Velma Saunders will celebrate her 100th birthday at a reception hosted by her Lunch Bunch friends. Family, relatives, and professional and business associates may attend from 5 to 6:30 p.m.?Wednesday, Dec. 2, at the Lindquist Alumni Center at Weber State University, 1235 E. 4100 South, Ogden. No gifts.?Born Dec. 2, 1909, in Lake Charles, La., she moved to Kansas City, Mo., where she went to school and graduated from Western Baptist College. She came to Ogden in 1936 and is well-known as the receptionist for the Weber County Commission, serving more than 40 years and 25 commissioners. She also worked at the United Way for Northern Utah, where she still serves.?She has a son and a daughter: Noel Wilson (deceased), and Valetta Alberti, Shawnee Mission, Kan.?She campaigned for traffic lights at 27th Street and Wall Avenue, a crosswalk at the New Baptist Church on Lincoln Avenue, and the approval and construction of the Marshall White Center. She sought the center’s founding with weekly visits to the Ogden City Council and insisted it be named for slain police officer, Marshall White. Other accomplishments are a fund drive in support of the Weber County Nutrition Kitchen.?She was Roy Days grand marshal, a recipient of the Freedom Foundation Hero Award, and a former Altrusa Club member and president. She was honored as 1990 Green Thumb outstanding enrollee and received an honorary degree at Weber State University 1999 commencement. She believes in fostering equality for black Americans.

Newsletter