2009 Honorees
BLAKE MOORMAN
Blake Moorman is abreast on what's happening in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex, because he is often times the driving force behind the activities that bring the public, business leaders, and community activists together. For many years, Mr. Moorman has been actively involved in a plethora of organizations in the local communities, from serving as a Life Member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. to Fort Worth/Tarrant County Minority Leaders and Citizens Council.
In his current role as National Sales Manager for the City of Fort Worth at the city's Convention Center, Mr. Moorman is responsible for securing conventions, meetings, conferences, trade shows, etc. from the national market for the Center. Previously, he was the public events coordinator, where he handled public events of 100 plus, supervising some 30 or more employees, overseeing 395,000 square feet of the Center.
Blake is a proud alumn of The University of Texas at Arlington where he received a Bachelors degree in Interdisciplinary Studies (Music Theatre) in 1990. As a student, Blake was involved in Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia Music Fraternity, Order of Omega Honor Society, Black Student Association, Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society, and a member of an acapella choir that performed at Carnegie Hall in New York City in 1989 on Easter Sunday.
Mr. Moorman serves on the Board of Directors of Jubilee Theatre since 2004 and is chairman of several committees. Starting as a volunteer in 1985, Blake performed in over thirty productions with Jubilee and in 1990; he became the theatre's first Managing Director. His involvement in community theatre, particularly with Jubilee, was how Blake met his wife, Coletta Strickland.
Blake is committed to bettering the lives of those around him, this is evident through the countless hours he spends with the annual Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. Beautillion, which gathers young men in the Arlington/Fort Worth area and assists them in getting scholarships to college. He mentors these young men on how to be gentlemen offering advice on proper grooming, etiquette and culture.
One of his fraternity brothers describes him this way, "He is an outstanding role model for young people in the metroplex. His ability to integrate diversity, economic development, the arts and spiritual insightfulness are par excellence. Mr. Moorman is a leader worthy of this recognition. He represents the best of what UTA has to offer!"
ZEB STRONG, JR.
Zeb Strong didn't just earn a degree at UT Arlington and walk out the doors never to return, he stayed and became ACTIVELY involved in the university life and culture, while becoming a pillar in the framework, consciousness, and pulse of the campus. His commitment to UT Arlington is paving things forward for a lifetime of generations to follow after him.
Mr. Strong's past professional work experience includes 12 years with The University of Texas at Arlington; two years with Marathon Oil Company in Houston; four years with Tarrant County College South campus in Fort Worth, in the capacity as the Director of Student Activities; and most recently, Mr. Strong has rejoined the staff of The University of Texas at Arlington, as the Director of Recruitment Initiatives.
Strong received a Bachelors degree in Political Science from UT Arlington in 1988 and he attended the prestigious Harvard University's Management Development Program (MDP). As a student, Zeb was very active in student leadership and campus organizations. While attending UT Arlington, Strong met his beautiful wife, Sheri, and they have been married for 19 years and they have four children: Bryanna, Caira, Dorian and Zeb III.
Zeb Strong, Jr. serves on the boards of directors for the Arlington Life Shelter, the NAACP Arlington chapter, the Arlington African-American Chamber, Tarrant County Housing Partnerships, Park South YMCA Board of Managers and the African-American Alumni Chapter. Strong has presented national conference workshops exhibiting pride in his alma mater and the work that the university is doing towards minority issues. This passion and knowledge has allowed him to present alongside former UT Arlington Provost, Dr. Dana Dunn, at a national conference in San Francisco, California.
In August 2001, Inroads/Dallas-Fort Worth named its highest honor after Zeb Strong, Jr., former assistant dean of students and director of multicultural services at UT Arlington. Inroads awarded its MVP Award to Strong for his dedication to the organization, which selects minority students for Fortune 500 company internships. At the awards ceremony, the organization announced it was renaming the honor the Zeb Strong MVP Award.
When a former student was asked about her thoughts about Mr. Strong, she responded "I'm proud of him, because he has contributed so much to my life and the lives of so many other students and professionals he has touched. He is the epitome of what it means to be an "Outstanding" African-American Alumni. To many students, he has been a father to the fatherless, a friend to the friendless, and a source of hope and inspiration to the hopeless."
