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MAJOR BENEFIT HONORS HEAD OF WORLD’S LARGEST BLACK-OWNED BANK ON SEPT. 7
Ghanaian Coordinates Fabulous Awards Dinner
By
Nii Okaijah
By Nii Okaijah CHICAGO:- Jacoby D. Dickens, chairman of Chicago Seaway National Bank, the world’s largest black-owned bank, is to be honored at a major banquet on Thursday, September 7 for his generous support for higher education. According to Chicago State University Foundation Executive Director Katey Assem, Dickens will be honored at the fabulous 6th Annual Friends of Chicago State University(CSU) Awards Dinner at the Hyatt Regency Chicago Hotel. Assem said the awards dinner is generating tremendous interest from all sections of the commu nity because of Dickens’s support for worthy causes.
At a reception for visiting African and Caribbean business executives some time ago, Dickens’s expressed his bank’s interest in doing business with African and Caribbean countries. In addition to honoring Dickens, attendees will also benefit from networking with executives from the city’s corporate, civic and legislative communities. This year’s dinner chair is Joset B. Wright, president of Ameritech Illinois, and the mistress of ceremonies will be an award-winning TV anchor Robin Robinson of FOX News Chicago.
The
program will start with a reception at 6p.m., followed by dinner at 7
p.m. “I look forward to this year’s event to be the largest and most successful
CSU gala ever as a fitting tribute in honor of an illustrious person and
a great philanthropist, Jacoby Dickens. He is CSU’s guardian angel, generous
benefactor and very good friend of the university,” said CSU president
Elnora D. Daniel. “We are proud and thankful for his leadership in helping
to initiate policy and raise funds to meet students’ needs for scholarships
and computers.”
A long-time supporter of CSU, Dickens serves the university as a member of the CSU Board of Trustees and the CSU Foundation Board of Director. In the past, the university has conferred an honorary doctorate degree upon him, inducted him into the College Business Hall of Fame and named the CSU Athletics Building after him for “becoming a success and reaching back and sharing with the community.” Dickens has made over $1 million in donations to CSU, the most generous individual gift in the school’s history.
Realizing that CSU needs computers and related technology for students to succeed in the job market, Dickens made a challenge grant of $250,000 for a major fundraiser under his chair. Impressed with the successful outcome of the event, Dickens announced an additional commitment of $750,000. “CSU is close to my heart. I am extremely proud to support the university’s drive to provide students with computer resources and training that will enable them to succeed in today’s increasingly competitive job market,” Dickens said. “CSU has proven itself as one of the most viable institutions in the Midwest.”
Dickens achieved success as a businessperson by virtue of hard work and sound investment. After 14 years of service as an engineer with the Chicago Board of Education, he embarked on his entrepreneurial career by investing in real estate, an area in which his business acumen almost immediately paid dividends. He later became part owner in a bowling recreation center, and currently his total bowling facilities rank him as the country’s number one Black bowling proprietor. His other business interests include part ownership of two television stations in Wisconsin.
During his tenure, Seaway National Bank has risen to become the nation’s largest black-owned bank. He serves on the boards of many civic and philanthropic organizations. Call (773) 955-3839 for ticket information about the awards dinner. Do not miss out. Be there!
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