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Dr. Leah Fitchue, Dr.
Farrah Gray, Dr.
Charles Young
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Columbia,SC--(BusinessWire)--May
4, 2008 -- On April 29th,
2008, Allen University
conferred an Honorary
Doctorate degree of Humane
Letters to Farrah Gray in
recognition of Dr. Gray's
ingenious economic mind and
distinguished commitment to
the development of values
such as leadership,
integrity and scholarship.
Recently Dr. Gray was also
named as one of the most
influential Black men in
America by the National
Urban League's Urban
Influence Magazine.
“We wanted to pay homage to
Mr. Gray’s contribution to
education and his dedication
to utilizing his skills to
open doors for persons who
desire to go into business,”
says Allen University’s
President, Dr. Charles E.
Young.
Dr. Gray began his
entrepreneurial, personal
and civic development as a
stellar young citizen at six
years old. He sold his own
hand-painted rocks as
book-ends and home-made body
lotion door-to-door. At age
seven, he was carrying
business cards reading “21st
Century CEO.” At eight, Gray
became co-founder of Urban
Neighborhood Enterprise
Economic Club (U.N.E.E.C.)
on Chicago’s Southside.
U.N.E.E.C. was the
forerunner of New Early
Entrepreneur Wonders (NE2W),
the flagship organization he
opened on Wall Street. NE2W
enlisted, educated and
engaged “at-risk” youth by
creating and developing
legal ways for them to
acquire additional income.
Gray is the youngest person
to have an office on Wall
Street.
Between the ages of 12 and
16 years old, Dr. Gray
founded and operated
business ventures that
included KIDZTEL pre-paid
phone cards, the One Stop
Mail Boxes & More franchise
and The Teenscope “Youth
AM/FM” interactive teen talk
show, Gray was also
Executive Producer of a
comedy show on the Las Vegas
Strip and owner of Farr-Out
Foods, “Way-Out Food with a
Twist,” aimed at young
people with the company’s
first Strawberry-Vanilla
syrup product. Farr-Out
Foods “Foodfulooza”
generated orders exceeding
$1.5 million.
As a pre-teen, Gray reached
12 million listeners and
viewers every Saturday night
as co-host of “Backstage
Live,” a syndicated
television and radio
simulcast in Las Vegas.
Gray’s inspirational spirit
and grounded personality
sparked speaking requests
from organizations around
the country. According to
Naples Daily News, “Farrah
Gray touched them in a way
few speakers can.” Dr.
Gray's sense of social
responsibility motivated him
to create the non-profit
organization, The Farrah
Gray Foundation. Among other
programs and initiatives,
his foundation focuses on
inner city community-based
entrepreneurship education
and provides scholarship &
grant assistance for
students from at-risk
backgrounds to attend HBCU's
(Historically Black Colleges
and Universities). Dr. Gray
donates his honorariums from
speaking engagements (which
can be upwards of $15,000)
and the proceeds of his book
to his foundation in what he
refers to as his
“self-imposed” youth tax.
Dr. Gray’s work did not
remain under the
radar-screen for long. He
was given a three-year term
on the Board of Directors of
United Way of Southern
Nevada at the age of 15 and
also became the youngest
member of the Board of
Advisors for the Las Vegas
Chamber of Commerce. Dr.
Gray was also the youngest
member of the
“African-American
Leadership” Roundtable where
he was invited by President
Bush and the Director of the
White House Office of
Faith-Based and Community
Initiatives. Dr. Gray is
also the spokesman for the
National Coalition for
Homeless and the National
Marrow Donor Program.
In December 2008, First
Premiere Bank and Diamond
Financial Products unveiled
its newest debit card, The
Farrah Gray Prepaid
MasterCard®, which features
Dr. Gray’s likeness on it.
The “goFarr” card is
designed to increase
financial freedom and
financial literacy.
Dr. Gray is also the
Co-Chair of Relational
Brokers Alliance Consultancy
(RBA). In addition, he has
consulted with JP Morgan
Chase and the U.S.
Department of Commerce
Minority Development Agency.
Also, The Farrah Gray
Foundation is in partnership
with the Kauffmann
Foundation, launching
entrepreneurship programs in
inner-city schools across
the country.
Dr. Gray is the author of
Reallionaire which was
nominated by NBC &
Publishers Weekly Quill
Awards in the category of
"Health/Self-Improvement."
His book appeared on the
Amazon and Barnes & Noble’s
Best-sellers lists two weeks
before its international
release. Reallionaire was
also named as the #1
Best-selling Nonfiction
Paperback book in the August
2008 Issue of Essence
Magazine. Gray’s book and
his journey to succeed
against the odds have become
required reading and part of
classroom study from
elementary school to
entrepreneurship departments
on college campuses.
Reallionaire has been
endorsed by former President
Bill Clinton, Pierre Sutton,
Stedman Graham, Jack
Canfield and Mark Victor
Hansen. Gray is also a
contributing author to
Chicken Soup for the
African-American Soul.
Dr. Gray’s honors include
Keys to the Cities of
Dallas, Shreveport, and
Cincinnati. He has received
Proclamations from the
Governors of Illinois and
Nevada, the Mayors of
Chicago, Las Vegas and New
Orleans and Clark County
Nevada Commissioners. Dr.
Gray’s Awards include The
National Urban League
Whitney M Young Jr.
Entrepreneurship Award, The
Indiana Black Expo (IBE)
Hoosier Lottery Entrepreneur
Award for 2008, The Alabama
A&M Students In Free
Enterprise (SIFE) Award, The
Davidson College Love of
Learning Lifetime
Educational Achievement
Award, Central State Award
Appreciation for
contributions made in the
area of entrepreneurship, NV
Magazine Vision Award and
the American Red Cross Award
of Appreciation.
Raised in the projects on
Chicago’s Southside, Dr.
Gray defied the odds and
became a self-made
millionaire by the age of
14. Dr. Gray is one of the
great business minds and
icons of his generation. At
the age of 21, he has
achieved more than many
achieve in a lifetime. In
his rise from poverty to
national and international
prominence as an
entrepreneurial icon and
pre-eminent power speaker,
he has inspired millions
around the world.
About Allen University
Founded in 1870 by the
African Methodist Episcopal
(AME) Church, Allen
University is the first
institution of higher
education in South Carolina
founded by African Americans
for the express purpose of
educating African Americans.
It is a Christian Liberal
Arts institution of higher
education and has a
distinguished history, rich
in the tradition of
promoting spiritual growth
and preparing men and women
to become productive leaders
in an ever-changing society.
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