Dominion Honors Pittsburger K. Leroy Irvis,
First African-American Speaker of the House in the Nation
Pennsylvania's former Speaker of the House, K. Leroy Irvis,
is among three prominent African Americans, Dominion will honor today as part
of the corporation's 13th Annual Strong Men & Women: Excellence in
Leadership educational series. The honorees will be recognized at a
luncheon program at The City Club in downtown Cleveland.
Throughout its service area, Dominion will honor 10 recipients
this year. A Strong Men & Women celebration is being held in Cleveland to
recognize three honorees from the Pittsburgh, Cleveland and West Virginia area.
The Honorable K. Leroy Irvis, first African-American
Speaker of the House in the state of Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Donald J. Campbell, first African-American
NASA Center Director, Cleveland, Ohio.
Kenneth D. Gray, Vice President Student Affairs,
West Virginia University and first African-American General Officer in the
U.S. Army, Judge Advocate General's Corps, Morgantown, West Virginia.
"Dominion is proud to recognize these outstanding honorees,"
said Jay L. Johnson, president and chief executive officer, Dominion Delivery.
"It is our hope that by honoring these superb role models, we can help
inspire the next generation of future leaders to emulate the hard work, integrity,
and example which made our honorees so successful in their respective fields
of endeavor."
Other 2003 Strong Men & Women honorees recently recognized
at an awards ceremony in Virginia include: Raymond H. Boone, founder,
editor and publisher, Richmond Free Press, Richmond, Virginia; The Honorable
Mary T. Christian, first African-American post Reconstruction in Hampton,
Virginia House of Delegates, Hampton, Virginia; The Honorable Roger L. Gregory,
first African-American Appellate Judge of The 4th Circuit Court of Appeals,
Richmond, Virginia; Joe Kennedy, Jr., violinist, educator, composer,
arranger and performer and one of the first African Americans in the Richmond
Symphony, Richmond, Virginia; Coretta Scott King, civil rights advocate
and wife of Dr. Martin Luther King, Atlanta, Georgia; Benjamin S. Ruffin,
first African-American of the University of North Carolina Board of Governors,
Durham, North Carolina; and The Honorable Belle S. Wheelan, first African-American
female president of an Institution of Higher Education and Secretary of Education
for Virginia, Richmond, Virginia.
Dominion's Strong Men and Women program, in recognition of
Black History Month, celebrates the achievements of distinguished African Americans
by providing all public schools and universities, as well as community, government
and non-profit organizations throughout our service area, with educational resource
materials free of charge. The series can be accessed on the Internet at www.dom.com
(keyword strong.)
Dominion has a diversified and integrated energy portfolio
consisting of about 24,000 megawatts of generation. Dominion also serves more
than 3.8 million franchise natural gas and electric customers in five states.
For more information about Dominion, visit the company's Web site at www.dom.com.
