Wall of Honor Awards Three
February 21, 2017
In its 20th year, the State Center Community College District will celebrate the contributions of three individuals in their communities for the annual Wall of Honor Ceremony on Feb. 24.
The event will be held in Room 251 of the Old Administration Building and will commemorate Tamara Epperson, Marshall Kelley and Joe H. Lee.
Tamara Epperson currently teaches accounting and business administration at Madera Community College Center. She also campaigned for Measure C, which provided $485 million in bonds for district facilities.
Epperson leads the Volunteer Income Tax Association, which offers free tax advice to people with learning disabilities, limited English and the elderly.
Epperson earned her bachelor’s degree from California State University Fresno and her master’s in public administration from National University. v
Her volunteer credits include Hearts and Flowers Sickle Cell, Blue Star Mom’s Socks for Soldiers Drive, Ebony Magazine Show, Fresno Convoy of Hope, Christmas at the Hinton Center Toy Drive and Poverello House.
The Wall of Honor will also commemorate the accomplishments of Marshall Kelley, one of the first African Americans in the Fresno area to become a Certified Public Accountant. He attended Fresno City College and opened his own CPA firm in Fresno in 1989.
At the Family Community Church, Kelley mentors those interested in the accounting profession.
Kelley also helped start the Association for the Improvement of Minorities, which runs in cooperation with the Internal Revenue Service.
Kelley graduated from Fowler High School, Fresno City College and Fresno State.
Joe H. Lee was the first African American associate superintendent and deputy superintendent of Fresno Unified School District.
Lee developed programs across the valley, including the Career Opportunity Program for Minorities, which recruits and trains teachers, and Restart, which works with drop outs from FUSD.
Lee graduated from Washington Union High School, got his associates from FCC and also attended California State Universities Hayward and Fresno, as well as the University of Southern California.