Ronald E. Snead Sr., chair of Ferris State University’s Board of Trustees, will serve
as keynote speaker at an event highlighting a new chapter of the National Association
for the Advancement of Colored People in Farmington Hills/Southfield.
The new NAACP chapter, chartered by the national organization in February 2011, plans to host its first Freedom Fund Luncheon from 9 a.m. to noon on Saturday, June 2 at the Radisson Kingsley Hotel located at 39475 Woodward Ave. in West Bloomfield. The Freedom Fund event’s theme is “Affirming America’s Promise.”
Snead, a resident of Greenville, was elected as chair of the Board of Trustees in November 2010 and is the first African American graduate of the university to hold the position. He was originally appointed to serve as a trustee in 2005 by then Gov. Jennifer Granholm and will complete his original eight-year term on the board on Dec. 31.
A Grand Rapids native, Snead graduated from Ferris with a degree in Biology/Pre-Medicine
in 1971 and has worked with nine of his alma mater’s 18 presidents during the last
40-plus years. Snead, a 1995 recipient of Ferris’ Distinguished Alumni Award, has
served on The Ferris Foundation Board of Directors and currently serves on the Jim
Crow Museum Board.
Brunch tickets for the NAACP event are $50 each, $60 for the meet-and-greet and brunch,
and $70 for the brunch, meet-and-greet and one year annual membership. For more information
on how to purchase tickets, call (248) 498-2552.
The mission of the new NAACP branch is to focus on issues that impact the community.
This chapter will focus on the communities of Farmington, Farmington Hills, Lathrup
Village, Southfield and Southfield Township.