First, in 2010, it was the legendary Al Green who serenaded a captive Little Rock audience. Then it was Gladys Knight who crooned sweet soul into the microphone. And this year The Commodores are slated to bring down the house at Supper & Soul, Arkansas Baptist College’s (ABC) annual fundraiser.
Held Thursday, Jan. 24 at the Statehouse Convention Center, Supper & Soul is ABC’s largest fundraiser, last year entertaining 750 guests and raising more than $300,000, says honorary event co-chair Gloria Love.
Money raised from the event goes to the Growing Hope Capital Campaign, which funds the college’s expanding campus and educational programs. In 2013, the money will help build a new women’s dorm and a student center.
“We do not currently have a women’s dorm, and the female students [40 percent of the student body] are all living in off-campus housing,” says Beth Coulson, a member of the ABC board of trustees and one of the event co-chairs, along with Janell Mason. Coulson says the money will also be used to fund a new student center. “One of our students was recently murdered by a passerby on the streets near campus. We need both of these buildings in order to keep all of our students on campus and safe.”
“One of the great features of this event,” says Janell Mason, “is that students help set up and volunteer at the event and the college’s jazz ensemble plays during the welcome reception and as guests depart. For most of these students, it’s a first-time opportunity to attend a gala, and they are very gracious and well-received. They are wonderful examples of why our community should support Arkansas Baptist College. At the end of the evening, I always feel so blessed to have met and worked alongside these students who are so proud to give of their time and talents.”
As honorary chairs of Supper & Soul, Gloria and her husband Dr. Tommy Love are charged with not only helping raise funds but also making the community aware of ABC’s vital presence in Little Rock.
“ABC is important to Tommy and me because [the college] makes education a reality for students who have dreamed of obtaining a college education,” Gloria says. “I am so very proud of President Fitz Hill. Dr. Hill takes a personal interest in those students, as if they are his biological children. The improvement and growth that ABC has received under Dr. Hill’s leadership is only one more completed dream for the students of ABC and the community.”
According to registration data, since Fitz Hill took the helm as president in 2006, the student body of ABC — which was founded in 1884 — has increased from 168 students to an enrollment of more than 1,100 this past fall. The Old Main building was recently restored, and the college has added classrooms, dorms, parking lots and an expanded cafeteria.
Gloria has never seen The Commodores perform live, so she’s elated that the renowned soul group will be taking the stage in Little Rock. “I am so excited! I can’t wait to hear the all-time favorites, ‘Easy,’ ‘Three Times a Lady,’ ‘Brick House’ and the list goes on and on with The Commodores.”
For the event, Gloria plans to wear a similar Diana Ross-inspired ensemble to the one she’s wearing at left. “I am so proud of the Diana Ross look,” she smiles. “I will wear beads, a stove jacket and Diana Ross hair and makeup.”
One of nine children, Gloria grew up on a small cotton farm in the Delta where she picked and chopped cotton with her family. She met her husband in 1967 while studying business administration at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville. The couple married in 1974, and they have three adult daughters, Monica, Christie and Andrea, and two grandchildren, Aiden, 6, and Eli, 3. Gloria is the office manager/administrator of Central Medical Group, P.A., and has a career history in the banking industry. She also owned her own business, G. Love, in The Heights.
While this is the first year the Loves have been directly involved with ABC, they are no strangers to philanthropy or the mission of the college.
“I am the first vice president of the Little Rock Chapter of Links, Inc., which supports ABC,” explains Gloria. “ABC is in rotation with two other historically black colleges to receive $10,000 annually.” To date, ABC has received $20,000 from Links.
The Loves have also “adopted” Gloria’s hometown of Lakeview. “For the past few years, we have provided food baskets and medical care for the community,” she says. “Last year we provided prostate screenings, mammograms, eye exams, blood pressure and cholesterol checks, flu shots, etc. We had four physicians, two technicians and five nurses, and we provided food baskets for 300 families.” Additionally, the Loves are actively educating Lakeview children on healthy eating, with plans to return in February for a free community health fair and food drive.
According to Beth, choosing the Loves as the honorary chairs of Supper & Soul was an easy decision. “Gloria is the go-to person when it comes to events,” Beth says. “She’s very hands-on and a great behind-the-scenes worker who doesn’t expect credit for the many things she does.”
Supper & Soul: An Evening with The Commodores
When: 6 p.m., Thursday, Jan. 24 | Where: Statehouse Convention Center’s Wally Allen Ballroom
Tickets: $250 per person, $3,000 for a table of 10 | Info: ArkansasBaptist.edu, Devae.Lucas@ArkansasBaptist.edu