2011 KCDP Brown-Todd-Wolpe Dinner Honoring Robert B. Jones
Join us Saturday, October 1st at 5:30pm in the Kalamazoo Room of the Radisson Plaza Hotel in beautiful downtown Kalamazoo for some great food and special guests. Senator Gretchen Whitmer and Representative Fred Durhal Jr. will be our guest speakers. Our 2011 KCDP Brown-Todd-Wolpe Award winner is the late Honorable Robert B. Jones.
$50 per person, $500 per table.
For further details, call Democratic HQ at 269.342.4217
Sponsored by:
Ms. Caroline Ham
UAW REGION 1-D
State Representative Sean McCann
“Bob” Jones was born in Jeffersonville, Georgia on April 22, 1944. He attended public schools in Brooklyn and graduated from John Jay High School in 1962. In 1966 he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry from Fort Valley State University in Georgia. A Master's Degree in chemistry was earned in 1971 at Clark Atlanta University. Bob attended and was a tireless advocate for Western Michigan University. For 28 years, he worked as a research chemist and a "fine chemicals" supervisor at The Upjohn Company.
Mayor
Robert B. Jones was elected mayor of Kalamazoo in 1997. As mayor, he presided over significant economic growth, stressing the importance of education and focusing on attracting new developments in the downtown area. His ability to bring people together and build consensus allowed the city to grow and avoid the fate of many other mid-western cities. He was re-elected mayor three consecutive times, serving a total of 4 terms until 2005. In this capacity many in Kalamazoo will always remember him as “The Mayor”.
Representative
In 2006, Robert B. Jones was elected to the Michigan State House of Representatives from the 60th District. In 2007 he was elected Treasurer of the Michigan Legislative Black Caucus and elected Chair in 2009. Also in 2009 he became chair of the powerful Commerce Committee. He also was a member of the Health Policy Committee, Senior Health Committee, Security and Retirement Committee and Tax Policy Committee. Bob continued the strong support for the local District Service Office. Constituency services were always important to Bob and he maintained the high standard Kalamazoons came to expect from the DSO.
Family Man
Robert Jones married Callie Baskerville. Together, they had six children and one grandchild. Bob was an active member of Mt. Zion Baptist Church. He was a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, the Prince Hall Grand Lodge Local 10; the National Brownfield Association; the National League of Cities; the United States Conference of Mayors; and a life-time member of the NAACP.
In 2003, the Honorable Robert B. Jones received the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) Humanitarian Award.
