The brothers of the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, the first intercollegiate Greek-letter fraternity established for African-Americans, will come together from thirteen states across the Western Region this weekend at the 62nd Western Regional Convention to promote higher education.
The convention, held from April 8 to 11 at the Hilton hotel in downtown Long Beach, is designed to support scholarships, develop leadership, provide community service projects and encourage college education within the African-American community.
“The convention is designed to showcase the organization to the local communities of our chapters,” Western Region Vice President Aaron Crutison said. “It is an honor to be in the city of Long Beach to showcase our commitment to service, focus on the leadership of the future, and experiencing what the city has to offer.”
Crutison said members attend the event as a commitment to serve. The fraternity provides tools for these men to return to college campuses to better equip themselves in serving the community. The trainings and seminars enhance their service and programs on different campuses.
“Alpha Phi Alpha’s main focus is on higher education,” Crutison said. “The fraternity promotes literacy at a young age and encourages a higher degree than college education.”
The convention will feature a golf tournament, benefiting the “Our Boys, Our Responsibility” initiative and will partner with the local head start program to raise over 1,000 books to donate to Long Beach children and support their focus on literacy. Executives Communications Chair Dominique Beaumonte said the head start program encourages the process of young readers to better educate themselves.
“The golf tournament featured at the convention will have proceeds going toward assisting young men in pursuing higher education,” Beaumonte said. “This is a benefit to support the fraternity’s national programs.”
Long Beach alumni’s Iota Zeta Lambda, Cal State Long Beach’s Mu Chi chapters and the Southern California District are working together to serve as host.
Beaumonte said the Western Region allows brothers to identify current issues and take initiatives to move the fraternity forward. Their goal is to create an agenda which will be presented at the 103rd National Convention in Phoenix, Arizona on July 21-25.
“The event allows brothers to come together in one setting and create actions in place to improve our community,” Beaumonte said. “We want to understand the vision of the fraternity as a whole. The event is an opportunity to reconnect to other brothers who have not seen each other in years.”
Beaumonte said every year there is a large turnout with an estimated 300 brothers, plus their wives and children, who attend the event. Crutison added that wives and children support the organization and are able to witness achievements throughout convention week.
Workshops will be held focusing on the training of a new generation of leaders, building the technological capacity of members, and bringing consistency to the implementation of the Fraternity’s national programs – A Voteless People is a Hopeless People; Go To High School, Go To College; and Project Alpha. Workshops include health awareness issues, risk management certification, potency, chapter organizations and general leadership development.
“We will provide scholarships that value the importance of not only going to college, but graduating from college,” Beaumonte said. “We want our young men in the college community to learn, communicate and grow from meeting alumni brothers.”
The fraternity will host its public program on Thursday honoring local honorees who have demonstrated exemplary community service and local elected officials in the community. Crutison said fraternity members show extraordinary community service in their field. Cancer prevention studies in African-Americans have been done to encourage the community to test for cancer.
A Step Show competition presented by the members of different fraternity chapters will showcase the outstanding stepping competition Friday evening. The winner of the competition will be awarded and they will represent the western region at the 103rd National Convention. In addition, there will be a Miss Black and Gold Pageant, a showcase for young women in college performing for scholarship and college support.
“I hope brothers become better servant leaders in communities, college campuses, and universities,” Crutison said. “I want them to walk away from here reenergized to go out there and become better servant leaders by giving a helping hand and supporting the community.”
Alpha Phi Alpha was founded at Cornell University on December 4, 1906 in Ithaca, New York. Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. has supplied voice and vision to the struggle of African-Americans and people of color around the world, according to its Web site.
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