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Activities > Honoring Trailblazing Journey - Phillip J. Napper
Honoring Trailblazing Journey - Phillip J. Napper
Phillip J. Napper
Long Beach, Ca. -- May 18, 2022 -- PRESS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE May 16, 2022 Contact Person: Gloria Willingham VillagerAwards@gmail.com 1-562-895-9205 Honoring The Trailblazing Journey of Phillip J. Napper Sr. AframGlobal Organization Inc announced that Phillip J. Napper Sr. has been selected as the recipient of a 2022 Villager Award. This distinguished award is presented annually to African-Americans and others of acknowledged Black ancestry from the African Continent and throughout the African Diaspora. Motto: “Lift as we Climb!” Napper was born and raised in Charleston, West Virginia. Opting to enlist in the US Marines after graduating from high school, he found himself on a discovery journey to now. As a young Marine he became a Drill Instructor (DI) at the age of twenty. As an honorably discharged Veteran, armed with the GI Bill Education Benefits, Napper enrolled in West Virginia State University, an HBCU. After graduation, and at a time when the notion of reaching the ranks of economic middle class was out of reach to many Blacks, Napper found himself on a path he never imagined or knew existed. He unknowingly joined the ranks of many other African-American Trail Blazers being either the first, the only or one of a few Black persons to take that first step into impactful roles. It was the multitude of first steps along the way that would eventually open the doors to opportunities for others. Napper integrated what had been previously the White YMCA in Akron, Ohio. He later became the first Black person hired in the East Ohio Gas Company in Cleveland He was the first Black person in a management position in American Hospital Supply, etc. As the years went by it was apparent that trailblazing was a part of his destiny and he fulfilled that destiny culminating in using all that he learned over the years to inform the development of his entrepreneurial skills in business development. When asked if he could recall the three persons in his life whose positive impact was most influential in shaping his life journey he responded without hesitation: “ My childhood pastor- , My childhood Boy Scout leader- Paul Gemmer, and Mr. Lindsey Austin who recommended him to Boy’s State where he excelled. Now a retired successful Financial Advisor/Consultant, Napper shares the stories of his Journey-to-Now as a source of encouragement to others. He is a member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Inc. He and his wife, Barbara Napper, reside in La Habra, California.