Fitz Hill named one of
"10 Most Influential African Americans in the Bay Area" for 2003
SAN JOSE STATE UNIVERSITY
CONTACT: Lawrence Fan, Sports Information Director
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 6, 2004
San Jose, Calif.---– San Jose State University head football coach Fitz Hill was named one of the "10 Most Influential African Americans in the Bay Area" for 2003 at the annual awards program presented by CityFlight medianetwork recently in San Francisco.
Prestigious community and professional organizations partnered with CityFlight to select award recipients in the fields or arts and entertainment, community service, corporate America, education, entrepreneurial business, health care, media, political and public service, sports and youth. Special consideration was given to a nominee’s respective accomplishments and/or contributions during 2003. Additionally, popular votes submitted via www.cityflight.com contributed 30% toward final award decisions.
Nominations for the 2003 awards were solicited from100 Black Men of Silicon Valley, Inc., 100 Black Men of the Bay Area, Inc., Bay Area Black Journalists Association, Bay Area Black United Fund, First Fridays of the Bay Area, Charles Houston Bar Association, Diablo Black Men's Group, San Francisco Black Chamber of Commerce, and Silicon Valley Black Chamber of Commerce. Also, the National Association of Black Accountants, National Black MBA Association, National Coalition of 100 Black Women Bay Area, National Society of Black Engineers, San Francisco Black Film Festival, Urban Financial Services Coalition, Women of Color Action Network (WCAN) participated in the nominating process.
“Since moving to the Bay Area in December 2000, I set a goal to be very community-service oriented, develop programs for socially disadvantaged youth and reach out to those less fortunate,” says Hill, whose is entering his fourth season as the Spartans’ head football coach. He is one of five African-Americans who is a head coach of one of the nation’s 117 NCAA Division I-A football programs.
“Coach Hill has made a significant impact in the Bay Area during his three years at San Jose State and, specifically, in 2003. He was able to successfully partner education and athletics in a week-long Bay Area event that emphasized literacy to Bay Area youth and culminated with our football team hosting Grambling State University in Northern California for the first time,” says Chuck Bell, San Jose State University’s director of athletics.
“We are very fortunate to have a coach like Coach Hill
who values the
importance of the local community in the educational process.”
The "10 Most Influential African Americans in the Bay Area" for 2003 are:
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Goapele, recording artist and performer
COMMUNITY SERVICE
Cheryl Smith, Executive Director, Bayview Hunter's Point YMCA
CORPORATE
Brenda Wright, Senior Vice-President / Director of Community Development,
Wells Fargo Bank
EDUCATION
Margaret J. Matson Norris, Academic Director, Omega Boys Club
ENTREPRENEUR/SMALL BUSINESS
Cheryl D. Broussard, Chief Executive Officer, Cheryl Broussard & Co.,
Inc.
HEALTHCARE
Gloria Brown, M.P.A., African American Community Health Advisory Committee
MEDIA
Dori J. Maynard, President & Chief Executive Officer, Robert C. Maynard
Institute for
Journalism Education
POLITICAL/PUBLIC SERVICE
Kamala Harris, District Attorney, City & County of San Francisco
SPORTS
Dr. Fitzgerald Hill, Head Football Coach, San Jose State University
YOUTH
Rosalyn Renee Reed, Senior, Holy Names High School
The "Take Flight" Continuing Education Scholarship Program was the beneficiary of the evening’s financial proceeds. AARP, Bank of America, Citibank, Crown Royal, Hewlett-Packard Company, Pacific Gas and Electric Company, Sun Microsystems, Inc., Union Bank of California and Wells Fargo Bank were the event’s major underwriters and sponsors. San Jose city council member Cindy Chavez, recently elected mayor of San Francisco Gavin Newsom and Oakland Visitor’s Bureau executive director Mariette Beliveau were among the award presenters.
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