The Black United Fund of Illinois Inc. held their 14th annual Living Legends/Passing the Torch© Awards gala Saturday, Oct. 4. “Living Legend,” Illinois state Senator of the 17th District, Donne Trotter; and entrepreneur, and top Allstate Insurance agent, Louis Dodd, were among five honorees. A standing room only audience of elegantly dressed achievers, philanthropists and community leaders attended. PNC, Safe Speed and Triad Consulting Services were gala sponsors.
The event, held at the DuSable Museum of African American History, served to acknowledge decades of commitment, hard work, milestones, hardships and victories each honoree encountered along the road to legendary achievement. Perhaps the highlight of the evening for each honoree was the actual passing of the Torch, from “Living Legend” to the torchbearers. In Senator Trotter’s case, the four torchbearers charged to continue the legacy are Illinois State Representative, 33rd District, Marcus C. Evans Jr., Illinois State Representative Elgie R. Sims Jr., Cook County Commissioner Stanley Moore and 8th Ward Alderman Michelle A. Harris. In the case of entrepreneur extraordinaire, Louis Dodd, among Allstate Insurance Company’s highest achievers and owner of The South Loop Hotel, the Torch was passed to his daughter and son respectively, Kimberly V. Yelverton who serves as General Manager of Dodd’s Insurance Agency, and Robert L. Dodd, M.D. and Ph.D., who is assistant professor of neurosurgery and radiology, Stanford University Medical Center.
Other distinguished honorees lauded “Living Legends” were William Lacy, cofounder and president emeritus of the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists passing the Torch to Rev. Terrence L. Melvin, president of the Coalition of Black Trade Unionist, whose award was accepted by Mr. Robert Simpson; Haki Madhubuti and his wife and business partner Dr. Carol Lee, honored for endeavors with the Institute of Positive Education, Third World Press, New Concept School, who passed the Torch to their daughter Laini Madhubuti, a communications specialist with former experience with The Source, BET.com and the Schomburg Center.
