The University of Tennessee at Martin WestStar Leadership Program will host the 21<sup>st</sup>-annual African American Leadership Conference from 8 a.m.-2:30 p.m., May 7, at the STAR Center in Jackson.

The conference registration fee is $35 per person and includes both a continental breakfast and lunch. High school and college students can attend for $20 per person. Registration information and payment must be received in the WestStar office by May 1.

Dr. Glenda Baskins Glover, president of Tennessee State University in Nashville, will appear as keynote speaker this year. Glover began serving as president of TSU in January 2013 and has since worked to advance a five-point vision focusing on academic progress and customer service; fundraising and partnerships; diversity and inclusion; shared governance; and business outreach.

She is also a certified public accountant and an attorney and is one of only two African American women in the country to hold the PhD-JD-CPA combination. She holds a bachelor’s degree from TSU and a master’s degree from Clark Atlanta University in Atlanta, Georgia. She then earned a doctoral degree in business from George Washington University and a law degree from Georgetown University, both in Washington, D.C.

The 2019 conference will also feature Yvette Blue, assistant superintendent of Haywood County Schools; Andrea Bond-Johnson, CEO of Golden Circle Insurance in Brownsville; Sharron Murden, northwest district manager of CB&amp;S Bank in Bolivar; and Dr. Joseph Fouche, a hematologist and oncologist at Kirkland Cancer Center in Jackson, as morning speakers. After lunch, attendees will hear from Charles Watkins Sr., senior instructor at Operator of Technology Inc., and Rev. Rufus Smith, senior pastor at Hope Presbyterian Church in Memphis.

All attendees must register online regardless of payment method. Visit utm.edu/weststar and choose the “conferences and events” tab to the left and select “conferences” to find registration information. Payment can be made online via credit or debit card, mailed by check or paid in person. All checks must be made out to WestStar and mailed to WestStar Leadership Program, Hall-Moody Administration Building room 321, Martin, TN, 38238. Payment must be received no later than May 7.

The African American Leadership Conference is made possible by the WestStar Leadership Program, Simmons Bank-Brownsville, West Tennessee Healthcare, Hardin County, Henson Construction Services, Mark Heaston and the UT Center for Public Service. The STAR Center is located at 1119 Old Humboldt Road in Jackson.

For more information or registration assistance, contact Virginia Grimes, WestStar program coordinator, at 731-881-7298 or <a href="mailto:vgrimes@utm.edu">vgrimes@utm.edu</a> or Jordan Gardner, administrative specialist, at 731-881-7005 or <a href="mailto:jgardn37@utm.edu">jgardn37@utm.edu</a>.
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