AARP Maryland Receives Award at NAACP Freedom Fund Dinner

AARP Maryland has received the 2017 Reginald F. Lewis Corporation/Organization Award from the Maryland State Conference (MSC) of the NAACP. AARP Maryland State President Clarence “Tiger” Davis and Associate State Director for Community Outreach Joy Hall accepted the award on behalf of the state office at the organization’s Freedom Fund Dinner in Columbia, MD on October 27. Held on the opening night of the MSC NAACP 77th Annual Convention, the event honors individuals and organizations that have provided exemplary service and dedication to the community in accordance with the mission of NAACP. In attendance were many of the local, state and federal elected officials who have worked the MSC NAACP on equality and justice initiatives, including U.S. Senator Ben Cardin, Maryland State Senators Delores Kelley and Joan Carter Conaway, Congressman Elijah Cummings, and Lieutenant Governor Boyd Rutherford. Former president and CEO of the NAACP Kweisi Mfume delivered a keynote message to inspire and motivate the audience.

Also honored at the dinner were the Honorable Elijah Cummings, who received the Kweisi Mfume Excellence in Advocacy Award; Senator Joan Carter Conaway, who received the Humanitarian Award; and Bishop Walter Scott Thomas, Sr. and New Psalmist Baptist Church who received the NAACP Faith- Based Organization Award. Additional awards included the “Women in NAACP”, Education Visionary Leadership, Youth Leadership/Service, and the President’s Award.