Just Back from Unity 2008

I just returned from an exciting and busy weekend in Chicago for the Unity 2008 Conference. Every four years, members of the minority media organizations (NABJ, NAHJ, AAJA, and NAJA) join forces for a combined conference.



Here are some pics:













This year's attendance was slightly lower than four years ago when we met in Washington, D.C. But it had it's own energy and noteable moments.

The Int'l Women's Media Foundation Breakfast featured and honored some trailblazing journalists like former ABC News Anchor Carole Simpson. Among the panelists, were CNN's Soledad O'Brien who was very outspoken on how she struggled to get management to do stories like it's recent series, "Black in America." In fact, there was a viewing at the conference Wednesday in place for the cancelled panels featuring Senators John McCain and Barack Obama. McCain did not appear at Unity, but Obama took part in the live panel that aired on CNN Sunday morning.

Unity also allowed me to catch up with former colleagues from Missouri and Ohio. Thanks to my friend, Natalie Collier, I saw a little more of the Windy City, including Navy Pier. But she's a little camera shy!

We all scream for ice cream!

You would think spending a hot Saturday afternoon surrounded by ice cream would be a "cool" experience! That was not the case at the Ice Cream safari at the Jackson Zoo. 16 WAPT had several celebrity scoopers including Morning Reporter Don Champion:

It was a sweltering hot day. Thanks to our "scooping assistants" Keisha and Lois we were able to take a few water breaks and they held the clip-on tent fan closer to us so we could actually feel the breeze. Besides Don, other members of the Morning Crew came out to scoop, Ethan Huston and Brad McMullan. (Their names are spelled incorrectly on the zoo sign below!)

Our flavor was Rainbow Lorikeet Cake which was a vanilla rainbow swirl ice cream with real yellow cake inside. From the looks of the lines we had at our tent, we had a pretty popular flavor but our flavor wasn't a winner.

For the third year in a row, I also brought my little sister through Big Brothers Big Sisters, Shalakkeia, to serve as an assistant.

When our shift was over Shalakkeia and I took a tour of the zoo which is undergoing contstruction again.

Successful Surgery

Mom is doing well so thanks very much for your prayers and encouragement.

She was in recovery for a day and a half and was finally admitted to a room Sunday. When she woke up Saturday she said it was the best she's felt in 9 months - which is really a relief.

And this morning (Monday) when she called, she said he got a chance to look at her incision and was relieved. If you saw the photos from the first knee replacement, you know it LOOKED HORRIBLE. This time she says it's a neat, row of staples. Her surgeon had a lot on his hands: NEW knee replacement, scar tissue removal and cosmetic surgery!

She sounds great though and says her room offers a wonderful view of the East River:

Courtesy: www.hss.edu

Mom having surgery today

Asking for special prayer for my Mom today.

She's having surgery at 2 p.m. Eastern time at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City to have a "revision" on her left knee replacement. Family and friends already know this has been a two year ordeal for her.

First she fell at home in 2006 and broke her left leg, then her first knee replacement in 2007 was performed horribly. It took a year for her incision to close, she's been in pain daily and now she's finally found a quality surgeon who's qualified to perform the revision.

And all this is going on while my Dad recovers from hip replacement surgery. Right now, my sister Veronica (from Maryland) and my Aunt Vermell (from South Carolina) are in New York. They're helping with his care and watching out for my Mom who'll probably be hospitalized for a few days then placed in in-patient rehab. I'll be going to New York in August closer to the approximate date when she'll be coming home.

So please keep my Mom and her surgeon, Dr. Charles Cornell in your prayers.