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MEDIA CONTACT: MARGARET KURTZ | 702.229.6993 | 702.249.1828 | [email protected]
2025 African American Trailblazer Service Awards Winners Honored
Historic Westside Legacy Park 2025 Inductees Also Announced
In honor of Black History Month, the city of Las Vegas held the 11th annual African American Trailblazer Service Awards at Las Vegas City Hall today. The awards ceremony was held in Council Chambers and may be watched at https://www.youtube.com/@cityoflasvegastv. Award nominations were open to the public online through Oct. 18, 2024. The awards honor selected residents of the Las Vegas valley who have made outstanding civic accomplishments and significant contributions to the Las Vegas community in the following categories:
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Business and Economic Advancement Award winner Bobbie G. Mullins - This award recognizes local business professionals who have displayed entrepreneurial character, high standards, innovative professional practice, and a committed support of their local community.
Bobbie G. Mullins exemplifies innovation, resilience and service. Through her entrepreneurial pursuits, activism and dedication to uplifting others, she inspires and empowers the Las Vegas community. Her trailblazing efforts in business and economic advancement pave the way for future generations. She is the founder and owner of Raw Remedies, LLC in the 18b Arts District, unifying the community with events, workshops and gatherings while welcoming more than 12,000 guests annually. She co-founded Soul Sessions, a monthly open-mic event, organizes The Dreamers Fest, The Black Las Vegas Food Festival and the Block Party, and supports the W.I.N.G.S nonprofit, providing work opportunities for women.
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Community Activism and Politics Award winner Capucine Holmes - This award recognizes an individual who has demonstrated, through his or her achievements, the ability to advocate, organize and engage citizens, and inform public policy on issues that improve the quality of life for the community.
Capucine Holmes is a dedicated community activist and leader in public policy advocacy. She currently serves as the chief marketing officer at Smart Tyme Consultants LLC, a certified minority and women-owned business. With more than 25 years of experience in Las Vegas, she has effectively collaborated with both corporations and nonprofits to create impactful initiatives that enhance the quality of life for the community. As a current board member of the National Association of Women Business Owners, the Urban League, the Hanna Brown Community Development Corporation, and the Urban Chamber of Commerce Community Development Corporation, she is deeply invested in empowering Southern Nevada's diverse communities. She is committed to fostering collaboration among businesses and community organizations in the belief that joint efforts lead to sustainable growth and prosperity.
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Educator Award winner Ayoka Snipes - This award honors those who, as a teacher, instructor or school administrator, have demonstrated excellence in mentoring, guiding and preparing students to achieve their full potential.
As an educator and principal of a Title 1 school, Ayoka Snipes has successfully driven measurable increases in overall student achievement through the implementation of targeted intervention programs. She is committed to fostering a collaborative culture among staff, parents and community partners to ensure student success. She manages a diverse team of educators, providing ongoing professional development and support to enhance instructional practices and create a positive learning environment. Her dedication to excellence has been widely recognized. During her tenure, the school received the Magnet Schools of America Distinguished School award every year from 2015 to 2020 and again in the 2022-2023 school year. Most notably, during the 2021-2022 school year, the school earned the prestigious Magnet Schools of America School of Excellence Award for the first time as a magnet school.
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Tyrone Thompson Emerging Leader Award winner Avree Walker - This award celebrates an up-and-coming individual who demonstrates a commitment to leadership and substantial potential for innovation, creativity, vision and positive influence.
Born and raised in the Historic Westside of Las Vegas, Avree Walker has dedicated his life to the arts, inspiring countless individuals through his work in dance and performance. His journey began at the West Las Vegas Arts Center under the guidance of Marcia Robinson, laying the foundation for a remarkable career in the arts. As an alumnus of the Las Vegas Academy of the Arts and the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Walker has showcased his talent on stages across the world. He became an artist with the Las Vegas Contemporary West Dance Theatre, danced in many regional musical productions and performed in Stephen Sondheim Follies and Donn Arden's Jubilee! He currently is a dancer in Las Vegas at Planet Hollywood on The Strip. In 2019, Walker joined the Las Vegas Academy of the Arts dance faculty as the first full-time African-American dance instructor in the school's history. He has created work for many universities/conservatories and pre-professional and professional dance companies, and currently is the artistic director of the city of Las Vegas Live Arts Institute, a pre-professional dance training and performance program located at the West Las Vegas Arts Center.
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Spiritual Community Award winner Alma Faye Hudson-McDonnell - This award will be presented to a spiritual leader who has transcended organizational boundaries to promote spiritual and religious growth, partnership and engagement through inspired action and visionary leadership.
Alma Faye Hudson-McDonnell grew up in a God-fearing family and received Christ at an early age. She developed spiritually in the ministry by taking leadership classes and attending Charles Harrison Mason Bible College. She worked in various positions in the Vegas View Church of God in Christ in Las Vegas for more than 23 years, until her husband Bill McDonnell was called to be the pastor. She also served 32 years with the Clark County School District, retiring as Dean of Students in 2008. She is a licensed missionary and evangelist with the Churches of God in Christ, is a certified Christian counselor and life coach, and has served on the executive board of the National Church of God in Christ. As First Lady of The Wealthy Place Ministries, she demonstrates strong, energetic leadership, effectively overseeing the affairs of the women's and music ministries. She is a compassionate servant and a wonderful cook, assuring excellence in hospitality at the ministry. Her main goal as she faces the challenges of each day is to love God supremely and her neighbor as herself, seeking to glorify God in all that she does.
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Trailblazer Impact Award winner Kimberly Bailey Tureaud - This is the Trailblazer highest honor and recognizes a leader whose lifetime active engagement in our community has had a significant positive impact locally.
Raised in Las Vegas, Kimberly Bailey Tureaud is known as an entrepreneur who has dedicated most of her life to business development advocacy. She has served as the director of a micro business program, helping more than 900 people within the Black community start their own businesses that are still flourishing today. She serves as the executive producer and host of her 28-year-old "Enterprising People" business radio show on the local KCEP 88.1 FM radio station. Securing the funds needed for the local KCEP station, which was required to expand its wattage in 1992, she created and produced a fundraising concert called "Keeping the Voice Alive." The fundraiser featured many celebrity performers and succeeded in allowing KCEP to secure its antenna on Black Mountain and expand its wattage, making the community radio station sustainable and competitive in Southern Nevada. She owns Culturally Diverse Advertising, Media Relations & Events LLC, with her husband, Charles Tureaud. They are the first Black publishers in Nevada of a magazine, Las Vegas Black Image Magazine, and creators and producers of large-scale events: Las Vegas Taste & Sounds of Soul Festival and Las Vegas Cultural Fest on the Fremont Street Experience. Las Vegas Black Image Magazine has been published since 2008.
The city of Las Vegas has been hosting events in celebration of Black History Month for 46 years. To learn more about past African American Trailblazer Award recipients, click here.
During the ceremonies, the next group of honorees who will be installed in the Historic Westside Legacy Park during the April 19, 2025, induction ceremony at the park were announced. The five 2025 honorees include:
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Willia Mae Chaney (deceased)
As founder and director of Smart Start Child Care, Willia Mae Chaney shaped the lives of children by providing quality education and after-school care. Her passion for education and providing skill development as an avenue to financial independence resulted in the founding of Expertise School of Beauty. After 25 years, Expertise remains active as Nevada's first African-American-operated school of cosmetology. She continued her commitment to our community by serving as the District 3 representative to the Nevada Board of Education, as well as the Nevada Fair Housing Board and the Southern Nevada Regional Accountable Banking Committee.
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Porter Lee Troutman Jr.
Dr. Porter Lee Troutman Jr. was the first Black person to receive a doctorate from Northern Arizona University. At UNLV's College of Education, he rose to become professor emeritus after a career dedicated to advancing diversity and inclusion. He chaired the Diversity Committee, led the multicultural education program, and founded the Center for Multicultural Education in 2005. He served as director of Teacher Corps, student teaching programs and the National Youth Sports Program. Alongside his wife, Bobbie Jean Troutman, he co-founded the Afro-American Cultural Service to spotlight the achievements and history of the Black community in Las Vegas' Historic Westside. Together, they created programs like "A Salute to Black Teachers" and the Black Community Organizations Network, celebrating Black high school graduates each year.
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Eva Martin
Eva Martin was raised in Chicago, Illinois, attended Hyde Park High School, and later Chicago State Teachers College. Actively involved in the community, Eva is a generous philanthropist and passionate advocate for business and professional development. She began her entrepreneurial journey as the owner of three dry cleaning businesses, which she operated with her husband, Jim Martin. They went on to purchase their first McDonald's franchise and later moved to Las Vegas, where she owned and operated three McDonald's restaurants. Through her success as a franchise operator, Eva has collectively awarded more than $400,000 in scholarships and helped bring to reality the educational dreams of 400 low-income and at-risk students in Southern Nevada.
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Beatrice Dyess
Beatrice Dyess, born in Tallulah, Louisiana, moved to Las Vegas in 1951 with her family. She graduated from Rancho High School and the Las Vegas Cosmetology School. Later, she was hired by the Clark County Sheriff's Department. Dyess attended the first Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department Academy. In 1974, she became the first black female police officer in Las Vegas and the State of Nevada. In 2007, she graduated with a general associate degree from the College of Southern Nevada. In 2017, she received the doctorate of divinity degree from Kingdom Builders Bible Seminary. She continues to work and serve our community.
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Faith Leggett
Faith Leggett was born in Memphis, Tennessee, and graduated from LeMoyne-Owen College. She taught history at Matt Kelly Elementary School and coached the basketball team, as well. Leggett loved helping students learn and gain an appreciation for other people's cultures by facilitating a yearly food festival, weaving history and culture together.
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