2023 Glorifying The Lions Honorees

The Urban League of Greater Southwestern Ohio (ULGSO) is proud to announce its 29th class of Lions, honoring five local community leaders who have reached age 65 and have demonstrated a commitment to serving the community. The 2023 Lions will be honored at the annual Glorifying the Lions Ceremony in April.

"We're excited to celebrate these six distinguished leaders who have changed the face of Southwestern Ohio by their words, actions and deeds," says Christie Bryant Kuhns, president and CEO of ULGSO. "These living Lions have done so much to impact their community, and we could not be prouder to acknowledge their achievements."

The 2023 ULGSO Lion Honorees are as follows:

• Michael E. Dantley, Ed. D. , is bishop and senior pastor of the Christ Emmanuel Christian Fellowship. He and his wife, co-pastor Carol Dantley, have shepherded this congregation for over 48 years. Rev. Dantley is also retired dean of College of Education, Health and Society and professor emeritus of Educational Leadership at Miami University. The bishop received the Campbell Lifetime Achievement Award from the University Council for Educational Administration in November 2021. He currently serves on the Hamilton County Sheriff's Community Advisory Board; the Cincinnati, Hamilton County Library Foundation; and is now under review to serve as a member of the Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy's Board of Trustees.

• Stephen L. Hightower is a highly successful serial entrepreneur. He serves as the president and CEO of Hightowers Petroleum Company , a 67-year family-owned business and one of America's premier marketers of gasoline and diesel fuels. He is also the President of Hightower EV Solutions, LLC , specializing in turnkey services for EV charging infrastructure serving every state in the USA. He received numerous awards, including NMSDC MBE of the Year and Rainbow PUSH's Living Legend Award. Mr. Hightower sits on the Board of the American Petroleum Institute, Cincinnati Business Committee, the National Minority Supplier Development Council and many local boards. The Obama, Trump and Biden Administrations appointed him to the National Petroleum Council and the National Park Foundation Boards.

• Angelita M. Jones is president and CEO of Eastern Personnel , a full-service staffing firm. She has successfully guided Eastern's growth by adding a Home Health Care Division, a Vending Machine Division, and a no-cost Training Division to assist individuals better to excel in their preferred fields. Ms. Jones serves as the chair of the Trustee Board for Union Baptist Church, treasurer of Top Ladies of Distinction, corresponding secretary of Advocates for Youth Education, board member of the Better Business Bureau, board member of the Port Authority, board member of the Union Foundation, and ambassador for the Freedom Center.

• Camille A. Jones, MD MPH , retired as the Assistant Health Commissioner and Division Director, Community Health and Environmental Health Services, Cincinnati Health Department, in late 2019 and is currently a public health consultant. Board-certified in internal and preventive medicine, Dr. Jones has dedicated her career to public health at the federal, state and local levels. Over the years, she led programs related to environmental health services, childhood lead poisoning prevention, health promotion and worksite wellness, vital records, and emerging programs such as health impact assessment, Health in All Policies, and healthy homes assessments. Dr. Jones is interested in preserving and improving Cincinnati neighborhoods' quality of life and life expectancy. Current interests include the ongoing effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and climate change resiliency initiatives.

• Peg Moertl is the principal of Grovedale Consulting , specializing in community and economic development. In the early 1990s, she co-chaired the City of Cincinnati Equal Business Opportunity Program steering committee. Ms. Moertl was also the ULGSO Board Chair when the State of Black Cincinnati was published and assisted in developing Ohio River Valley Women's Business Enterprise Council (ORV-WBE). She is also the founding board chair of Strategies to End Homelessness and the first treasurer of the Center for Holocaust and Humanity Education.

• Rabbi Dr. Gary P. Zola is executive director of The Jacob Rader Marcus Center of the American Jewish Archives and the Edward M. Ackerman Family Distinguished Professor of the American Jewish Experience & Reform Jewish History at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion. He is a historian of American Jewry specializing in 19th-century American Judaism and the history of American Reform Judaism. President Barack Obama appointed Dr. Zola on three separate occasions (2011, 2014, and 2017) to serve as a member of the U.S. Commission for the Preservation of America's Heritage Abroad, an independent Federal government agency.

The title of the ULGSO Lions award was derived from an old proverb of the Ibo people of Nigeria that says, "Until lions have their historians, tales of the hunt will always glorify the hunter." The message is that no telling of history is complete until both sides are told.

The 2023 Glorifying the Lions award ceremony will be a hybrid event that includes a televised version for the public and a luncheon for the honorees, their families and select sponsors on April 6.

Viewers will have multiple opportunities to "watch the Lions roar." The 2023 Glorifying the Lions will be broadcast on WLWT Channel 5 on the following dates (all times are EST):

• April 13 at 7:30 p.m. (also available to view on ULGSO's YouTube channel)

• April 15 at 7:30 p.m.

• April 16 at 4:30 a.m.

• April 17 12:30 p.m.