Equal Opportunity Day Dinner

Urban League Celebrates Healthcare Heroes

Keynote Speaker: CEO Janice Bryant Howroyd

October 3, 2006

Portland, Oregon…The Urban League of Portland’s 2006 Equal Opportunity Day Dinner is scheduled for Tuesday, October 3, 2006. A highlight of the dinner will be the presentation of the Urban League’s Equal Opportunity Award to
Dr. Peter Kohler, departing president of Oregon Health Sciences University, and Pastor Mary Overstreet Smith of Powerhouse Temple Church and North by Northeast Community Clinic. The award is given in appreciation for and in recognition of important contributions to equal opportunity. Both of this year’s awardees have advanced equal opportunity in health care, among other accomplishments.

A no-host reception begins at 5:45 p.m., followed by dinner and the program at 6:45 p.m. at the Portland Hilton Hotel, located at 921 SW Sixth Avenue.

Janice Bryant Howroyd, CEO of Act*1 Group, the nation’s largest female, minority-owned employment service in the nation, is the event’s keynote speaker. Ms. Howroyd founded the company in California in 1978 to serve the entertainment industry. Today the company and others founded by Ms. Howroyd, provide all levels of recruitment, educational and training programs, advertising, media production and travel skills.

The dinner’s Honorary Co-Chairs are Senator Margaret Carter, Oregon Senate President Pro Tempore, and Roger Hinshaw, Bank of America President for Oregon and Southwest Washington. The dinner’s Emcee is Ken Boddie, Anchor and Report, News Channel 6.

“We at the Urban League are thrilled to have the opportunity to honor two individuals who have followed very different paths in their pursuit of advancing equality for all,” said Dr. Algie Gatewood, Chair of the Urban League of Portland’s Board of Directors and President of Portland Community College’s Cascade Campus. “While Pastor Overstreet is best known for her response to Hurricane Katrina she is now working at the grass roots level to bring healthcare and basic living needs to low-income people. Awardee Dr. Kohler has helped focus the state’s only health and research university on improving the well-being of all Oregonians.”

For more information about Urban League of Portland programs and services, call: (503) 280-2600.

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Notes to Editor:

Corporate tables are available for purchase at $2,500 per table of ten guests, and individual tickets are $250 each. Proceeds from the dinner will directly benefit Urban League of Portland programs, and $200 of each ticket is tax-deductible. For ticket information, please call the Urban League of Portland at (503) 280-2611.

The Urban League of Portland is a nonprofit, community-based organization headquartered in North/Northeast Portland that serves the greater Portland metropolitan area. The League helps empower African Americans and others to achieve equality in education, employment and economic security through a combination of direct services, outreach and advocacy. Founded in 1945, the League is one of 105 affiliates of the National Urban League, one of the nation’s leading civil rights and social service organizations.