title: Brian Stokes Mitchell

texts:
<mask> (born October 31, 1957) is an American actor and singer. A powerful baritone, he has been one of the central leading men of the Broadway theatre since the 1990s. He won the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical in 2000 for his performance in Kiss Me, Kate. Early life
<mask> was born in Seattle, Washington, the youngest of four children of <mask>, an electronics engineer, and his wife Lillian, a school administrator. <mask> grew up at various U.S. military bases overseas, where his father was a civilian engineer for the U.S. Navy. As a young boy, he lived in San Diego, California, where he began acting in school musicals. He did not attend college, having begun performing professionally in high school, although he did have private teachers in both acting and voice in his teen years.He has said that he studied film scoring, orchestration, and conducting through UCLA. Prior to Ragtime, he was known professionally as <mask>. Career

Stage
<mask> first performed on Broadway in the musical Mail in 1988, with music by Michael Rupert and lyrics by Jerry Cocker, winning the Theatre World award. His Broadway credits include an all-black revival of George and Ira Gershwin's Oh, Kay! (1990), Jelly's Last Jam (1992) based on the works of jazz artist Jelly Roll Morton, and Kander and Ebb's Kiss of the Spider Woman (1993). He originated the role of Coalhouse Walker Jr, in the musical Ragtime, which opened on Broadway in January 1998. He received a 1998 Tony Award nomination for Best Actor in a Musical.He appeared in the 1999 revival of Cole Porter's Kiss Me, Kate as Fred Graham / Petruchio, winning the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical. He appeared on Broadway in King Hedley II in 2001 (Tony Award nomination) and Man of La Mancha in 2002 (Tony Award nomination). He appeared in the New York City Center Encores! staged concert productions of Jule Styne's Do Re Mi (1999), Bob Merrill's Carnival! (2002), Kismet (2006), and The Band Wagon in 2014. He played the title role in the 2002 Kennedy Center production of Sweeney Todd, part of the Stephen Sondheim celebration. On June 9, 2005, <mask> appeared in a concert version of the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical South Pacific at Carnegie Hall.He starred as Emile, alongside Reba McEntire as Nellie Forbush and Alec Baldwin as Luther Billis. The production was taped and telecast by PBS in 2006. Of his performance, Ben Brantley wrote in The New York Times, "As for Mr. <mask>, his place in the pantheon of romantic musical leads is now guaranteed." Playbill Records released his debut solo CD, <mask> <mask> on June 6, 2006. <mask> has also performed in a Christmas concert with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir later released as a CD and DVD entitled Ring Christmas Bells. His second solo CD, Simply Broadway, was released October 30, 2012, by CD Baby. <mask> returned to Broadway to star with Patti LuPone in the musical version of the Pedro Almodóvar film Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, which opened at the Belasco Theatre in November 2010.A new musical titled Shuffle Along, or, the Making of the Musical Sensation of 1921 and All That Followed, based on the making of Shuffle Along opened on Broadway on March 14, 2016 in previews, officially on April 21 at the Music Box Theatre. <mask> played "F.E. Miller", with Audra McDonald as "Lottie Gee", Billy Porter, Joshua Henry and Brandon Victor Dixon. Television and film
<mask> has a number of television and film credits, including the role of John Dolan in Roots: The Next Generations (1979), and a seven-year stint as Dr. Justin 'Jackpot' Jackson on Trapper John, M.D. from 1979 to 1986. <mask> made several appearances as a celebrity panelist on episodes of $25,000 Pyramid and $100,000 Pyramid in the 1980s, and was considered one of the game's better celebrity players, helping a contestant win the $100,000 grand prize on the latter show in February 1986. <mask> also participated as a celebrity panelist in four weeks' worth of episodes of The Match Game-Hollywood Squares Hour, a short-lived NBC game show that ran from 1983-1984.He played recurring roles as Hilary Banks' news anchor fiancé Trevor Newsworthy/Collins on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and on Frasier as Dr. Frasier Crane's upstairs neighbor and nemesis Cam Winston. He supplied the singing voice of Jethro in the animated feature The Prince of Egypt (1998). He guest starred in March 2010 in Ugly Betty as Wilhelmina Slater's ex-boyfriend, Don. He appeared on the 57th episode of Glee, titled "Heart" in 2012, and the 58th, titled "On My Way," as one of Rachel's dads (LeRoy) along with Jeff Goldblum. He also played a recurring role on the USA Network series Mr. Robot as Scott Knowles, CTO of E Corp. The series began in June 2015 and ended in December 2019.He has also done voice-overs for animation including Animaniacs, Capitol Critters, Tiny Toon Adventures, A Pup Named Scooby-Doo, The Further Adventures of SuperTed, Kid 'n Play, New Kids on the Block, Scooby-Doo! and the Reluctant Werewolf, Gravedale High, Potsworth & Co., Captain Planet and the Planeteers, The Tom and Jerry Kids Show, Yo Yogi!, Fantastic Max, Pound Puppies, The Addams Family, California Raisins, The Angry Beavers, James Bond Jr., Batman: The Animated Series, Paddington Bear, Pinky and the Brain, Defenders of Dynatron City, The Hot Rod Dogs and Cool Car Cats, Droopy, Master Detective, Denver, the Last Dinosaur, Mighty Max, Don Coyote & Sancho Panda, Vampirina, and the two Flintstones animated movies Hollyrock-a-Bye Baby and I Yabba-Dabba Do!. <mask> plays Nicholas Prophet in Wolverine: The Long Night, a scripted podcast serial. Personal life
He has been married to actress Allyson Tucker since 1994 and has a son, Ellington. Filmography

Film

Television

Video games

Theatre

Discography

 <mask> <mask> (June 6, 2006)
Track listing
"Something's Coming" (West Side Story)
"The Best Is Yet to Come" (Cy Coleman)
"Pretty Women" (Sweeney Todd)
"Just In Time" (Bells are Ringing)
"Lazy Afternoon" (The Golden Apple)
"Another Hundred People" (Company)/"Take the 'A' Train"
"How Long Has This Been Going On?" (Funny Face)
"Life is Sweet" (Wonderful Town)
"Losing My Mind" (Follies)
"Being Alive" (Company)
"How Glory Goes" (Floyd Collins)
"Grateful"

 Simply Broadway (2012)
 Plays With Music (2019)

Awards and nominations
Sources: Playbill BroadwayWorld

Honors
2004 - Mitchell was elected the Chairman of the Board of the Actors Fund of America
2016 - <mask> received the Isabelle Stevenson Award "for his commitment to supporting members of the entertainment community in crisis or transition through his work with The Actors Fund." References

External links

 <mask> Stokes <mask> at Internet Off-Broadway Database

1957 births
Living people
African-American male actors
20th-century African-American male singers
American baritones
American male film actors
American male musical theatre actors
American male television actors
American male voice actors
Tony Award winners
Male actors from Seattle
20th-century American male actors
21st-century American male actors
21st-century African-American people

masks:
Brian Stokes Mitchell
Mitchell
George Mitchell
Mitchell
Brian Mitchell
Mitchell
Mitchell
Mitchell
Brian Stokes
Mitchell
Mitchell
Mitchell
Mitchell
Mitchell
Mitchell
Mitchell
Mitchell
Brian Stokes
Mitchell
Mitchell
Brian
Mitchell


title: Wil Myers

type: original

texts:
<mask> (born  December 10, 1990) is an American professional baseball outfielder and first baseman for the San Diego Padres of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played for the Tampa Bay Rays. Originally drafted by the Kansas City Royals, he was traded to the Rays in 2012. He won the AL Rookie of the Year Award in 2013. Early career
<mask> attended and played baseball at Wesleyan Christian Academy in High Point, North Carolina. As a freshman, <mask> had a .450 batting average and was an all-state third baseman. During his junior year, he went 10–0 as a pitcher.After committing to the University of South Carolina, <mask> was drafted by the Kansas City Royals. In 2008, his team won a state championship. Professional career

Kansas City Royals
<mask> was drafted by the Kansas City Royals as a catcher in the third round, with the 91st overall selection, of the 2009 Major League Baseball draft. <mask> signed a contract with the Royals, that included a $2 million signing bonus, in August 2009. Before the draft, <mask> had committed to South Carolina during his junior year. <mask> made his debut in professional baseball in 2009, when he played catcher and batted .369 with five home runs in 84 at bats with Royals' Rookie League affiliates, the Idaho Falls Chukars and the Burlington Royals. <mask> began the 2010 season playing catcher for the Burlington Bees of the Midwest League and was named to the Midwest League All Star team.On July 1, 2010, the Royals promoted <mask> to the Wilmington Blue Rocks of the Carolina League, a league generally considered more advanced than those in which he had previously played. <mask> played catcher and finished the 2010 season batting .315 with a .429 on-base percentage overall, and totaled 14 home runs, 83 runs batted in, and 85 walks between his time in the Midwest League and Carolina League. In 2011, playing for the Class AA Northwest Arkansas Naturals, he batted .254 with eight home runs and 49 RBIs in 99 games. He played primarily outfield in 2012, and was named to appear in the 2012 All-Star Futures Game. Tampa Bay Rays

2013: Rookie year

On December 9, 2012, <mask> was traded to the Tampa Bay Rays (along with Jake Odorizzi, Patrick Leonard, and Mike Montgomery) in exchange for James Shields, Wade Davis, and a player to be named later (later chosen to be Elliot Johnson). He started the 2013 season with the Triple-A Durham Bulls of the International League. On June 17, <mask> was called up to the Rays, for whom he played outfield.<mask> won the AL Rookie of the Year award in 2013, beating teammate and pitcher Chris Archer and Detroit shortstop José Iglesias. In spite of the fact that he did not join the Rays until their 70th game on June 18, <mask> led AL rookies with a 53 RBIs in the 88 games he played. The last player to lead AL rookies in RBIs in fewer than 90 games was Hoot Evers playing for the Detroit Tigers in 1946, when he had 33 in 81 games. He also became the first-ever hitter to win the award in under 100 games. In the post-season, he had two singles in 20 at bats. 2014
<mask> entered 2014 as the Rays' everyday right fielder. On May 4, <mask> hit his first career inside-the-park home run.During a game against the Boston Red Sox on May 30, <mask> collided with Desmond Jennings while attempting to catch a fly ball, resulting in a stress fracture in <mask>' right wrist, which required a cast and significant rehab time. <mask> returned to the club on August 20, initially slotted as a DH before returning to the field. In 2014, he batted .222/.294/.320 with six home runs and 35 RBIs in 325 at bats. San Diego Padres
On December 19, 2014, the Rays traded <mask>, Ryan Hanigan, and Jose Castillo to the San Diego Padres as part of a three-team transaction, in which the Padres traded Jake Bauers, Burch Smith, and René Rivera to the Rays, the Padres traded Joe Ross and Trea Turner to the Washington Nationals, and Washington traded Steven Souza and Travis Ott to Tampa Bay. 2015
<mask> was the Padres 2015 Opening Day center fielder and manned the position through April and into May. <mask> went on the disabled list in early May with tendinitis in his left wrist, and missed a month. After returning for only three games in June, he went back on the disabled list as the wrist continued to bother him.<mask> returned from the DL on September 4 after a surgical procedure to shave down a bone spur irritating the tendon. Following his return, <mask> began playing first base in addition to the outfield, with Melvin Upton Jr. and Travis Jankowski getting most of the starts in center after the trade of <mask>. In 2015, he batted .253/.336/.427 with eight home runs and 29 RBIs in 225 at bats. 2017
On January 17, 2017, <mask> signed a six-year $83 million extension with the Padres. <mask> hit for the cycle on April 10, 2017 at Coors Field against the Colorado Rockies. It was the second cycle in Padres history. On September 2, a commemorative bobblehead celebrating his accomplishment was handed out to fans at Petco Park.For the season, <mask> continued to hit for power, hitting 30 home runs, and speed, stealing 20 bases. He tied for the National League lead in power-speed number (24.0). However, his consistency declined, as the season saw him striking out 180 times, the second-highest total in the National League, with his batting average declining to .243, and him hitting just .222 with runners in scoring position. On defense, he played almost exclusively first base. 2018
In early April, <mask> suffered from nerve irritation in his right arm and was placed on the disabled list, and on April 28 he suffered a left oblique strain and was again placed on the disabled list. On July 7, <mask> hit three homers in a 20–5 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks. The 15-run loss was the first time in Major League history that a team had a player hit three home runs and go on to lose by double digits.On August 4, he was placed on the disabled list with a bruised left foot. <mask> was involved in a controversy in early September, when footage emerged during a live stream of teammate Carlos Asuaje playing the video game Fortnite involved <mask>, chatting with Asuaje while playing, criticizing manager Andy Green. <mask> apologized to Green and took responsibility for the remarks. He ended the season batting .253 with 11 home runs and 39 RBIs in 83 games. He played 41 games in the outfield, 36 at third base, and two at first base. In his major league career through 2018, <mask> played 329 games at first base, 248 games in the outfield, and 37 games at third base. 2019

Over the offseason before the 2019 season, the Padres signed star third baseman Manny Machado, which moved <mask> <mask> to the outfield.Due to the emergence of corner outfielders Franmil Reyes and Hunter Renfroe in 2018 while <mask> was injured, he was also involved in trade rumors, but nothing materialized. On opening day, <mask> hit the first home run of the Padres season. On April 15, <mask> hit his 100th career home run in a home loss to the Rockies. However, 2019 was considered a lost season for <mask>, as he struck out in well over 30% of his plate appearances, struggled in "clutch" situations, and fell out of favor with Green and management. Following the DFA of Robbie Erlin on October 31, <mask> became the longest-tenured Padre. 2020
In the 2020 season shortened by COVID-19, <mask> played in 55 of the 60 games and batted .288/.353/.606 with 15 home runs and 40 RBIs. On August 18, <mask> hit a grand slam in a 6-4 road win against the Texas Rangers, which extended San Diego’s grand slam streak to 2 games.Two days later, the Padres would make history as the first team in MLB history to hit a grand slam in four consecutive games. This year also marked the first winning season and first Postseason appearance for <mask> in San Diego, with the Padres making the Postseason for the first time since 2006. In 6 Postseason games, <mask> slashed .227/.346/.545 with 2 home runs and 5 RBIs. 2021
Following the addition of Blake Snell, <mask> switched to number 5 for the first time in his career. In 146 games, <mask> regressed to a .256/.334/.434 batting line, adding 17 home runs and 68 RBIs. Personal life
<mask>' parents are Eric and <mask>. He has a younger brother named Beau who pitched to him in the 2016 Home Run Derby.He married Maggie Reaves on November 3, 2018. During his tenure with the Padres, broadcaster Mark Grant nicknamed him "El Gallo" ("The Rooster" in Spanish), due to his hairstyle. In November 2021, <mask> and Carmel Country Club in Charlotte sued each other. Carmel claims <mask> owes the club $64,000 in initiation fees, and <mask> is calling for more than $150,000 in damages, claiming that the club hides how difficult it is to get tee times. See also

 List of Major League Baseball players to hit for the cycle

References

External links

1990 births
Living people
Baseball players from North Carolina
Burlington Bees players
Burlington Royals players
Durham Bulls players
Idaho Falls Chukars players
Major League Baseball first basemen
Major League Baseball outfielders
Major League Baseball Rookie of the Year Award winners
National League All-Stars
Northwest Arkansas Naturals players
Omaha Storm Chasers players
People from Thomasville, North Carolina
San Diego Padres players
Surprise Saguaros players
Tampa Bay Rays players
Wilmington Blue Rocks players

masks:
William Bradford Myers
Myers
Myers
Myers
Myers
Myers
Myers
Myers
Myers
Myers
Myers
Myers
Myers
Myers
Myers
Myers
Myers
Myers
Myers
Myers
Myers
Myers
Myers
Myers
Myers
Will Venable
Myers
Myers
Myers
Myers
Myers
Myers
Myers
Myers
Myers
Wil
Myers
Myers
Myers
Myers
Myers
Myers
Myers
Myers
Myers
Myers
Myers
Myers
Myers
Pamela Myers
Myers
Myers
Myers


title: James Gamble Rogers

texts:
<mask> (March 3, 1867 — October 1, 1947) was an American architect. He is best known for his academic commissions at Yale University, Columbia University, Northwestern University, and elsewhere. Biography
<mask> was born in Bryan Station, Kentucky, on March 3, 1867, to <mask>. and <mask>. <mask> attended Yale University, where he contributed to The Yale Record and was a member of the senior society Scroll and Key, whose membership included several other notable architects. He received his B.A. in 1889, and is responsible for many of the gothic revival structures at Yale University built in the 1910s through the mid-1930s, as well as the university's master plan in 1924. He designed for other universities as well, such as the Butler Library at Columbia University, many of the original buildings at the Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center (now the NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center), and several buildings at Northwestern University, notably Deering Library.He died in New York City on October 1, 1947. Legacy

<mask> was philanthropist Edward Harkness's favorite architect, and Harkness would often condition a gift for a new academic or medical building upon the institution's agreement to hire <mask> for the project. It is thus no coincidence that <mask>' work is abundant at Yale, Columbia and the other institutions Harkness supported lavishly. Though Harkness loved <mask>'s work, when Harkness donated a new home for Wolf's Head, his society at Yale, another architect (Bertram Goodhue) was chosen. <mask>' Collegiate Gothic designs for Yale lent an air of instant heritage and authenticity to the campus. <mask> was criticized by other prominent Gothic-revival American architects, namely Ralph Adams Cram, for his use of steel frames underneath stone cladding, and tricks such as splashing acid on stone walls to simulate age. <mask> was also criticized by the growing Modernist movement of the time.The 1927 Sterling Memorial Library came under especially vocal attack from Yale students for its historicist spirit and its lavish use of ornament. But current opinion generally regards the building as a triumph, being both beautiful and functional. <mask>'s nephew, <mask> <mask> (1901–1990) was also an architect, who designed homes in Winter Park, Florida for the <mask> family architecture firm Rogers, Lovelock and Fritz, where <mask>'s son John (Jack<mask> is a principal architect. <mask>'s other son, <mask> <mask> (1937–1991) was also trained as an architect. After working in the family firm as a young man, <mask> <mask> decided to pursue his passion for music. He became a noted Florida folksinger, composer and guitarist, now memorialized by the Gamble Rogers Memorial Foundation, Gamble Rogers Middle School, and Gamble Rogers Memorial State Recreation Area at Flagler Beach on Florida's east coast. <mask> <mask>' architectural drawings and photographs are now held in the Dept.of Drawings & Archives in the Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library at Columbia University in New York. A number of his built works are listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). Buildings

Lees Building (1893), Chicago, Illinois (now demolished)
Hyde Park Union Church (1906), Chicago, Illinois
 Laurel Court Mansion (1907), Cincinnati, Ohio, also known as Peter G. Thomson House (residence of his aunt <mask> Thomson), NRHP-listed
The Edward S. Harkness House (1908), 1 East 75th Street at Fifth Avenue, Manhattan. Constructed as the residence of Edward and Mary Stillman Harkness in 1908. Currently the home of The Commonwealth Fund. Designated a landmark in 1967. Shelby County Courthouse (1909), Memphis, Tennessee
Federal Courthouse (1913), New Haven, CT.
Plan and buildings of The H. Sophie Newcomb Memorial College (1913), Tulane University, New Orleans
Brooks Museum of Art (1913), Memphis, Tennessee.The former Bridgeport High School, now City Hall (1914-16), Bridgeport, Connecticut. The Yale Club of New York City (1915), Midtown Manhattan. Burnham Park Plaza (1915), Chicago. Hsiang Ya Hospital (1918) in Changsa, China. Harkness Memorial Quadrangle (later renovated and subdivided by <mask> in 1933 into Branford and Saybrook Colleges) and Harkness Memorial Tower (1921), Yale University. The Goodwyn (1922), Memphis, Tennessee
Yale's General Plan (1924)
Bob Cook Boat House (1924), Yale University. English Country Estate (1926), 990 East Illinois Road, Lake Forest, Illinois
Ryan Field (1926), Northwestern University.Wieboldt Hall (1926), Northwestern University, Chicago campus
Methodist Church (1926), now University United Methodist Church, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Yeamans Hall Club (1926), Hanahan, South Carolina
Ward Memorial Building (1926), Northwestern University, Chicago campus (funded by Elizabeth Ward in honor of her late husband, mail order and department store magnate Aaron Montgomery Ward.) Beta Theta Pi (1927), Fraternity Row, Yale University. <mask> Gamble Rogers House (1927), 424 West Mountain Road, Ridgefield, CT, in NRHP-listed West Mountain Historic District
Psi Upsilon (1928), later the Fence Club, Fraternity Row, Yale University
Harkness Pavilion (1928), NewYork–Presbyterian Hospital
Ossining High School (1928), Ossining, New York
Vanderbilt School of Dental and Oral Surgery (1928), Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center. Neurological Institute of New York (1928), NewYork–Presbyterian Hospital. College of Physicians and Surgeons (1928), Columbia University Medical Center
Presbyterian Hospital Building (1928), NewYork–Presbyterian Hospital. Joseph L. Mailman School of Public Health (1929), Columbia University Medical Center. School of Education (1930), New York University, Greenwich Village.Sterling Memorial Library (1930), Yale University. Delta Kappa Epsilon (1930), Fraternity Row, Yale University. Sterling Law Building (1931), Yale University. Alpha Delta Phi (1931), 215 Park Street, Fraternity Row, Yale University. University Theater and Drama School (1931 renovation), Yale University. Aetna Home Office (1931), Hartford, CT.
Phi Gamma Delta / Vernon Hall (1932), 217 Park Street, Fraternity Row, Yale University. Hall of Graduate Studies (1932), Yale University.Jonathan Edwards College (1932) including Weir Hall addition, Yale University. Pierson College (1932), Yale University. Davenport College (1932), Yale University. Briton Hadden Memorial Building (1932), Yale Daily News
Deering Library (1933), Northwestern University, Evanston campus. Trumbull College (1933), Yale University. Berkeley College (1933), Yale University. Butler Library (1934), Columbia University, (as South Hall; renamed in 1946 in honor of Nicholas Murray Butler, president of the university from 1902 to 1945)
Timothy Dwight College (1935), Yale University.Memorial Sloan-Kettering Hospital (1939), Memorial Sloan-Kettering Medical Center. Scott Hall / Cahn Auditorium (1940), Northwestern University, Evanston campus. Harkness Chapel (1940), Connecticut College, New London. Harkness Hall, Clark Atlanta University, Atlanta, Ga.
Riegel Ridge Community Center, Co. Rt. 519, approximately 1.5 mi N of NJ-PA state line, Holland Township, Milford, NJ, NRHP-listed
Rutherford Health Department, 303 N. Church St., Murfreesboro, TN, NRHP-listed

References

Sources

<mask> <mask> and the Architecture of Pragmatism, Aaron Betsky, MIT, 1994. The Architecture of <mask> <mask> II in Winter Park, Florida, Patrick and Debra McClane, 2004. The Campus Guide: Yale University, Patrick L. Pinnell, Princeton Architectural Press, New York, 1999.Yale: A Pictorial History,  Reuben A. Holden, New Haven, Yale University Press, 1967. Yale in New Haven: Architecture and Urbanism, Vincent Scully, Catherine Lynn et al., New Haven, Yale University Press, 2004,

External links
 <mask> <mask> architectural records and photographs, 1905-1980 (bulk 1905-1937), held by the Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library, Columbia University

1867 births
1947 deaths
American architects
Architects from Kentucky
Artists from Lexington, Kentucky
Architects from New York City
Yale School of Architecture alumni
American alumni of the École des Beaux-Arts

masks:
James Gamble Rogers
Rogers
James M
Katharine Gamble Rogers
Rogers
Rogers
Rogers
Rogers
Rogers
Rogers
Rogers
Rogers
Rogers
James Gamble
Rogers II
Rogers
Rogers II
) Rogers
Rogers II
James Gamble
Rogers IV
James Gamble
Rogers IV
James Gamble
Rogers
Laura Gamble
Rogers
James
James Gamble
Rogers
James Gamble
Rogers
James Gamble
Rogers


title: Jason Taumalolo

texts:
Vaai "<mask><mask> (born 31 May 1993) is a professional rugby league footballer who captains and plays as a , er or  forward for the North Queensland Cowboys in the NRL. He has played for Tonga and New Zealand at international level. Taumalolo played for the NRL All Stars and he was a member of the Cowboys' 2015 NRL Grand Final and 2016 World Club Challenge winning sides, and won the Dally M Medal in 2016. <mask> was born in Auckland, New Zealand to parents Tominika and Vaai Akolo, and is of Tongan descent. Enrolled in primary school under his given name, Vaai, his teacher was unable to pronounce it correctly, instead deciding to call him "<mask>". He grew up in Mangere and started playing rugby league at the age of 4 for the Papakura Sea Eagles and attended De La Salle College along with older brother Warner. At age 13, he moved to Townsville after being scouted and signed to a scholarship by the North Queensland Cowboys while playing for a touring New Zealand under-16 team.In Townsville, Taumalolo played his junior rugby league for Townsville Brothers and attended Kirwan State High School, where he represented the Australian Schoolboys at the age of 16. Playing career

Early career
In 2009, Taumalolo played for the Townsville Stingers in the Cyril Connell Cup, scoring seven tries. Later that year, he was selected in the Queensland under-16 team. 2010
In 2010, Taumalolo joined the Cowboys' under-20 side, making his debut at age 16. In Round 24 of the 2010 NRL season, he made his NRL debut for the Cowboys against the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs, becoming the youngest ever player to debut for the club, aged 17 years, 2 months and 21 days, when he came off the bench in a 20–22 loss at Dairy Farmers Stadium. It was his only appearance for 2010. In October, Taumalolo played for the Junior Kiwis.2011
<mask> would make his second NRL appearance almost a year later in Round 24 against the South Sydney Rabbitohs. He starred for the Cowboys in Round 25 against the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks, coming off the interchange bench for the 3rd time to score 2 crucial tries and making 2 line breaks and 125 metres. At the end of the season, <mask> was awarded the Rugby League Player's Association's Toyota Cup Player of the Year award and was named in the Toyota Cup Team of the Year in the . <mask> played in the Cowboys in the NYC grand final against the New Zealand Warriors, scoring a try in the golden point 31–30 loss. He played in 3 matches and scored 2 tries for the Cowboys in 2011. In October, he again played for the Junior Kiwis. 2012
On 17 February, <mask> re-signed with the Cowboys until the end of the 2015 season.In March, he was reported to have declared his allegiance to Queensland and Australia, though on 7 April, New Zealand Rugby League's high performance manager Tony Kemp confirmed that Taumalolo had pledged allegiance to New Zealand, the country of his birth. <mask> was named as a reserve in the New Zealand squad for the 2012 ANZAC Test against Australia, but was not selected to play. Taumalolo finished the season with 5 tries in 17 matches. In October, he was again selected for the Junior Kiwis. He was described as the "next Sonny Bill Williams". 2013
On 20 April, <mask> made his international debut for Tonga in the Pacific Test against Samoa at Centerbet Stadium. Taumalolo was a standout in the Intrust Super Cup in the 2013 season, playing for Cowboys feeder club, the Mackay Cutters.The Cutters won the competition and dedicated their win to recently deceased teammate Alex Elisala. He would later go on to star for the Cowboys at the backend of the season including the club's semi-final loss to Cronulla. <mask> played 14 matches and scored 2 tries for the Cowboys in 2013. In October, he represented Tonga in the 2013 Rugby League World Cup, playing in 2 matches and scoring a try in their match against the Cook Islands. 2014
In February, <mask> was selected in the Cowboys tournament winning inaugural Auckland Nines squad. 2014 was a stand out season for Taumalolo with him playing 25 matches and scoring 6 tries as the Cowboys finished 5th. He made 241 hitups and gained 2889 metres.On 7 October, <mask> was selected in the Kiwis final 24 man squad for the Four Nations series. He made his test debut for New Zealand against Australia at  in the Kiwis 30–12 win at Suncorp Stadium. <mask> played at lock in the Kiwis 22–18 Four Nations final win over Australia at Westpac Stadium. He capped off 2014 winning Tonga International Player of the Year Award. 2015
On 27 January, <mask> was named in the Cowboys 2015 NRL Auckland Nines squad. On 13 February, he was selected at lock for the NRL All Stars in the All Stars match at Cbus Super Stadium. Rejecting a $2 million contract offer from the New Zealand Warriors, <mask> extended his contract with the Cowboys to the end of the 2017 season.On 28 September, <mask> was named at lock in the Dally M Team of the Year. On 4 October, in the Cowboys Queensland derby 2015 NRL Grand Final against the Brisbane Broncos, <mask> started at lock in the Cowboys golden point 17–16 win. He finished the Cowboys premiership winning season with 2 tries from 26 matches. <mask> was selected in the 23-man New Zealand Test squad for the Baskerville Shield series but later withdrew due to injury. 2016
In the pre-season, <mask> again played in the Auckland Nines, and was a member of the Cowboys' World Club Challenge winning side, starting at lock in the 38–4 victory over the Leeds Rhinos at Headingley Stadium. On 6 May, <mask> played for the Kiwis against Australia, starting at lock in the 18–0 loss. In Round 14, he played his 100th NRL game.<mask> was named the Rugby League Players Association Player of the Year by his fellow players. He was also named as the joint winner of the Dally M Medal with the Melbourne Storm's Cooper Cronk, in addition to being named Lock of the Year for the second consecutive season. After the Four Nations final against Australia, <mask> and Valentine Holmes were flown to the United States to take part in drills as part of scouting for NFL teams. The outfits, including Kansas City, then offered Taumalolo the opportunity to inspect their set-ups in the strongest sign of an NFL future. 2017
On 22 March, <mask> re-signed with the Cowboys on a 10-year deal, which will see him stay with the club until the end of the 2027 season. He would go on to play 26 games for the Cowboys during the 2017 season, starting all of them at lock. On 1 October, he started at lock in the Cowboys' 2017 NRL Grand Final loss to the Melbourne Storm.He became the first forward in NRL history to run for over 5000 metres in a season, averaging 205.8 metres per game for the 2017 season. On 5 October, <mask> was named in the Tonga squad for the 2017 Rugby League World Cup. He chose to represent the nation of his parent's birth, for whom he played for at the 2013 Rugby League World Cup, over the country of his birth New Zealand. This move, although negatively portrayed in mainstream media, was deemed a noble move by many of the public not only in New Zealand but around the world. On 6 October, he was awarded the Paul Bowman Medal for Cowboys' Player of the Year for the second straight season. He was also awarded the Royal Order; alongside his Mate Ma'a Tonga players by Princess Salote Lupepau'u Tuita at the residency or the current Tongan King, Tupou VI in their final visit to Tonga in 2017. On 29 October, in the World Cup against Scotland, <mask> was award a man of a match for show his way past several Scottish defenders to score Tonga's try in the lead of 50-4 win at Barlow Park.2018
In Round 11 of the 2018 NRL season, <mask> played his 150th NRL game for the Cowboys in their 19–20 loss to the South Sydney Rabbitohs. Following another strong season, in which he averaged 177m per game, <mask> was awarded the Paul Bowman Medal for Cowboys' Player of the Year for the third straight time. On 26 September, he was named Lock of the Year at the 2018 Dally M Awards and finished sixth in voting, the highest of any forward. On October 5, he was named in Tonga's squad for their Test match against Australia. 2019
In Round 1 of the 2019 NRL season, <mask> ran for a career-high 301 metres in the Cowboys' 24–12 win over the St George Illawarra Dragons. In Round 2, he suffered a medial injury in a loss to the Brisbane Broncos, ruling him out for six weeks. He returned from injury in the Cowboys' Round 8 win over the Gold Coast Titans, scoring a try.In Round 13, he set a new career-high with 311 running metres in a 20–22 loss to the Manly Sea Eagles. In June, he started at lock for Tonga in their 14–34 loss to New Zealand. In Round 21, <mask> suffered a partial tear to his plantar fascia, ruling him out for one week. He returned to play through the injury for the final three games of the season. Taumalolo played 18 games in 2019, his lowest tally since 2013. He finished the season with an average of 196.6 metres per game, the most for any forward in the competition. On 18 September, he won the Paul Bowman Medal for Cowboys' Player of the Year for the fourth straight season.On 26 October, <mask> led Tonga in beating Great Britain. A week later on 2 November, he led Tonga in their win against Australia, creating history as the first tier 2 nation to beat Australia since the system came into place. He stated that it was the greatest moment of his career. 2020
In February, <mask> was the captain of the Cowboys' 2020 NRL Nines winning squad and was named in the Team of the Tournament. He and teammate Kyle Feldt became the first players to win two NRL Nines championships. In Round 2, he set a new career-high with 345 running metres in a 24–16 win against the Canterbury Bulldogs. This was the most metres gained by a forward in one match and the third most of all time.In Round 6, <mask> captained the Cowboys for the first time, going onto captain the side six more times that season. In the Cowboys' Round 15 loss to the Newcastle Knights, tore his calf, ruling him out for three weeks. He returned off the bench in Round 19 in a loss to the Penrith Panthers. On 3 October, Taumalolo won the Paul Bowman Medal for the fifth consecutive season, beating Johnathan Thurston's record of four wins. On 16 December, <mask> was named as co-captain of the Cowboys for the 2021 season, alongside Michael Morgan. Achievements and accolades

Individual
Dally M Medal: 2016
Rugby League Players Association Player of the Year: 2016
Rugby League Week Player of the Year: 2016
Dally M Lock of the Year: 2015, 2016, 2018
Paul Bowman Medal: 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020
North Queensland Cowboys Players' Player of the Year: 2016, 2017, 2018
North Queensland Cowboys Member's Player of the Year: 2016, 2019
North Queensland Cowboys Rookie of the Year: 2012
North Queensland Cowboys NYC Player of the Year: 2010, 2011
NYC Team of the Year: 2011
Rugby League Players Association NYC Player of the Year: 2011

Team
2014 Auckland Nines: North Queensland Cowboys – Winners
2015 NRL Grand Final: North Queensland Cowboys – Winners
2016 World Club Challenge: North Queensland Cowboys – Winners
2020 NRL Nines: North Queensland Cowboys – Winners

Statistics

NRL
 Statistics are correct to the end of the 2020 season

International

References

External links
North Queensland Cowboys profile
 NRL profile

1993 births
Living people
Junior Kiwis players
Mackay Cutters players
New Zealand people of Tongan descent
North Queensland Cowboys captains
NRL All Stars players
Papakura Sea Eagles players
People educated at De La Salle College, Māngere East
People educated at Kirwan State High School
Rugby league second-rows
Tonga national rugby league team captains
Rugby league players from Auckland
New Zealand national rugby league team players

masks:
Jason
" Taumalolo
Background Taumalolo
Jason
Taumalolo
Taumalolo
Taumalolo
Taumalolo
Taumalolo
Taumalolo
Taumalolo
Taumalolo
Taumalolo
Taumalolo
Taumalolo
Taumalolo
Taumalolo
Taumalolo
Taumalolo
Taumalolo
Taumalolo
Taumalolo
Taumalolo
Taumalolo
Taumalolo
Taumalolo
Taumalolo
Taumalolo
Taumalolo
Taumalolo
Taumalolo
Taumalolo
Taumalolo
Taumalolo


title: C. K. Prahalad

texts:
<mask> (8 August 1941 – 16 April 2010) was a corporate and social strategist, educator and author. He was the Paul and Ruth McCracken Distinguished University Professor of Corporate Strategy at the University of Michigan Stephen M. Ross School of Business. He co-authored "Core Competence of the Corporation" with Gary Hamel; and "The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid" with Stuart L. Hart, about business opportunity in serving the Bottom of the Pyramid. On 16 April 2010, <mask> died at the age of 68 of a previously undiagnosed lung illness in San Diego, California. Education and teaching
<mask> was born in Madhwa brahmin family at Coimbatore (Tamil Nadu) in 1941. His father was a Tamil scholar and judge in Madras (now Chennai). At 19, he had finished his BSc degree in physics from Loyola College, Chennai, part of the University of Madras, and joined Union Carbide, where he worked for four years.Four years later he did postgraduate work in management at the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad. At Harvard Business School, Prahalad wrote a doctoral thesis on multinational management in two and a half years, graduating with a DBA degree in 1975. After graduating from Harvard, <mask> returned to the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad to serve as professor before returning to US again in 1977. He returned to the United States in 1977, with an appointment to the University of Michigan's Ross School of Business Administration. He eventually became a tenured full professor, earning the university's highest distinction, Distinguished University Professor, in 2005. Career

In early 1990 Prahalad advised Philips' Jan Timmer on the restructuring of this electronic corporation, then on the brink of collapse. A process which was named Operation Centurion was set up, and was successful after two or three years.<mask> was the inspiration behind the vision of India@75. While commemorating the 60th year of India’s independence, on 23 September 2007, during the Incredible India@60 celebration at New York, he articulated the idea of holistic three dimensional development of India to acquire enough economic strength, technological vitality, and moral leadership by 2022 – the 75th year of India’s independence. The Confederation of Indian Industry adopted his vision on 8 May 2008. This initiative of CII has also found resonance with the Government, as in the ‘Strategy for New India@75’ document released by the NITI Aayog, Government of India in 2018. C. K<mask> is the co-author of a number of works in corporate strategy, including The Core Competence of the Corporation (with Gary Hamel, Harvard Business Review, May–June 1990) which  was one of the most frequently reprinted articles published by the journal. He authored or co-authored: Competing for the Future (with Gary Hamel, 1994), The Future of Competition (with Venkat Ramaswamy, 2004), and The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid: Eradicating Poverty through Profits (Wharton School Publishing, 2004). His last book, co-authored by M. S<mask>n and published in April 2008, is The New Age of Innovation.He co-authored: "Innovation's Holy Grail" with R.A Mashelkar which was chosen as a Harvard Business Review Top 10 articles on Innovation and focuses on how developing nations are leading the way in innovation that focuses more on affordability and sustainability as opposed to the common premium pricing model. <mask> was co-founder and became chief executive officer of Praja Inc. ("Praja" from a Sanskrit word "Praja" which means "citizen" or "common people"). The company had goals of providing unrestricted access to information for people at the "bottom of the pyramid" and providing a test bed for various management ideas. It eventually laid off a third of its workforce, and was sold to TIBCO. In 2004 Prahalad co-founded management consultancy The Next Practice, to support companies in implementing the strategies outlined in The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid, which continued in operation . At the time of his death he was on the board of TiE, The Indus Entrepreneurs. Prahalad was a member of the Blue Ribbon Commission of the United Nations on Private Sector and Development.Honors and awards
He was the first recipient of the Lal Bahadur Shastri Award for contributions to Management and Public Administration presented by the President of India in 1999. In 1994, he was presented the Maurice Holland Award from the Industrial Research Institute for an article published in Research-Technology Management titled "The Role of Core Competencies in the Corporation." In 2009, he was awarded Pravasi Bharatiya Samman. In 2009, he was named Padma Bhushan 'third in the hierarchy of civilian awards' by the Government of India. In 2009, he was named the world's most influential business thinker on the Thinkers50.com list. In 2009, he was awarded the Herbert Simon Award by the Rajk László College for Advanced Studies (Corvinus University of Budapest). In 2010, he was posthumously awarded the Viipuri International Prize in Strategic (Technology) Management and Business Economics by Lappeenranta University of Technology.In 2011, the Southern Regional Headquarters of Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) was named as Prof <mask> Prahalad Center
 In 2018, he was named the world's most influential business thinker on the Thinkers50.com list. See also
 Bottom of the pyramid
 Core competency
 Co-creation
 Dominant logic

References

External links

 Video interview on The Magazine Post
 Video interview on Thinkers 50
The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid
The New Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid

Indian business theorists
1941 births
Harvard Business School alumni
Ross School of Business faculty
Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad alumni
Loyola College, Chennai alumni
Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in literature & education
2010 deaths
Indian Tamil academics
University of Madras alumni
American academics of Indian descent
20th-century Indian economists
People from Coimbatore
American people of Indian Tamil descent
Scientists from Tamil Nadu
Tamil scientists
Business educators

masks:
Coimbatore Krishnarao Prahalad
Prahalad
Prahalad
Prahalad
Prahalad
. Prahalad
. Krishna
Prahalad
C K


title: Malik Riaz

texts:
<mask> started his career as a clerk with a construction company(MES) in Rawalpindi. In the 1980s, <mask> moved to become a contractor, and in 1995 Riaz's construction company Hussain Global, signed an agreement with Pakistan Navy's charitable trust known as Bahria Foundation to develop a gated community for Pakistan Navy. The Navy's Bahria Foundation served a legal notice to <mask> to stop using the word "Bahria" for his company's construction projects, but <mask> went on to develop Bahria Town Rawalpindi offering gifts of bungalows, and mansions to politically connected people and army generals. He expanded his real-estate company and developed gated communities in Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad during the 2000s, developing a combined area of 45,000 square acres. As of 2016, Bahria had 60,000 employees, making it one of the largest private sector employers in Pakistan. <mask> is a controversial figure and has been subject of several corruption investigations.Bahria Town Karachi is the biggest private project of Asia, which is also owned by <mask>. Early life
<mask> was born to a private contractor who was fairly wealthy. However, his father's business failed, forcing <mask> to drop out of high school after completing his matriculation. He went on to work as a clerk with the Military Engineering Service and often working part-time as a painter. He later moved to become a low-key contractor in the military. According to Dr. Ayesha Siddiqa, <mask> learnt to "work the system". According to Siddiqa, <mask> used his contacts to secure a contract with the Pakistan Navy in the mid-1990s to develop two housing schemes in the outskirts of Rawalpindi.In 2000, the Pakistan Navy transferred its entire shareholding to Hussain and later fought a legal battle with <mask> over contract infringement in which the Supreme Court ruled in Hussain's favor. Business
<mask> has ambitiously expanded his business empire under the brand name of Bahria Town Group, but a Supreme Court-ordered trial concluded that Riaz cannot use the word Bahria for its gated communities. <mask> is considered as a liberal in his business practices. According to Dr. Ayesha Siddiqa "to think that he is defined by religiosity and traditionalism, however, would be a mistake. His employees' profiles show that he hires a lot of women, especially at the middle and senior management levels, because he finds them "hard-working, efficient and diligent". Bahria Town has projects in Lahore, Rawalpindi, Islamabad, Murree and Karachi. Bahria Town Karachi is the biggest private project of Asia, which is also owned by <mask>.<mask> had mentioned and ended terms with his former partner, Ahlat Ziar. Ahlat Ziar has no property in Bahria Town despite being his former partner. Ahlat Ziar quoted, "<mask> is a living fraud and a scam," with no other comments. His net worth is valued at around US$1.5 billion (). Controversies
<mask> Hussain was approached by an intermediary of Arsalan Iftikhar Chaudhry, son of Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, that he had inside information and a case and it can be resolved in his favour. <mask> Hussain in an official deposition produced itemised list of how he bankrolled a playboy lifestyle for the son of the country's top judge. Arsalan Iftikhar Chaudhry had allegedly promised to influence his father's rulings.<mask> Hussain, the Chairman of Bahria Town Pvt. Ltd., has been at the center of some controversies and allegations. The allegations are mostly that he pays to get things done his way. An excerpt from pakistanherald.com states that "National Accountability Bureau (NAB) is currently looking into another application filed by a former military officer Lt-Col (retd) Tariq Kamal, which states that the land on which Bahria town is constructed, and is further expanding, was not acquired through legal means. It is alleged that Hussain has strong ties with Pakistan’s military which assisted him in building a huge empire. Some claims go as far as saying that a handful of the important serving army officers, bureaucrats and lawyers are practically on Hussian’s payroll." In October 2019, the parents of Amanda Halse, one of the 20 victims of the Schoharie limousine crash in the U.S. state of New York a year earlier, named <mask> as a defendant in a wrongful death suit they filed over the accident, since they allege that he had helped finance the businesses of two distant relatives who were principals in the company that owned and operated the limousine.UK NCA £190M court settlement
After being alerted by Pakistani authorities to sources of his income and cash expenditure, the UK's National Crime Agency (NCA) began an investigation into <mask> Hussain. In December 2018, £20M was frozen by the UK High Court under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002. By August 2019, a total of nine court orders were in place, enabling UK authorities to hold £140M. All of the court orders were made against the assets and cash, and not their actual or beneficial owner. In December 2019, <mask> came to a civil agreement with the NCA, handing over £140M in cash, and the Grade II listed house 1 Hyde Park Place, valued at £50million. The NCA commented that the multimillion-pound settlement did “not represent a finding of guilt”. Control of the £190M of assets and cash will be returned under a UK High Court order to the Pakistani Authorities, who have advised that they will ask the UK Courts to sell any assets and return the sum in cash.The amount was transferred to the account set up by Supreme Court for the recovery of 460 billion rupees fine imposed on Bahria Town in a separate case, going towards the reimbursement of the fine. Personal life
<mask> married Beena <mask> and has two sons <mask> and Hamza <mask> and three daughters. References

External links
 Official website
 How the Arsalan Iftikhar case affected Bahria Town

1954 births
Pakistani billionaires
Living people
Pakistani real estate businesspeople
Pakistani philanthropists
Bahria Town
Punjabi people
Pakistani company founders
Founders of Pakistani schools and colleges
Real estate and property developers

masks:
Malik Riaz Hussainiaz
Riaz
Riaz
Riaz
Riaz
Malik Riaz
Malik Riaz
Riaz
Riaz
Riaz
Riaz
Malik Riaz
Riaz
Malik Riaz
Riaz
Malik Riaz
Malik Riaz
Malik Riaz
Malik Riaz
Riaz
Malik Riaz
Malik Riaz
Riaz
Riaz
Ali Riaz
Riaz


title: J. B. Danquah

texts:
<mask> (18 December 1895 – 4 February 1965) was a Ghanaian politician, scholar, lawyer, and one of the founding fathers of Ghana. He played a significant role in pre- and post-colonial Ghana, which was formerly the Gold Coast, and is credited with giving Ghana its name. During his political career, Danquah was one of the primary opposition leaders to Ghanaian president and independence leader Kwame Nkrumah. Danquah was described as the "doyen of Gold Coast politics" by the Watson Commission of Inquiry into the 1948 Accra riots. Being a scholar and a historian, he researched the history of the Akan peoples, and chose a name for their country that would suit the new country which was to gain independence. The name was intended to remind the generations to come of their origin and history as a nation. Early life and education
Danquah was born on 18 December 1895 in the town of Bepong in Kwahu in the Eastern Region of Ghana (then the Gold Coast).He was descended from the royal family of Ofori Panin Fie, once the rulers of the Akyem states, and one of the most influential families in Ghanaian politics. His elder brother is Nana Sir Ofori Atta I and his son is actor <mask>. At the age of six, Danquah began schooling at the Basel Mission School at Kyebi. He attended the Basel Mission Senior School at Begoro. On successful completion of his standard seven examinations in 1912, he was employed by Vidal J<mask>, a barrister-at-law in Accra, as a clerk, a job that aroused his interest in law. After passing the Civil Service Examinations in 1914, Danquah became a clerk at the Supreme Court of the Gold Coast, which gave him the experience to be appointed by his brother, Nana Sir Ofori Atta I, who had become chief two years earlier, as secretary of the Omanhene's Tribunal in Kyebi. Following the influence of his brother, Danquah was appointed as the assistant secretary of the Conference of Paramount Chiefs of the Eastern Province, which was later given statutory recognition to become the Eastern Provincial Council of Chiefs.His brilliance influenced his brother to send him to Britain in 1921 to read law. After two unsuccessful attempts at the University of London matriculation, Danquah passed in 1922, enabling him to enter the University College of London as a philosophy student. He earned his B.A. degree in 1925, winning the John Stuart Mill Scholarship in the Philosophy of Mind and Logic. He then embarked on a Doctor of Philosophy degree, which he earned in two years with a thesis entitled "The Moral End as Moral Excellence". He became the first West African to obtain the Doctor of Philosophy degree from a British university. While he worked on his thesis, he entered the Inner Temple and was called to the Bar in 1926.During his student days, he had two sons and two daughters by two different women, neither of whom he married. In London, Danquah took time off his studies to participate in student politics, serving as editor of the West African Students' Union (WASU) magazine and becoming the Union's president. Career
Danquah went into private legal practice upon his return to Ghana in 1927. In 1929 he helped J. E. Casely Hayford found the Gold Coast Youth Conference (GCYC) and was Secretary General from 1937 to 1947. In 1931, Danquah established The Times of West Africa, originally called the West Africa Times, which was the first daily newspaper in Ghana published between 1931 and 1935. A column called "Women's Corner" was pseudonymously written by Mabel Dove, daughter of prominent barrister Francis Dove. She became Danquah's first wife in 1933, bearing him a son.Danquah later married Elizabeth Vardon. In 1935, he became an executive member of the International African Friends of Ethiopia, a Pan-Africanist organization based in London. Politics
Danquah became a member of the Legislative Council in 1946 and actively pursued independence legislation for his country. In 1947 he helped to found the pro-independence United Gold Coast Convention (UGCC) as a combination of chiefs, academics and lawyers, including George Alfred Grant, <mask> <mask>, R. A. Awoonor-Williams, Edward Akufo-Addo, and Emmanuel Obetsebi-Lamptey. Kwame Nkrumah was invited to be the new party's general secretary. In 1948, following a boycott of European imports and subsequent rioting in Accra, Danquah was one of "the big six" (the others being Nkrumah, Akufo-Addo, Obetsebi-Lamptey, Ebenezer Ako-Adjei and William Ofori Atta) who were detained for a month by the colonial authorities. Danquah's historical research led him to agree with Nkrumah's proposition that on independence the Gold Coast be renamed Ghana after the early African empire of that name.However, <mask> and Nkrumah subsequently disagreed over the direction of the independence movement and parted ways after two years. Nkrumah went on to form the Convention People's Party (CPP) and eventually became the first president of independent Ghana. <mask>'s role in the founding of the University of Ghana
<mask> played an important role in the establishment of the University of Ghana, the premier and the largest university in Ghana. He successfully advocated for its establishment in 1948 after a British report on higher education in West Africa recommended that only one university college, to be located in Nigeria, in association with the University of London, would be feasible for the whole of West Africa. Arrest, detention and death
<mask> stood as a presidential candidate against Nkrumah in April 1960 but lost the election. On 3 October 1961, <mask> was arrested under the Preventive Detention Act, on the grounds of involvement with alleged plans to subvert the CPP government. He was released on 22 June 1962.He was later elected president of the Ghana Bar Association. Danquah was again arrested on 8 January 1964, for allegedly being implicated in a plot against the President. He suffered a heart attack and died while in detention at Nsawam Medium Prison on 4 February 1965. After the overthrow of the CPP government in February 1966 by the National Liberation Council (NLC), Danquah was given a national funeral. Publications

Among his writings are Gold Coast: Akan Laws and Customs and the Akim Abuakwa Constitution (1928), a play entitled The Third Woman (1943), and The Akan Doctrine of God (1944). The latter book demonstrated the compatibility of African religion with Christianity, and is considered a "milestone" for African Protestants looking for ways to reclaim their African heritage. Family
Kwaku <mask>eng and J.B. Danquah were related by marriage. Legacy

The J. B. Danquah Memorial Lecture Series was inaugurated in 1968 in memory of <mask>, who was also a founding member of the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences (GAAS). The Danquah Institute was set up in commemoration of his work and to promote his ideas posthumously. Danquah Circle, a roundabout at Osu in Accra, was also named after him. References

1895 births
1965 deaths
Akan people
Ghanaian MPs 1951–1954
Alumni of the University of London
Ghanaian Christians
Ghanaian Freemasons
United Gold Coast Convention politicians
Ghanaian historians
Candidates for President of Ghana
Ghanaian pan-Africanists
Ghanaian lawyers
Members of the Inner Temple
Ofori-Atta family
20th-century historians
20th-century lawyers
Ghanaian independence activists
Fellows of the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences

masks:
Joseph Kwame Kyeretwie Boakye Danquah
Paul Danquah
. Buckle
Robert Benjamin
Blay
Danquah
Danquah
Danquah
Danquah
Danquah
Boat
Danquah


title: Michael Silka

texts:
<mask> (August 20, 1958 – May 19, 1984) was an American spree killer who is believed to have murdered nine people in Alaska during May 1984, primarily in the small village of Manley Hot Springs. The spree culminated in a shootout with Alaska State Troopers in the Alaskan wilderness in which Silka was shot and killed. The motives for Silka's actions remain unclear. Early life
<mask> grew up in Hoffman Estates, Illinois. From an early age, he had a love of firearms and the outdoors, and had a history of encounters with the law. In 1975, Silka and another juvenile were apprehended while trying to steal camping gear and weapons from a Des Plaines sporting goods store. That same year, <mask> and his brother Steve ran away from high school to the Canadian wilderness, returning when they had depleted their provisions.In February 1977, four months before graduating from Hoffman Estates High School, Silka was arrested for carrying an antique black-powder muzzle-loading rifle — reminiscent of the weapons used by early mountain men — through a park in the suburb. He was arrested again for the same offenses later that year. Silka was convicted and paid a $100 fine. Shortly thereafter, Silka enlisted in the United States Army, at least partly on the advice of a longtime neighbor, Forman Hurst, who later recalled him as "a good kid, a typical teenager. He loved the outdoors. That was his No. 1 ambition, to be outside exploring nature."In 1981, he was stationed at Fort Wainwright, located on the East side of Fairbanks, Alaska, until his discharge the same year. Army records show that <mask> was rated an expert marksman with the M16 rifle and grenade launcher while in basic training. However, his stay at Fort Wainwright was marked by several run-ins with military police, including an assault charge and an arrest for discharging a firearm in a barracks. After his discharge from the Army, <mask> returned to Hoffman Estates and worked at a number of jobs, mostly in construction work. In November 1982, he was stopped for a minor traffic violation and the officer noticed four weapons — a .44 caliber revolver, a .22 caliber semi-automatic pistol, and two knives — in his car. <mask> was charged for weapons possession and with resisting arrest after he refused to exit the squad car after arriving at the station. He was convicted and spent four days in Cook County Jail.On July 21, 1983, <mask> was arrested on another weapons violation after a South Barrington officer stopped him for speeding, and a .22-caliber rifle was found in the back seat. He made several court appearances, the last on October 26, but then he skipped bond and fled to Alaska. A warrant for his arrest was issued on December 20. According to his younger brother Frank, Silka had been working in Alaska for some time, although he did not know what job his brother held. Suspected murder of Roger Culp
A bearded, 25-year-old drifter, Silka was first seen in Alaska in the Chena Ridge section of Fairbanks. On April 29, 1984, police had questioned Silka about fresh blood and a snow-covered mound at his cabin. At the time, the Alaska State Troopers were under the impression that they were investigating whether Silka himself had been killed.Troopers dropped the matter when <mask> stuck his head out of his shack and explained that the blood was from a moose hide. However, Silka's neighbor, Roger Culp, had gone missing the day before. Witnesses reported that Silka and Culp went into Silka's cabin, and later heard as many as eight gunshots. Apparently, witnesses had not reported the incident immediately. When Troopers obtained the new information, they returned to the cabin on May 8 with a search warrant, but Silka was gone. Red spots on the ground, by this point free of snow, were found to be human blood. At this point, Silka was wanted for questioning in Culp's disappearance, but Troopers had no leads as to his whereabouts.Manley Hot Springs
<mask> was next seen on Monday, May 14, 1984, at the end of a  dirt road (Alaska Route 2) in Manley Hot Springs, a tiny mining town of 70 people located west of Fairbanks and deep in the interior of Alaska. He was driving a battered brown and white 1974 Dodge Monaco filled with camping equipment and an aluminum canoe mounted on the roof. Unseen by villagers among the equipment were guns and ammunition. According to one resident, Robert E. Lee, <mask> told the villagers that he planned to settle in the area. Silka described himself to Lee as a "mountain man". The villagers were impressed by Silka's common sense of the wilderness and survival, as well as his marksmanship. He was often seen "hanging around" a boat landing on the Tanana River, only  outside of town.<mask> had set up a tent at the boat landing and was frequently seen paddling his canoe in the Tanana. Lee said that on Thursday, May 17 between 2 and 4 p.m., six villagers went to the boat landing, all of whom disappeared. The disappearances were not noted by the locals until the following day, at which point they contacted Alaska State Troopers in Fairbanks on Friday night. The wife of one of the missing men gave Troopers <mask>'s license plate number, and the police then checked and learned he was wanted for investigation of the murder of Culp. Two helicopters, three planes and the Troopers' Special Emergency Reaction Team were sent to Manley at 2 a.m. Saturday, May 19. At the boat landing, Troopers found blood, believed to be human, and used cartridge casings. A wide helicopter search for Silka along the Tanana began at 2 a.m. At this time of year in Alaska, it was still daylight, so the search proceeded without hindrance.By the late hours of the same day, <mask> was found upstream about  southeast of Manley in an unnamed tributary of the Zitziana River (which is itself a tributary of the Tanana), near his own canoe and a motorized boat belonging to one of his victims, Fred Burk. Troopers offered Silka a chance to surrender. Instead, he stepped from behind a tree and fired a Ruger .30-06-caliber rifle at one of the airborne helicopters, penetrating the windshield and striking 34-year-old Trooper Troy L. Duncan of Fairbanks in the head, killing him instantly, and injuring Captain Donald Lawrence in the face. Trooper Jeff Hall returned fire with an M16 rifle, firing a burst on automatic from a moving helicopter. Five shots struck Silka and killed him. Troopers at the shootout said it was reminiscent of combat in the Vietnam War. A memorial service for the victims was held at the boat landing on Sunday, May 20.<mask> was cremated and his ashes were buried in the Sitka National Cemetery in Alaska at his father's request. By June 23, 1984, four of the bodies — those of Burk, Lyman Klein, Dale Madajski and Larry Joe McVey — had been recovered from the Tanana River. Burk's body was discovered by his wife, Liller, about  downstream from the scene of the killings. For months, families and friends of the victims searched the brush choked banks of the Tanana. Troopers believe that Silka had been in Alaska about a month. It is believed that he dumped the bodies of his victims into the Tanana in the hopes that they would not be found. The Tanana is as much as a mile wide and  deep, and as the water remains near freezing temperatures, the glacier-fed river is heavily silted, and bodies are likely to remain below the surface.The motives for Silka's actions remain unclear. Victims
Fred Burk (also spelled Burke), 30, an Athabaskan Alaska Native homesteader, fur trapper and fisherman, whose boat was stolen by <mask>
Albert Hagen, Jr., 27, Alaska Native construction worker who had just returned six weeks previous to visit his parents after a ten-year absence. Unmarried, he had been living in California previously. Joyce Klein, about 30, who was four months pregnant and had gone to the river for an outing with her husband and son
Lyman Klein, 36, husband of Joyce Klein
Marshall Klein, 2, son of Joyce and Lyman Klein
Dale Madajski, 24, a carpenter, cabin builder
Larry Joe McVey, 38, a trapper and disabled Vietnam veteran (he was severely injured by a booby-trapped gasoline can during the war)
Roger Culp, 34, a wood cutter, possible victim
Troy L. Duncan, 34, an Alaska State Trooper since August 1981 and a ten-year veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps

See also
List of rampage killers in the United States

References

1958 births
1984 deaths
1984 murders in the United States
20th-century American criminals
American murderers of children
American people convicted of burglary
American spree killers
Burials at Sitka National Cemetery
Criminals from Illinois
Deaths by firearm in Alaska
Family murders
Fugitives
Hoffman Estates High School alumni
Mass murder in 1984
Mass shootings in Alaska
Mass shootings in the United States
Military personnel from Illinois
Murder in Alaska
People from Hoffman Estates, Illinois
People shot dead by law enforcement officers in the United States
United States Army soldiers

masks:
Michael Alan Silka
Michael Silka
Silka
Silka
Silka
Silka
Silka
Silka
Silka
Silka
Silka
Silka
Silka
Silka
Silka


title: Luke McPharlin

texts:
<mask> (born 1 December 1981) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played in the Australian Football League (AFL) for the Fremantle Football Club between 2002 and 2015, after two seasons with the Hawthorn Football Club. He was educated at Christ Church Grammar School in Perth where he graduated in 1999. Throughout his AFL career, McPharlin predominantly played as a key defender. AFL career
<mask> was recruited from East Fremantle in Western Australia to the Hawthorn Football Club after being taken at Pick 10 in the 1999 AFL Draft. He made his debut in 2000, kicking a goal with his first kick, but played just 12 total games in his first two seasons at Hawthorn. Feeling home sick in Melbourne, McPharlin jumped at the chance of returning to Perth, and was subsequently traded to Fremantle following the 2001 season. McPharlin battled injury early on in his career, managing just over 50 games in his first five seasons.In 2005, McPharlin garnered Mark of the Year honours for his spectacular chestmark against the West Coast Eagles in Round Three. McPharlin played his 200th AFL game in Round 13, 2012 against Essendon. That season, he was named in the All-Australian team as a defender. In 2013, McPharlin helped lead Fremantle to their first ever AFL Grand Final appearance, where they were defeated by Hawthorn by 15 points, ending the club's best season in their 19-year history just short of their first premiership success. McPharlin struggled to play regularly in 2013 and 2014 with calf and achilles-related issues, managing just 29 games over those two seasons. He also did not feature in Fremantle's finals campaigns in 2014 and 2015 due to calf problems. On 30 September 2015, <mask> announced his retirement from the AFL after 256 games and 16 seasons in the league.<mask> departed Fremantle sitting second on the club's games record list with 244, behind only Matthew Pavlich who retired on 353. Personal life
McPharlin was the lead guitarist and singer of a Baháʼí Youth Music outfit, "Calling, Waiting, Searching". His musical skills led him to win The Footy Show's musical contest Screamers in 2005. On 24 July 2011, it was announced that McPharlin would release his debut album later that year in collaboration with local Perth act Stella's Kitchen. McPharlin and his wife, Kalinz, have two daughters. After retiring from football McPharlin and his family moved to Broome where he works as a pharmacist. Statistics

|-
|- style="background-color: #EAEAEA"
!scope="row" style="text-align:center" | 2000
|style="text-align:center;"|
| 18 || 4 || 1 || 3 || 11 || 7 || 18 || 6 || 0 || 0.2 || 0.8 || 2.8 || 1.8 || 4.5 || 1.5 || 0.0
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | 2001
|style="text-align:center;"|
| 18 || 8 || 2 || 2 || 44 || 33 || 77 || 35 || 4 || 0.2 || 0.2 || 5.5 || 4.1 || 9.6 || 4.4 || 0.5
|- style="background-color: #EAEAEA"
! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | 2002
|style="text-align:center;"|
| 15 || 11 || 7 || 4 || 92 || 58 || 150 || 58 || 19 || 0.6 || 0.4 || 8.4 || 5.3 || 13.6 || 5.3 || 1.7
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | 2003
|style="text-align:center;"|
| 18 || 12 || 0 || 2 || 108 || 64 || 172 || 77 || 25 || 0.0 || 0.2 || 9.0 || 5.3 || 14.3 || 6.4 || 2.1
|- style="background-color: #EAEAEA"
! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | 2004
|style="text-align:center;"|
| 18 || 16 || 4 || 1 || 173 || 73 || 246 || 106 || 28 || 0.2 || 0.1 || 10.8 || 4.6 || 15.4 || 6.6 || 1.8
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | 2005
|style="text-align:center;"|
| 18 || 19 || 34 || 12 || 144 || 56 || 200 || 104 || 24 || 1.8 || 0.6 || 7.6 || 3.0 || 10.5 || 5.5 || 1.3
|- style="background-color: #EAEAEA"
! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | 2006
|style="text-align:center;"|
| 18 || 22 || 15 || 9 || 184 || 62 || 246 || 144 || 27 || 0.7 || 0.4 || 8.4 || 2.8 || 11.2 || 6.6 || 1.2
|-
!scope="row" style="text-align:center" | 2007
|style="text-align:center;"|
| 18 || 21 || 8 || 1 || 173 || 124 || 297 || 152 || 38 || 0.4 || 0.0 || 8.2 || 5.9 || 14.1 || 7.2 || 1.8
|- style="background-color: #EAEAEA"
! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | 2008
|style="text-align:center;"|
| 18 || 20 || 21 || 14 || 192 || 105 || 297 || 142 || 30 || 1.0 || 0.7 || 9.6 || 5.2 || 14.8 || 7.1 || 1.5
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | 2009
|style="text-align:center;"|
| 18 || 18 || 20 || 18 || 150 || 90 || 240 || 102 || 24 || 1.1 || 1.0 || 8.3 || 5.0 || 13.3 || 5.7 || 1.3
|- style="background-color: #EAEAEA"
! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | 2010
|style="text-align:center;"|
| 18 || 17 || 0 || 3 || 138 || 116 || 254 || 97 || 29 || 0.0 || 0.2 || 8.1 || 6.8 || 14.9 || 5.7 || 1.7
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | 2011
|style="text-align:center;"|
| 18 || 20 || 1 || 1 || 191 || 116 || 307 || 129 || 35 || 0.0 || 0.0 || 9.6 || 5.8 || 15.4 || 6.4 || 1.8
|- style="background-color: #EAEAEA"
! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | 2012
|style="text-align:center;"|
| 18 || 21 || 1 || 2 || 230 || 119 || 349 || 171 || 28 || 0.0 || 0.1 || 11.0 || 5.7 || 16.6 || 8.1 || 1.3
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | 2013
|style="text-align:center;"|
| 18 || 16 || 0 || 0 || 195 || 71 || 266 || 137 || 21 || 0.0 || 0.0 || 12.2 || 4.4 || 16.6 || 8.6 || 1.3
|- style="background-color: #EAEAEA"
!scope="row" style="text-align:center" | 2014
|style="text-align:center;"|
| 18 || 13 || 1 || 0 || 132 || 79 || 211 || 93 || 12 || 0.1 || 0.0 || 10.2 || 6.1 || 16.2 || 7.2 || 0.9
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | 2015
|style="text-align:center;"|
| 18 || 18 || 0 || 0 || 169 || 114 || 283 || 124 || 17 || 0.0 || 0.0 || 9.4 || 6.3 || 15.7 || 6.9 || 0.9
|- class="sortbottom"
! colspan=3| Career
! 256
! 115
! 72
! 2326
!1287
! 3613
! 1677
! 361
! 0.4
! 0.3
! 9.1
!5.0
! 14.1
! 6.6
! 1.4
|}

References

External links

<mask>'s profile on the Official WAFL Website

1981 births
20th-century Bahá'ís
21st-century Bahá'ís
Living people
All-Australians (AFL)
Australian rules footballers from Western Australia
Australian Bahá'ís
East Fremantle Football Club players
Fremantle Football Club players
Hawthorn Football Club players
People from Perth, Western Australia
People educated at Christ Church Grammar School
Australian pharmacists

masks:
Luke McPharlin
McPharlin
McPharlin
McPharlin
Luke McPharlin


title: Percy Bland

texts:
<mask>  is an American politician and member of the Democratic Party who served as the mayor of Meridian, Mississippi from 2013 to 2021. Under <mask>'s leadership, downtown Meridian was transformed into a vibrant space. From the Sela Ward project to the Highway 59/20 lighting project which was funded and supported by the State of Mississippi, his leadership paved the way for the city's future. Downtown businesses like Castle Pipeline established their new corporate headquarters in downtown Meridian, and because of the Go Cup Ordinance that allowed citizens to walk with an open container in a specific district of the downtown area more restaurants like the Three-foot Brewery were established. Early life and family
<mask> was born in Crystal Springs, Mississippi on September 23, 1970. <mask> grew up in Jackson, Mississippi and attended St. Joseph High School, Bland later earned a B.S in chemistry at Xavier University of Louisiana of New Orleans, and played collegiate basketball. Bland also earned a Master's of Public Health (MPH) degree at the University of Southern Mississippi.<mask> met his wife Deidre in Atlanta and the couple was married on August 15, 1999. <mask>'s wife Deidre is now the community engagement specialist for the Meridian Public School System. <mask> went on to work for the Fulton County Health Department in Atlanta, Georgia where he served as an epidemiologist in the Tuberculosis Control Department. <mask> returned to Mississippi and began employment as the Human Resources Director and Marketing Director with the G.A. Carmichael Family Health Center. <mask> came to Meridian to own and operate a State Farm Insurance Agency. <mask> continues to run and manage a very successful insurance Agency.Community involvement
In 2007, <mask> served as co-chair to pass a bond issue for the first major renovations and improvements to Meridian's public schools in more than 20 years. The bond issue was for $19.5 million. The bond issue passed on March 27, 2007, with 71.3%. <mask> also helped establish the Magnolia Youth Sports Association and still runs his own Summer Basketball Camp. <mask> helped establish the First Tee Golf Program in Meridian, the first in the state, a golf program aimed at improving the quality of life of primarily inner-city children. Mayor of Meridian
On June 4, 2013, <mask> won the election for mayor of Meridian by 54% of the vote. Before he took office, <mask> formed a 29-member transition team from the community to study five issues - education, community development, public safety, infrastructure and city partnerships - and make recommendations about how to more improve those areas in Meridian.<mask> was sworn in as the first African-American mayor of the city of Meridian on July 1, 2013. During the first Meridian City Council meeting of the new administration, on July 2, 2014, <mask> proposed his livable wage policy. Bland proposed a $9 an hour minimum salary for all city employees that was to be funded by money saved through cuts to other areas of the municipal budget. Bland's livable wage proposal became city policy when the city council passed the municipal budget on September 17, 2013. Bland and several local businesses began recognizing an outstanding teacher or staff member from two MPSD schools a month during the 2013–14 school year. Improvements to public safety were made to the newly annexed part of Meridian through a new warning siren at the recently constructed fire station in that area. Meridian youth sports were brought together through one comprehensive program in the Meridian Parks and Recreation Department.The program brought in more mentors, more coaches, and more churches as partners for the City of Meridian to work with youth through athletics. In May 2014, the City of Meridian pledged $750,000 to help build a new community center. In May 2014, the City of Meridian launched a series of new programs to help fight crime in the city, including a new gang task force, a new team of Meridian police officers and citizens to help with tips on crime, and penalizing parents when their children do not comply with the Mississippi Compulsory School Attendance Law. In June 2014, Bland built a team to bring a new airline carrier to Meridian. American Airlines the largest airline carrier in the world brings their service to Meridian under the American Eagle brand. Express Jet will operate the service for American Airlines. In September 2014, Bland began a mayor's initiative to raise awareness of school attendance and the dangers of dropping out of high school.Through his Mayor's Youth Council, <mask> created a public service announcement that emphasized issues that high school students face, such as bullying, drugs, and depression. In October 2014, Bland launched his Kidz Zone Initiative, a program that partnered the City of Meridian with city and county schools, both local and private, to strengthen families. On the second Saturday of each month Disney movies are shown at the Meridian Temple Theatre for $2. The program encourages fathers to play an active role within their children's lives. All fathers are allowed free admission to the movie. Also in October 2014, Bland started a "Senior Prom" initiative to engage senior citizens and provide more community activities for that population. On October 6, 2014, Bland received a letter from Governor Phil Bryant that stated Meridian has been approved for a $600,000 Community Development Block Grant to help fund a new community center in the city's east end that would accommodate up to 400 children.On January 26, 2015, Bland and Choctaw Tribal Chief Phyliss J. Anderson signed an agreement to restore public transportation in Meridian. The Choctaw Regional Transportation Facility operates in more than a dozen counties in Mississippi. The bus that will be used in Meridian is handicap accessible, and can seat up to 29 people. People will have to call a special number to make arrangements to be picked up and dropped off at sites. On September 2, 2015, Bland, in cooperation with Commissioner Dick Hall, of Mississippi Department of Transportation, and Meridian Public Schools officials, opened a federally funded Safe Routes to Schools bridge at TJ Harris Lower Elementary School. On February 2, 2016, city officials unanimously approved a resolution that authorized and directed the issuance of general obligation bonds for $7.5 million. The bonds will provide funds for the construction, improvement, and paving of streets, sidewalks, driveways, parkways, walkways, bridges and culverts, public parking facilities, and other municipal projects.On May 18, 2016, Meridian city officials, along with community members and leaders, held a groundbreaking ceremony for Velma Young Community Center. The $2 million project is the first project that brought together the City of Meridian, Lauderdale County, Meridian Housing Authority, and East Mississippi Development for a predominately African-American project. "This has been an under-served area for a number of years, and this community center right here is going to be a huge shot in the arm for this community," said Mayor <mask>. On July 5, 2016, Mayor <mask> and the Meridian City Council passed a resolution and ordinance setting a date of August 16, 2016 for a referendum of a two percent (2%) food and beverage levy at restaurants within the city of Meridian. Revenue from the levy will fund the construction, equipment, furnishings, and operation of the Mississippi Arts and Entertainment Center. The referendum passed with 68.2 percent. On June 6, 2017, <mask> won a second term against two opponents, Independent Dustin Markham and Republican William Compton.Mayor <mask> received 64 percent of the vote, Markham received 34 percent, and Compton received 2 percent. Second term

<mask> continued building and improving infrastructure in Meridian during his second term as Mayor. He promoted businesses whose purpose was to improve the quality of life for all citizens especially youth. His administration paved more than 28 miles of streets in the inner city during the last four years in office. He started a LED lighting initiative in which LED lightings were installed in neighborhoods throughout the City of Meridian beginning in 2015 with a strong partnership with Mississippi Power. Through his Parks and Recreation Program, <mask> grew sports activities offered to all children from 30 to more than 55. He installed new playground equipment at Velma Young Center, James Chaney Park, Bonita Lakes and opened a Splash Pad at Highland Park.In November 2018, during the aftermath of an F-2 tornado in Ward 2, he championed the Partner's in Recovery Response Team response and helped recover faster. In October 2019, his administration renamed part of downtown 8th Street to David Ruffin Blvd and brought in JSU's Sonic Boom to highlight the occasion along with a dozen of Ruffin's family members. In November 2019, Bland created a family and kid-friendly environment that helped to bring new businesses to Meridian like Hype, Event Zone, and an updated family-oriented Movie Theater with a strong partnership with Developer Andy Weiner. In December 2019, under the Bland administration, the Go Cup or Open Container ordinance for restaurants downtown Meridian went into effect. In 2020, he pushed the $12.5 million paving bond to pave streets in the inner city. In March 2021, he worked with Mississippi Transportation Commissioner Willie Simmons to make improvements to Interstate 59/20 in Meridian. In April 2021, he helped purchase the Meridian Police Department Headquarters from a group of private investors that the city had a 41-year lease agreement with.This reduced the re-payment on the building by 11 years and saved taxpayers $11 million. During his administration, guidelines were issued to residents and business owners to follow safety precautions during the first year and six months of a national pandemic caused by the COVID-19. Thus, protected the lives of many citizens during an unprecedented national and local crisis. He helped engage the city council and community and helped to get buy-in on the MAX (Mississippi Arts and Entertainment Experience) and the Meridian Mississippi Children's Museum. He also worked with a developer, John Tampa, during his time in office to revitalize the Three-foot Building into a new state of the arts Marriott Hotel and Roof Top Bar and Restaurant that overlooks the city. New businesses opened in downtown Meridian such as Castle Headquarters (formerly Progressive Pipeline), Three-foot Brewery, and near Bonita Lakes Mall, a new Starbucks Coffee Shop during his tenure. <mask> lost to Democratic Candidate Jimmie Smith in the April 2021 primary.Throughout the primary, Smith refused to publicly debate <mask> on issues-running instead on a slogan "We Can Do Better" without ever having to disclose what better would be. Smith's campaign manager was a well-known Mississippi Republican and he was endorsed early on in the campaign by former Republican Meridian Mayor Jimmy Kemp. Democratic candidate Smith won the general election in June 2021 with the huge backing of Republican voters. References

1970 births
African-American mayors in Mississippi
Living people
Mayors of Meridian, Mississippi
Mississippi Democrats
People from Crystal Springs, Mississippi
Politicians from Jackson, Mississippi
University of Southern Mississippi alumni
Xavier University alumni
21st-century African-American people
20th-century African-American people

masks:
Percy Bland
Bland
Percy Bland
Bland
Bland
Percy
Career Bland
Bland
Bland
Bland
Bland
Bland
Bland
Percy Bland
Bland
Bland
Bland
Bland
Percy Bland
Bland
Mayor Bland
Bland
Bland
Bland
Percy Bland
Bland