• Alumni News

MSU Black Alumni News

Herb and Gisele Washington

As reported in University Development, Herb and Gisele Washington recently donated $250,000 to MSU.  The fund will be used to establish a scholarship fund that benefits students who participate in  Men's Varsity Track and Field. The Washingtons, who met at Michigan State, also designated part of their gift to support the men’s track program.

After running 9.3-second 100-yard dashes while attending high school in Flint, Michigan, Herb had hundreds of scholarship offers for football and track. He chose to run for the Spartans. His 2000 induction into the MSU Athletics Hall of Fame commemorated his outstanding college career where he tied or broke several world records in the 50 and 60 yard events and captured seven Big Ten titles.

George H. Simmons

George H. Simmons, PhD., is launching a new company called Binge, LLC (Black Interactive Next Generation Experience). In August the company's website, bingenow.com, will debut. The site will provide video media, a social networking experience and content that is relevant and interesting to the African Americans and the Hip Hop community. Binge will have a videographer at the MSUBA picnic and will create an MSUBA channel on BingeNow.com where the MSUBA community can share the video with friends and family.

Herb Washington

Herbert Lee Washington, a member of the Athletics 1974 World Series championship team, has hit a homerun with McDonalds. Washington, owner of over 21 McDonald's restaurants througout Ohio and Pennsylvia, is ranked at number 73 on the 2010 Black Enterprises 100, a list of the largest Black owned companies in America. Washington's holding company, H. L. W. Fast Track, Inc., had revenues of over $50 million in 2009 and employed 970 people.

Greg Thrasher

Catch Greg Thrasher on Plane Ideas TV Show. The show, which explores art, music, food, politics and more, from a multicultural viewpoint, is the number one public access cable TV show in Birmingham-Bloomfield, MI. The show airs weekly on Friday at 5:00pm and is available online at www.birminghamareacableboard.org or www.planeideas.blogspot.com.

Darryle J. Buchanan

Pepsi is giving away $1,300,000 each month to fund great ideas. Darryle J. Buchanan, a Michigan State University Black alumnus, has a great idea that he wants to get funded. Buchanan is the Executive Director of Transition Basketball of Michigan and he wants to secure a facility to house a program that will provide tutoring, training and mentoring for the purpose of motivating youth to pursue academic and career goals. Please support this effort by voting for this project. You may vote daily through the Pepsi website or through Facebook. To vote through the Pepsi website follow this link: Pepsi Refresh Project.

Alan C. Young

The Crain's List of the largest accounting firms in southeastern Michigan was announced recently and for the 10th consecutive year, the accounting firm of Alan C. Young and Associates made the cut. Ranked at number 17, Alan C. Young and Associates is the only minority firm on the list. Staffed by professional accountants, auditors, management consultants and information technology consultants and offering a wide range of services, the firm was founded in 1983 by Alan C. Young.

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