• Home
  • About
  • Classes
  • Research
  • Events & Seminars
  • Transfluencers
  • Hot Links
  • Contact Me

TransactionalPR

~ Community-Identity-Communication

TransactionalPR

Monthly Archives: August 2011

Evonne Whitmore: In Lieu of Monuments

31 Wednesday Aug 2011

Posted by metagcarstarphen in Influencers

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

AEJMC, AKA, Educators, Evonne Whitmore, Women Leaders

I do not know if you believe that such things comes in “threes.”  But, days after I thought about the loss of musical icons I admired, I learned about the up-close-and-personal death of my good friend and colleague, Evonne Whitmore.  She was a journalism educator who taught at Kent State, and from the article posted online by the Kent State student newspaper, she will be sorely missed.

But, I already knew that.  When the news came over a listserv I manage for one of the groups in our professional organization, AEJMC, it hit me squarely in the gut.

Von, as we called her, was one of those women who was truly a force of nature. Calm on the outside with a perpetual air of sophistication, she had an amazing smile and a rolling laugh when she was tickled about something.  I remember the times we had meals together at conferences and business meetings—one especially nice seafood lunch, as I recall.  Like me, Von was a “returning student” who decided to go back to school and pursue her doctorate after living multiple other lives as wife, mom, working woman, community service volunteer, especially through her AKA sorority.  She had begun an electronic portfolio of her accomplishments, which is awe-inspiring to peruse.  This website, like her life, is prematurely interrupted, with links that remain unfilled.

A  little more than a year ago, I learned from her that she had ovarian cancer.  She found out about her illness, she said, while she was overseas on a Fulbright fellowship, one of the most prestigious academic honors one can acquire.  She said a chance viewing of a news story about the disease and its symptoms caught her attention.  Her husband, who was with her, helped her connect those fearsome dots, which she later confirmed through medical examinations and tests.  Still, a year ago, even while she endured intensive treatments, she made it a point to come to AEJMC, continue with her leadership posts, and encourage others.  Her skin was darkened by radiation, and her smile was just a little more tentative.  But the Von’s spirit was still very much intact.

The impact of her legacy was nicely described by another colleague, George Daniels, in his blog, so I won’t dwell on the details here.  There are scholarships and other tributes being established, and Von deserves every bit of this attention and more.

There are some rare people who devote so much time in service to others that many may wonder how they did it, or even why.  I believe Von’s DNA impelled her to make a difference.

She may never get a statue, or a street named in her honor.  But, the words of praise, the scholarship, and the mighty influence she had on students’ lives will mark their own trails.

If you have had a Von in your life, consider yourself lucky.  If he or she is still with us, maybe you have a few words of tribute of your own you would like to share.

Share this:

  • Tumblr
  • LinkedIn
  • Print
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Email
  • More
  • Reddit
  • Pinterest

Like this:

Like Loading...

Nick & Jerry made music and history

24 Wednesday Aug 2011

Posted by metagcarstarphen in Music

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

Black Music legends, cross-cultural, Jerry Leiber, Nick Ashford, R&B

This week, we lost two musical giants, literally within a beat and a song between them.  One was Jerry Leiber, who was part of the musical team of Leiber and Stoller.  Jerry was the one who created lyrics to Stoller’s music, and their list of hits runs long.

The 78-year-old artist had more hits than I have listened too, I confess.  But, he is the man behind one of my all-time, favorite songs, Stand by Me.   The 1986 soulful version sung by Ben E. King is the ultimate anthem of loyalty, and love.

The other loss was Nicholas Ashford, half of the Ashford and Simpson team that rocked the charts with hits for artists like Diana Ross and Marvin Gaye.

Like Jerry, Nick was the poet of his team, the one who found just the right words to fit the right beats.  For me, and millions of his other fans, the song that just sums up the Ashford & Simpson magic was the one they recorded, Solid As A Rock  This is a grown-folks love song that tells you what it takes to keep a relationship going after the thrill of the chase is a memory.

When Jerry shared his background in interviews, he told his story of a Jewish kid who loved Black Music  and grew up in a poor African American neighborhood in Baltimore.

Nick grew up in Michigan and grew up in the Black Church, with the power of gospel music as his inspiration.  He found his way to Harlem where he met his future wife, Valerie, and together launched a successful career and marriage.

Jerry and Nick came from two different worlds but they shared a love of musical styles that came from the same alchemy of blues, rhythm and pop and African American traditions.  Their hits made devotees out of listeners all over the globe,  crossing boundaries with each ton 10 hit they created. Our debt to their combined talents is enormous.

Sometime soon, treat yourself.  Listen to some of their hits with a glass of something sweet and hopefully immersed in even sweeter memories.

That’s what I’m doing tonight.

Share this:

  • Tumblr
  • LinkedIn
  • Print
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Email
  • More
  • Reddit
  • Pinterest

Like this:

Like Loading...

Join the Conversation!

22 Monday Aug 2011

Posted by metagcarstarphen in Conversations

≈ 6 Comments

Welcome to to my blog about Public Relations, cultures and diversity.  I believe our profession is ripe for nuanced discussions about how we live, work, play and communicate in our multicultural world.  My goal is to explore these ideas through a perspective I call “transactional.” I’ll discuss this more in future posts, but this transactional concept is dynamic, inclusive and applicable to theory as well as professional contexts.  I will highlight these exchanges with links, profiles and interviews of others engaging in this kind of work, and doing it successfully.  I would love to hear from you.

Share this:

  • Tumblr
  • LinkedIn
  • Print
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Email
  • More
  • Reddit
  • Pinterest

Like this:

Like Loading...

Dr. Meta G. Carstarphen

Professor
Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communication
405.310.9081
mcarstarphen@ou.edu
**Check out my personal blog about learning, life, and engagement at http://metaprof7.wordpress.com

Poll

Become a Facebook fan

Become a Facebook fan

Follow me on Twitter

  • Teen Turned Dad in for D.C. Riots He Allegedly Said 'Traitors Get Shot' — and Now Son Speaks Out flip.it/aIuL0R 16 hours ago
  • White House adding sign language interpreter for briefings flip.it/_WOso- 16 hours ago
  • 10 fabulous free apps for working with audio, video, and images flip.it/RfkAHR 16 hours ago
  • These Brave Corporations Did What No Social Platforms Could Do, And I’m Weeping flip.it/9I7K-R 16 hours ago
  • Biden fires doctor who lied about Trump's Covid condition | Boing Boing flip.it/WvnfpD 16 hours ago
Follow @DrMCar

Blog Topics

  • Conversations
  • Corporate Social Responsibility
  • Ethnic Media
  • Film
  • Food
  • History
  • Identity
  • Influencers
  • Literature
  • Matters of Faith
  • Media Relations
  • Music
  • Observances
  • Politics
  • Public Relations Campaigns
  • Uncategorized
  • Volunteerism
  • Women's Words

Archives

  • June 2015
  • March 2015
  • July 2013
  • November 2012
  • October 2012
  • July 2012
  • June 2012
  • May 2012
  • February 2012
  • December 2011
  • November 2011
  • October 2011
  • September 2011
  • August 2011

Calendar

August 2011
M T W T F S S
1234567
891011121314
15161718192021
22232425262728
293031  
    Sep »

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 1,234 other followers

Blog at WordPress.com.

loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.
%d bloggers like this: