Pictured are Dick Perry (in brown suit) and Charles E. Smith,
the mayor of Woodmere Village in Ohio
CLEVELAND, Ohio- Retired Plain Dealer reporter Richard Peery, also a former reporter for the Call and Post Newspaper, is among eight attendees that will receive community service awards on Saturday, Dec 7 at the annual community affair of the Fairfax Business Association (FBA). The event will be held at Fairfax Place in Cleveland, 9014 Cedar Avenue. Tickets are $50. For more information contact Betty Mahone at 216-926-8003.
Since retiring Peery, who was also a longtime president of the writer's Guild union at the Plain Dealer, has continued his activism in the community, rallying with community activists and others around violence against women issues in greater Cleveland, a stand your ground bill in the Ohio State General Assembly, and police brutality.
The keynote speaker is Charles E. Smith, the mayor of Woodmere Village in Ohio.
Other award recipients include Wesley Toles, Jackie Sutton, Shirley Thompson, Tim Willis, Leona Wilson, Linda Green, and Paul Clark.
"It will be marvelous and is our academy awards for the Fairfax neighborhood," said Betty Mahone, secretary for the FBA and owner and operator of the Chateau Mansion lounge and restaurant in East Cleveland.
Last year's award recipients (pictured above) were Attorney James Gay, Our Lady of Peace Church Pastor Gary Chmura, Brenda Hubbard Tolbert, 19 Action News Anchor and Reporter Harry Boomer, and William Earl Morris. Boomer was also the featured speaker at the event last year.
Peery and Toles will both receive the William Seawright Award at Saturday night's banquet, the highest honor the organization bestows on people.
The late William Seawright was an entrepreneur and philanthropist in the Fairfax community who owned real estate and who believed that Black businesses were the cornerstone of the Black community. He often gave money and other resources to small business owners to help them survive, and he supported the East Technical High School basketball team, among other community venues.
"I have long had respect for Mr. Peery," said Mary Seawright , the surviving spouse of William Seawright who owns and operates Seawright Enterprises in Cleveland.
"Dick Peery is an outstanding gentleman and was a supreme journalist," Mary Seawright said. "We appreciate that we can honor him and others that have given back to the community, the Black community in particular."
Led by Greg Roberts, the FBA is a resource and networking organization designed to enhance Black businesses in the Fairfax community.
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