The Thermal Belt Friendship Council and Roseland Community Center will sponsor a Black History Program, “Celebrating our Native Sons and Daughters,” on Saturday, Feb. 22 at noon at Roseland Community Center.

A panel discussion will be the main focus of the event in which some of Tryon’s own native Eastside sons and daughters will discuss current issues facing African Americans. They will also issue their own call to action, as recently issued by President Obama, when he called for 2014 to be “A Year of Action.”

Michelle Miller will moderate the panel. The panel will be made up of Iona Fox Graham (Retired U.S.A. Air Force); Joseph Fox, Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College business administration department chair; and Warren Carson, interim senior vice chancellor for academic affairs and chief diversity officer, University of South Carolina, Upstate.

Graham is a 1973 graduate of Tryon High School, and continued her education earning a diploma in nursing from the Mercy School of Nursing in Charlotte, N.C., a bachelor of science degree in nursing from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, a master’s of arts degree in human resources development from Webster University, and a master’s of science degree in nursing and health education from the University of Phoenix Online, in 2008.

Graham served on active duty in the U.S. Air Force Nurse Corps for 20 years, retiring in 2003 with the rank of Major. She was a recipient of the South Carolina Palmetto Gold Award for Excellence in Nursing in April of 2008, where she was one of 100 nurses recognized from across South Carolina. In January 2009, Graham received the “Living the Legacy” Award from The National Council of Negro Women, Inc., Columbia, S.C. Section.

She currently isemployed as the manager of nursing orientation for three hospitals in the Palmetto HealthCare System in Columbia, S.C. Graham is nationally certified in nursing professional development. She serves as president of the Delta Eta Chapter of Chi Eta Phi Sorority Inc.; leader of the Senior Usher ministry, and co-leader of the health ministry at First Northeast Baptist Church in Columbia. She is married to Sidney Graham, and they have one daughter, Jasmin Rae Graham, who is a freshman at the College of Charleston Honors College.  Jasmin is a Williams Aiken Fellow on a full academic scholarship.

Warren J. Carson is a Tryon native and a product of Edmund Embury and Tryon High Schools. He earned degrees in English from UNC Chapel Hill, Atlanta University and the University of South Carolina. He has been an educator for almost 40 years, 30 of which have been spent at USC Upstate in Spartanburg, S.C. where he is professor of English and has held a number of administrative appointments.

Currently, he is interim senior vice chancellor for academic affairs and serves as USC Upstate’s chief diversity officer. He has been involved in a broad range of community affairs, including elective office and service on a number of boards and committees. Presently, he serves on the board of directors of St. Luke’s Hospital and Thermal Belt Outreach Ministries, and as chairman of the board of directors of Roseland Community Center.

He has a number of professional affiliations as well, currently serving as chief reader for the College Board’s Advanced Placement Exams in English Literature, chair of the CLEP Test Development Committee and interim managing editor of the “College Language Association Journal.”

Joseph Fox, department chairperson of business administration at Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College, possesses an Ed.D. and an M.B.A. from Western Carolina University, Cullowhee, N.C., and a bachelor of science degree in business administration from Pfeiffer University, Misenheimer, N.C. He also possesses the Professional in Human Resources Management (PHR) National Certification, Global Achieve Leadership Training certification, and the Rural Entrepreneurship through Action Learning (REAL) certification.

He is a 1980 graduate of Tryon High School. Fox has been employed by several community colleges during his 24 years of teaching. Past positions include: lead accounting instructor, Mitchell Community College, Statesville, N.C.; management program coordinator, Spartanburg Technical College, Spartanburg, S.C.; and business administration instructor, Haywood Community College, Clyde, N.C.

He is currently the vice president of Roseland Community Center, serves as a member of the Eastside Citizens Advisory Committee and is president of the Thermal Belt Friendship Council.

Many of Fox’s workshops are affiliated with the Christian Methodist Episcopal (CME) Church where he served as the director of Christian education for the Winston-Salem/Greenville District and as the Western Zone Lay Ministries leader for a number of years. Locally, he continues to be a sought-after presenter through his affiliation with St. Luke CME Church.

Fox is also the owner and CEO of Fox Management Consulting Enterprises LLC. Fox Management specializes in a variety of organizational training for management and employees.

The Black History program is free to the public and refreshments will be provided.

Roseland Community Center is located at the intersections of East Howard and Peake Streets, Tryon.