By Ashley Lutz
The company boasts more than 800,000 associates at its hotels and resorts around the world. Notably, it has a strong culture, ranking No. 8 on Fortune’s 100 Best Companies to Work For listin 2025. An impressive 90% of Marriott employees endorse the company, compared with a 57% average.
Much of the company’s success is driven by trust in leadership—including former chairman Bill Marriott, current chairman David S. Marriott, and CEO Anthony Capuano. Read more at www.fortune.com.
by: Deanne King
Nearly 7,000 members of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated are making a major financial and community impact during its annual regional conference.
Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated is the first Black Greek-letter organization founded in the United States. Created by college-educated women on the campus of Howard University in 1908, the sorority’s foundation is built on sisterhood, scholarship and service. Those values will be on full display Easter week and weekend in Tampa.
The South Atlantic Region of AKA, which is comprised of Florida, Georgia and South Carolina members, are meeting in Tampa for their 72nd Annual South Atlantic Regional Conference. According to Visit Tampa Bay, with more than 8,000 hotel rooms booked in the city, preliminary estimates show an $8 million economic impact. While the organization will be conducting a lot of business, they’ll also be giving back to the Tampa community. Read more at www.wfla.com.
At Target’s request, the retailer’s CEO, Brian Cornell, will meet with Rev. Al Sharpton in New York City this week to discuss, presumably, what the retailer can do to avoid future calls for boycotts, according to CNBC.
In January, the company decided to end several of its DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) initiatives, including efforts to secure more items from Black- and minority-owned businesses. Shortly after that decision went public, several civil rights groups began to call for boycotts of the retailers. Since late January, according to Placer.ai, an analytics firm that tracks estimated visits to stores, Target has seen a 10-week decline in foot traffic, impacting sales and profits. Read more at www.thegrio.com.
The 20-year-old son of a sheriff’s deputy opened fire Thursday at Florida State University with his mother’s former service weapon, killing two people and wounding at least six others, investigators said.
Officers quickly arrived and shot and wounded the shooter after he refused to comply with commands, said Tallahassee Police Chief Lawrence Revell.
Authorities have not yet revealed a motive for the shooting, which began around lunchtime just outside the student union, sending students and frightened parents hiding for cover in a bowling alley and a freight elevator inside the building. Read more at www.thegrio.com.
Colleges nationwide are bracing themselves as the Trump administration proposes drastic cuts in federal education funding. Some educational leaders say these cuts may have a catastrophic impact on historically Black colleges and universities, which have caused them to consider their potential budgets without federal funding.
“We’re at this position where we realize that our ancestors did not rely on federal money in order to get the work done,” said Fatima Brunson, assistant professor of education at Spelman College, told NBC News. Read more at www.blackenterprise.com.
Two critical infrastructure projects in St. Petersburg are now in limbo due to the presidential administration’s death-by-a-thousand-cuts approach to federal agencies.
Documents obtained by the Catalyst show the city requested $33.82 million in Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) funding through its Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) program. Director Cameron Hamilton killed the “wasteful, politicized” initiative April 4. Read more at www.stpetecatalyst.com.
The Summer Youth Intern Program will provide high school participants with a Summer Youth Internship opportunity. Students will be introduced to City career opportunities and gain valuable knowledge as they prepare for future employment. Summer Youth Interns will have an opportunity to learn more about a variety of tasks within the City of Tampa departments. Click here to apply!
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Applications for the April 24, 2025, C.A.T.C.H. — Tampa Cohort Entrepreneurship Training will be accepted thru Friday, April 11th at 5:00 pm. Apply Today!
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2025 National Democracy Summer School! This one-of-a-kind Democratic Fellowship—founded by Congressman Jamie Raskin and expanded across the country in an historic partnership with the DCCC—is dedicated to recruiting thousands of high school and college-age students and training them as the next generation of Democratic political activists and leaders.
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Former President Barack Obama applauded Harvard University after the Ivy League institution refused to comply with a list of the Trump administration’s campus policy demands in exchange for continued federal funding.
In a letter to the campus community published late Monday, Harvard President Alan M. Garber declared, “The University will not surrender its independence or relinquish its constitutional rights.” Read more at www.thegrio.com.
The City of St. Petersburg will secure an $85 million line of credit from Bank of America to pay for ongoing storm recovery costs.
Administrators believe borrowing the money is prudent given federal uncertainties and outstanding costs related to debris removal and Tropicana Field repairs. City council members discussed the unique measure and fiscal policy amendments at an April 10 committee meeting. Read more at www.stpetecatalyst.com.
