SUBMITTED By CHEROKEE PRESERVATION FOUNDATION
Alicia Jacobs
Cherokee Preservation Foundation (CPFdn) announced last week that Alicia Jacobs has joined the Foundation as a Foundation Fellow, coordinating the Jones-Bowman Leadership Award Program. Each year, Jones-Bowman cash awards are made to undergraduate students who are members of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI) and have leadership potential so they can participate in activities to develop their leadership skills. Recruiting for 2010 Jones-Bowman Fellows is under way.
Jacobs has been an active member of the community for 13 years as one of the original owners of Lil’ Harvey’s Catering (now Harvey and David’s Catering). She serves as a youth leader for the First United Methodist Church in Sylva, and has been a member of the Board of Director of REACH of Jackson County, one of the first programs in North Carolina to address the problems of domestic violence and sexual assault.
Jacobs previously worked at Southwest Airlines as part of the management team supervising Reservation Sales Agents. A resident of Whittier, she is an enrolled member of the Cherokee Nation. Her husband Brad, who is from the Painttown community, and her two children are enrolled members of the EBCI.
“I am honored to be a part of the Jones-Bowman Leadership Award Program, said Jacobs. “Our goal for 2010 is to continue growing this program by motivating the Jones-Bowman Fellows to be active members of their communities, volunteering and being leaders. Our native traditions have always recognized giving and receiving as a way of maintaining, strengthening and building a sense of community, and I will encourage Fellows to embrace the art of giving back in all aspects.”
For information about the Jones-Bowman Leadership Award Program, including an application, visit www.cherokeepreservationfdn.org/jonesbowman.html or Facebook. The program was established in 2007 to honor the late Principal Chief Leon Jones and Mr. James Bowman, founding members of the Board of Directors of Cherokee Preservation Foundation.
The Cherokee Preservation Foundation (www.cpfdn.org) was established in 2000 as part of the Second Amendment to the Tribal-State Compact between the EBCI and the State of North Carolina. It is an independent nonprofit foundation funded by the EBCI from gaming revenues generated by the Tribe. CPFdn is not part of or associated with any for-profit gaming entity. Since the Foundation’s inception, it has made 540 grants totaling more than $45 million to EBCI and regional projects and programs that address cultural preservation, economic development and job creation, and environmental sustainability. Every dollar of CPFdn support has been matched by $1.72 in secured grants or other funding and in-kind resources, making CPFdn’s total contribution to the region nearly $124 million.
