Eileen G. Turner Regional Workforce Specialist Ohio Department of Job and Family Services Notables: Honors graduate Xavier University; 2010 Women of Excellence Award from Xavier University; Member, Delta Theta Sorority; Past Publicity hair, Martin Luther King, Jr. Coalition Celebration; Completing Masters next month; Motto: If not now, then when? If not you, then who? The 2012 Reaching For The Stars Program Recognition Ceremony honoring the Leaders for the Future and Rockdale Elementary School honor roll students is at 9 a.m., May 23, at Rockdale Elementary School on Rockdale Avenue in Avondale.

The 2012 Reaching for the Stars Leaders are: Kobie A. Smith, Assistant Director of Development, for The Christ Hospital Foundation; Eileen G. Turner, Manager at Ohio Dept. of Job and Family Services; Robert Pulliam, Medical Student at University Hospital; Shamekko Early, Marketing at The Cincinnati Enquirer; Ron L. Gladden, Doctoral Student and Cincinnati State Instructor; and Rev. Paul Booth, Jr., Future Owner-in-training for McDonalds’ Restaurants.

Kobie A. Smith Assistant Director of Development, Major Gifts The Christ Hospital Foundation Notables: Masters CCM; Magna Cum Laude undergraduate Univ. of Alabama; To “Reach for the Stars” connotes a state of aspiring for a pinnacle, said Sallie Elliott, founder and director of The Images of Excellence Corporation in Cincinnati, which hosts the program.

“We take great pleasure in identifying, saluting, and creating awareness of young leaders 30 years of age and under in the African American community whose outstanding achievements have catapulted them to the forefront of their fields of endeavor early in their career. These emerging leaders epitomize excellence in character, service, and professional achievement,’’ Elliott said.

Rev. Paul Booth Jr. Executive Pastor, New Prospect Baptist Church Next Generation McDonald’s Owner/Operator Notables: McDonald’s Team Spirit Award; MLK, Jr. Service Award; Baptist World Alliance, Board Member; In the City Development Corporation, Board Member; Cincinnati Symphony - Advisory Committee Motto: “I am a change agent and Kingdom work is my priority!” The Reaching for the Stars Program creates a linkage and scaffold for these young aspirants with established and accomplished leaders in their professions and in the community, Elliott said. Through purposeful mentoring interactions initiated by the program, the younger counterparts gain and share insights and strategies to facilitate the breaking of the proverbial “glass ceiling” which often impedes career progression for even the best and brightest in the African American community.

Another important program goal is to encourage retention of “the best and brightest” young talent in Cincinnati, she said.

Shammeko N. Early Marketing Coordinator Cincinnati Enquirer Notables: MBA Candidate; President, SNE, LLC Marketing/PR Company; Publicity Chair, Deborah Green-Boone CanceFoundation “Propelled by their innate talents, lofty goals, and the encouragement of inspiring role models, these emerging leaders can soar in Cincinnati as they continue to fulfill their highest potential and . . . ‘Reach for the Stars,’ she said.

Robert Pulliam Medical Student University of Cincinnati College of Medicine Notables: Presidential Scholar Ohio State University; Co-President Cincinnati Chapter of Student National Medical Association; Co-Director for Urban Health Project; Wants to use his skills to help those who are less fortunate; Motto: Do unto others as you would have done unto you.

Ron L. Gladden Instructor Cincinnati State College Notables: Who’s Who of High School Students; Member of the Modern Language Association of America; Humanitarian mission to assist Hondurans with educational and medical services; Will study Medieval History at the University of Cambridge in England this summer; Motto: “Esse Quam Videri” (To be, rather than to seem)