Cox profiles, honors local leaders during Black History Month

Cox Communications is celebrating Black History Month, February 1-28, with profiles and honors for four Southern Nevadans and their impact in our community. 

Honorees include North Las Vegas Mayor Pamela Goynes-Brown; Dr. DeRionne Pollard, President, Nevada State College; Kelvin Watson, Executive Director, Las Vegas-Clark County Library District and Cox Director of Construction Wallace Bell. 

“Cox is proud to honor these outstanding Southern Nevadans during Black History Month and to acknowledge the significant ‘firsts’ these leaders have achieved for Nevada,” said Cox Las Vegas Market Vice President Janet Uthman. 

At the choosing of the honorees, Cox has donated $1,000 to each of the following nonprofits: Project 150; Generation Hope; Goodie Two Shoes Foundation and The Diamond Foundation. 

A segment with all four honorees is airing on Doing More and Su Vida on Cox’s YurView Channel 14 through March 11. Click here to view the segment. 

Three-minute profiles of President Pollard, Kelvin Watson and Mayor Goynes-Brown also will debut each Monday at 9 p.m. on Main Street Living, YurView Cox Channel 14, throughout February. Honorees will be recognized during the Cox-sponsored Black History Month Festival at Springs Preserve on Saturday, Feb. 18. 

Mayor Pamela Goynes-Brown [click here for her Main Street Living segment to air the week of February 20-26] is the first African-American mayor in the history of Nevada. She has lived in North Las Vegas, now the state’s fourth largest city, since 1964 and is the daughter of two “legendary” educators, Theron and Naomi Goynes – namesakes of Goynes Elementary STEM Academy in North Las Vegas. Her father Theron Goynes served as a North Las Vegas Councilman for two decades. 

Mayor Goynes-Brown followed her parents’ footsteps and worked for the Clark County School District for 35 years, retiring as an assistant principal. She also followed their path of public service, serving as Ward Two councilwoman for more than a decade and Mayor Pro-Tempore for two terms – both firsts for an African-American woman in Nevada. 

Dr. DeRionne Pollard [click here for her Main Street Living segment to air the week of February 6-12] is the eighth president of Nevada State College (NSC). She is the first permanent Black woman president of the institution and any institution within the Nevada System of Higher Education (NSHE). She is an inspirational leader with a compelling vision for NSC defined by her upbringing, family and belief in the potency of higher education. 

NSC is one of the fastest-growing colleges in America and is designated as a Minority Serving Institute (MSI); Hispanic Serving Institution (HIS) and Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Institution (AANAPI). 

Wallace Bell is Director of Construction for Cox Las Vegas and utilizes 35 years of industry experience to lead his diverse team. Bell has been a Cox employee for 15 years, previously in the company’s Northern Virginia market. He is on the Board of Directors of Junior Achievement of Southern Nevada. 

As executive director of the Las Vegas-Clark County Library District, Kelvin Watson oversees 25 branches run by 600+ employees, spanning 8,000 square miles, with a budget of $77 million and a collection of 3.2 million items. [click here for his Main Street Living segment to air the week of February 13-19] 

Regarded as one of the most highly respected thought leaders in the library industry, Watson has brought innovative-award-winning leadership to Nevada’s largest library system and demonstrated success in addressing the digital divide while helping usher in a new era to the library system. 

Cox Communications is committed to creating meaningful moments of human connection through broadband applications and services. The largest private telecom company in America, we proudly serve nearly seven million homes and businesses across 18 states. We’re dedicated to empowering others to build a better future and celebrate diverse products, people, suppliers, communities and the characteristics that make each one unique. Cox Communications is the largest division of Cox Enterprises, a family-owned business founded in 1898 by Governor James M. Cox. 

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Video links: 

Mayor Pamela Goynes-Brown: https://youtu.be/xZHiRmKjFqs

Dr. DeRionne Pollard: https://youtu.be/NKUIQcQMoDA

Kelvin Watson: https://youtu.be/bPmUqwya0Ro

Doing More + Su Vida, Cox YurView Channel 14: https://youtu.be/bYcr_O-MQgo