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Community honors Black legacies at awards dinner

Mark Parker

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Karen Davis-Pritchett (center, left), vice president of Empath Health, embraces one of her former teachers, Joanne B. Andrews, at the 2025 Legacy Awards Dinner. Andrews received the 2025 Community Champion Award at Saturday night's event. Photos by Mark Parker.

St. Petersburg celebrated the long-lasting impacts created by five of the city’s African American leaders Saturday night at the 10th annual Legacy Awards Dinner.

The importance of educators shaping the city’s youth was a recurring theme throughout the oft-emotional event, organized by the Interdenominational Ministerial Alliance (IMA) of St. Petersburg and held at the St. Petersburg Museum of History. Jonathan Fleece, CEO of Empath Health, said the nonprofit has sponsored the event since its inception as it aligns with the holistic care provider’s mission to uplift communities.

“When we stand together, when we invest in each other and when we commit to action, we do more than just honor a legacy – we build one,” Fleece said.

The night’s first honoree was St. Petersburg Fire Chief Keith Watts. In October 2024, he became the city’s first African American to lead the department in 117 years.

Watts, who was out of town during the ceremony, previously told the Catalyst that he “never wanted to be the first” African American in his position and “I certainly don’t want to be the last.” The former Florida Army National Guard combat medic has over 30 years of experience in public safety, extensive budget management and public relations skills and commitment to fostering diversity and inclusivity.

Mayor Ken Welch said he was proud to appoint Watts “because he was the best person for the job. Not only was he a merit hire, but he was also an equity hire. The two are not mutually exclusive.”

“No one is going to come from outside our area and tell us what equity looks like,” Welch concluded.

From left: Pinellas County Commissioner Renee Flowers; Rev. Sam Picard, board chair of the Interdenominational Ministerial Alliance; Arthurene Williams, founder of Kidz World; Mayor Ken Welch; Everald Colas, founder of Story Studio for Architecture; Esther Matthews, president of the NAACP’s St. Petersburg chapter; retired educator Joanne B. Andrews; and Jonathan Fleece, CEO of Empath Health.

Everald Colas, founder of the Storyn Studio for Architecture, received the Pioneer Award. He is part of the Tampa Bay Rays and Hines development team and designed the Moxy St. Petersburg Downtown hotel.

Rev. J.C. Pritchett II, executive director of the IMA, called Colas a creator whose personality “adds strength and richness to our community.” Colas noted less than 2% of licensed architects are African American architects, said it was “quite the compliment” to earn recognition as a pioneer and thanked his family for their inspiration.

City Councilmember Deborah Figg-Sanders presented Arthurene Williams, founder of Kidz World, with the Legacy Education Award. Williams spent nearly four decades as a teacher with Pinellas County Schools (PCS) before opening the childcare center with her late husband and former principal, Lew.

“I am both humbled and honored to be here this evening and to have been chosen to receive the recognition and award for something I am so, so passionate about, which is the holistic education and advocacy of our future,” Williams said. “The foundation no longer begins in kindergarten, but in preschool and before.”

City Councilmember Deborah Figgs-Sanders (right) with Arthurine Williams, recipient of the Legacy Education Award.

Karen Davis-Pritchett, vice president of Empath Health, surprised one of her former teachers with the 2025 Community Champion Award. Joanne B. Andrews finished a nearly 40-year career with PCS as principal of Azalea Middle School.

Davis-Pritchett said Andrews shared the same life lessons she imparted upon students with teachers, as she viewed them as emerging leaders. Several attended the ceremony.

“Because of her leadership, her tenacity and integrity, thousands of students have been impacted in Pinellas County – and beyond,” Davis-Pritchett added. “Because their lives have been touched by Ms. Joanne B. Andrews and all the teachers and educators she poured into …”

County Commissioner Renee Flowers introduced Esther Matthews, the night’s final honoree and recipient of the Dorothy M. Davis Award. Flowers credited Matthews, president of the NAACP’s St. Petersburg chapter, for her “intentionality” when working to uplift the Black community.

Flowers noted Matthews helped recent hurricane victims complete online Federal Emergency Management Agency forms and coordinated one of the largest post-storm food distribution events to ensure people received more than ice and water. “It’s not about who you know or who you don’t know, it’s about how you corral those resources,” Flowers said.

Matthews stressed the importance of authenticity and said the recognition was “truly a testament to the power of collective action.” She said it confirms that Black Americans, the LGBTQ+ community and “anyone else deemed not to fit the status quo” can foster “real change” when united.

Davis-Pritchett echoed that sentiment in her closing remarks. She said it is everyone’s responsibility to determine the legacy they will leave for their families, community, city and country.

“We all have gifts and talents; we all have connections,” Davis-Pritchett said. “How do we leverage that to leave this world better than we found it?”

Everald Colas, founder of Storyn Studio for Architecture, created the renderings for the Interdenominational Ministerial Alliance’s long-planned Legacy Center in South St. Petersburg.

 

 

 

 

 

2 Comments

2 Comments

  1. Avatar

    S. Rose Smith-Hayes

    February 4, 2025at9:28 am

    Congratulations to All Recipients and thank you for your hard and rewarding work.

  2. Avatar

    JAMES R. GILLESPIE

    February 3, 2025at5:57 pm

    very positive and rewarding. public education is and will be a path for success in life. naep scores show we have much work to do.

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