{"id":197253,"date":"2025-09-03T16:28:32","date_gmt":"2025-09-03T16:28:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/197253\/"},"modified":"2025-09-03T16:28:32","modified_gmt":"2025-09-03T16:28:32","slug":"community-faith-leaders-and-organizations-to-be-honored-at-the-2025-unity-football-classic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/197253\/","title":{"rendered":"Community, Faith Leaders And Organizations To Be Honored At The 2025 Unity Football Classic"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/mail\" alt=\"Unity Classic 2025 Honorees\" width=\"244\" height=\"316\"\/>Unity Classic 2025 Honorees<\/p>\n<p>By: Unity Classic |\u00a0 <b>JACKSONVILLE, Fla.<\/b>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0<b>Sept. 3, 2025<\/b>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.prlog.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">PRLog<\/a>\u00a0\u2014 The 2025 Unity Football Classic, featuring Edward Waters University and Virginia Union University, will celebrate HBCU football while recognizing leaders who have made lasting contributions to Jacksonville.<\/p>\n<p>At the Unity Classic Kick-Off Luncheon on Friday, September 12, 2025, Edward Waters University will honor a distinguished group of community, business, and faith leaders:<\/p>\n<p><b>Unity Ambassadors<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Dr. Nathaniel Glover<\/b>\u00a0\u2013 Former Jacksonville Sheriff and former President of Edward Waters University, dedicated to safety, service and education.<\/li>\n<li><b>Darnell Smith<\/b>\u00a0\u2013 Florida Blue North Florida Market President, advocate for healthcare access and education.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>Outstanding Community Leaders<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Mayor Donna Deegan<\/b>\u00a0\u2013 Jacksonville\u2019s 45th Mayor, championing infrastructure, public health, and economic development.<\/li>\n<li><b>Rev. Rudolph McKissick, Sr.<\/b>\u00a0\u2013 Pastor Emeritus of Bethel Baptist Institutional Church, with over 50 years of faith leadership. Founder &amp; CEO of Mindful Meditation Ministries.<\/li>\n<li><b>Rev. Frederick Newbill<\/b>\u00a0\u2013 Senior Pastor of First Timothy Baptist Church, known for youth mentorship and community growth.<\/li>\n<li><b>Sam Newby<\/b>\u00a0\u2013 Former Jacksonville City Councilman, advocate for HBCU students and underserved communities.<\/li>\n<li><b>Adonnica Toler<\/b>\u00a0\u2013 Museum Director for the Eartha M.M. White Historical Museum, preserving Jacksonville\u2019s Black history and culture.<\/li>\n<li><b>Elder Elizabeth Yates<\/b>\u00a0\u2013 First female minister and Presiding Elder of the East Annual Conference of the 11th Episcopal District of the African Methodist Episcopal Church. Devoted to outreach and prayer ministry.<\/li>\n<li><b>Bishop Marvin Zanders, II<\/b>\u00a0\u2013 140th Bishop of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, assigned to the 16th Episcopal District, champion of social justice and equity.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>Organizations<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Clara White Mission, CEO Ju\u2019 Coby Pittman<\/b>\u00a0\u2013 A historic nonprofit serving Jacksonville for over a century, Clara White Mission provides critical services including daily meals, housing assistance, job training, and veteran support\u2014transforming lives and restoring hope for individuals and families in need.<\/li>\n<li><b>OneJax, CEO Elizabeth Anderson<\/b>\u00a0\u2013 A nonprofit committed to fostering mutual respect and building bridges of understanding among people of all beliefs, faiths, and backgrounds. OneJax promotes civility, inspires hope and creates a climate where all youth and adults can thrive.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\u201cWe are proud to honor these remarkable individuals and organizations that embody the values of faith, service, and leadership,\u201d\u00a0said Reverend R.B. Holmes, Unity Classic Chair. \u201cTheir dedication has made a significant difference in our city and beyond, and we are thrilled to recognize their achievements during this historic weekend.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><b>Weekend Highlights<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Kick-Off Luncheon<\/b>\u00a0\u2013 Friday, Sept. 12, Noon, Adams-Jenkins Sports And Music Complex, EWU<\/li>\n<li><b>Tailgate Fan Fest<\/b>\u00a0\u2013 Saturday, Sept. 13<\/li>\n<li><b>Unity Classic Game<\/b>\u00a0\u2013 Saturday, Sept. 13, Edward Waters vs. Virginia Union at Nathaniel Glover Community Field and Stadium<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The Classic will be broadcast nationally on\u00a0<b>ESPN+<\/b>, celebrating HBCU pride, community unity, and faith-based leadership.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Unity Classic 2025 Honorees By: Unity Classic |\u00a0 JACKSONVILLE, Fla.\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Sept. 3, 2025\u00a0\u2013\u00a0PRLog\u00a0\u2014 The 2025 Unity Football Classic, featuring&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":197254,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5136],"tags":[5229,3188,723,7310,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-197253","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-jacksonville","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-fl","10":"tag-florida","11":"tag-jacksonville","12":"tag-united-states","13":"tag-united-states-of-america","14":"tag-unitedstates","15":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","16":"tag-us","17":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115141313044185183","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/197253","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=197253"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/197253\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/197254"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=197253"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=197253"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=197253"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}