raised the night of the community fundraiser. Although, the event is over, organizers are still accepting gifts in honor of Wright for the charities. The organizations benefiting from the San Francisco fundraiser include: African American Shakespeare Company, Afro Solo Theatre Company, American Conservatory Theatre, American Red Cross, AWRT Belva Davis Diversity Scholarship, Booker T. Washington Community Center, Christian City Church San Francisco Axis Café, Enola D. Maxwell Education Fund, Kamala Harris for District Attorney Campaign, KALW 91.7FM, Leadership San Francisco, Lorraine Hansberry Theatre, Muscular Dystrophy Association, SFUSD Every Child Can Learn Foundation, Sophie Maxwell’s Re-election Campaign and the Volunteer Center of San Francisco.

Your presence at the event was preferred, but if not possible gifts are still being accepted. The goal is to generate funding for worthy organizations during these tough economic times. Individuals or companies can give in several ways which include 1) Giving by making a check payable to the Community Leadership Fundraiser with net proceeds going to the organization, or 2) checks can be made directly to one of the named charities. All checks can be mailed to Community Leadership Fundraiser c/o Freda Leeper, CalWorks Office, City College, 50 Phelan Avenue, B-609, San Francisco, CA 94112. For more information call 415 705-0557. Online giving is possible at www.celebratejackiewright.com. Visit www.celebratejackiewright.com for details.

Wright a broadcast journalist, who drove cross country in 1990 from Athens, Georgia without a job, landed her first position as a public affairs associate for the American Red Cross Bay Area Chapter during the one-year anniversary of the Loma Prieta Earthquake. She worked her way through the organization ultimately becoming the Executive Officer for San Francisco County and along the way she did radio and TV interviews from places like Kill Devils Hill, North Carolina, Birmingham, Alabama and Salt Lake City, Utah after a tornado or hurricane blew through town. Over her decade of working for the Red Cross, Wright worked with many non-profits. “Jackie says the non-profit arena is also like an alma mater and having this fundraiser is paying tribute to the mom that helped her know herself and grow in ways she could never have imagined. The concept of community leadership was branded for her when she went through the year-long San Francisco Chamber of Commerce’s Leadership San Francisco Program in 1996,” said Bernice Brown, former Dean of City College. The fundraiser was not only for close friends and associates but also for anyone who would like to support community.

The Community Leadership Fundraiser kicked off a weekend of celebratory events. Saturday, August 16 (Wright’s actual birth date), a dinner was held for family and friends hosted by Wright’s daughter, Tiffanie Chiles Mitchell and sister, Phyllis Cameron at the Crowne Plaza Hotel Union Square Russian Hill Room. Wright was pleasantly surprised as her youngest brother Stanley Wright flew in from Charleston, South Carolina. Stanley had been the first sibling to move to the Bay Area in the early eighties and the first and only one to move back to the southeast in 1995.

The weekend additionally served as a reunion as the four Wright siblings, also recognized their brother Joe Wright’s birthday on August 15th and Joe’s grandson, Jacobi Barrett’s third birthday on August 17th. The events, culminated into thanksgiving at the Sunday, worship service at Christian City Church San Francisco, as family and friends gathered together.

Amid the celebration, was the bittersweet reality that the Wright siblings had all outlived their parents, Sp5 Wyley Wright Jr., who had died in Viet Nam at the age of 31 while serving as an honor guard for Secretary of War, Robert S. McNamara, and Ouida Wright, who had died of cancer six years later on the date of her husband’s passing. At twenty years of age, Jackie, the oldest sibling became responsible for the care of her siblings when Phyllis the youngest, was ten years old. The celebration was a time for remembering and rejoicing!

The Community Leadership Fundraiser planning committee members include: Kelly Armstrong, Bernice Brown, Kelly Castagnaro, Belva Davis, Shirley Howard Johnson, Joan Kelley-Williams, Michelle Ortega, Marsha Pendergrass, Cheryl Ward, Marian Wilson Sylvestre.

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