PEOPLE

Jet, Nov 13, 2000

Vernon Jones, a Georgia state representative and telecommunications consultant, was elected as the first Black CEO of DeKalb County, GA, the county's top office. DeKalb is the second-largest county in Georgia. Jones, one of only three Black county executives in the United States, won a runoff election against current county Commissioner Ken Davis. Jones has served eight years in the Georgia House.

Lawrence V. Jackson, senior vice president of supply operations and executive officer of major food retailer Safeway, Inc., was elected to the board of directors of Fort Worth, TX, RadioShack Corporation, the nation's largest consumer electronics retailer. In his role at Safeway, Jackson, who holds a master's in business administration from Harvard Business School, is responsible for the company's 41 manufacturing plants.

Denise M. Jordan, acting executive director and former USA Tennis and Regional Programs director for the United States Tennis Association (USTA)/Eastern Section, was chosen as the first Black female executive director of the Eastern Section. The USTA is the governing body of tennis in the U.S. Its Eastern Section has more than 42,000 members in New York, Northern New Jersey and Greenwich, CT.

David E. Gay Jr., director of Taylor Hardin Secure Medical Facility in Tuscaloosa, AL, was named director of Bryce Hospital in Tuscaloosa, the largest state-run mental health facility. As the first Black director of the 140-year-old hospital and its two nursing homes, Gay will oversee a staff of 1,100 employees who care for nearly 700 patients. Gay began his career at Bryce as a mental health worker in 1974.

Nathaniel P. Ford, executive vice president of operations & development at the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA), was named Executive of the Year by the Conference of Minority Transportation Officials and appointed to its national board of directors. A 17-year transportation veteran, Ford manages an operating budget of $252 million for the nation's seventh-largest transit system.