DEETER had an extremely busy – yet very exciting – month of May, due in large part to two events.

On Saturday, May 12, St. Mary Medical Center hosted “Gospel Music Night for Stroke Awareness.” In addition to leading the media outreach effort (click here to see two stories about Gospel Music Night), everyone at DEETER had their hand in this successful event that was designed to raise awareness of stroke risk in the African American and Hispanic communities. We coordinated the appearances of the six gospel choirs that performed: Calvary Full Gospel Church, Fairless Hills, PA; Linconia Tabernacle Christian Center, Trevose, PA; St. Mark AME Zion Church, Newtown, PA; Sharon Baptist Church, Philadelphia; SURREAL Gospel Quartet, Trenton, NJ; and House of Chayah (Life), Philadelphia. We also created the graphic identity for the event and managed many logistical. Two masters of ceremonies led the evening’s program: NBC 10 reporter Monique Braxton and Lynn Swann, former Pennsylvania gubernatorial candidate and NFL hall of famer.

In addition, the event featured keynote speaker Yolanda King, daughter of slain civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King. The news of Ms. King’s sudden death three days following the event saddened everyone who was involved. During her speech King shared a powerful message about stroke prevention and awareness. She also made a touching Mother’s Day tribute to Ida Vandross who was in attendance. A tribute to Yolanda King is currently being planned by St. Mary Medical Center to honor her memory.

click here to see additional event photos

On May 19 & 20, we helped coordinate a special celebration at Tabor Children’s Services in Doylestown – Tabor May Days “Practically Perfect in Every Way Days” – celebrating 100 years of serving the community. Tabor turned 100 years old this year and wanted to commemorate its milestone “birthday” with the community by re-vamping a time honored tradition at Tabor, May Days. The weekend event, held at their Doylestown center, saw attendance of more than 1,000 children, families, and Tabor alumni. Treats and activities like chalk drawings, kite flying, inflatables, and tea parties as well as live entertainment were part of the fun. Costumes donned by all Tabor and DEETER staffs along with volunteers helped to make the weekend a festive one.

In other DEETER news, Kirk Deeter who, in addition to working out of the DEETER office in Colorado, writes for Field & Stream was promoted from contributing editor to editor-at-large for the magazine.

Finally, we’ve made a few new additions to our staff. Amye Lee, a senior at Lehigh University, is returning for her second year as an intern with us. Mike Willingham, a freshman at Elon University, is interning with us until he heads to school in August. In addition, we have added Jessica Phelan as a full-time staff member. Jess is a graduate of La Salle University. Keep a look out for her bio … coming soon!

Be sure to visit the What's New At DEETER Archive.