VOL. 21 No. 1 |January 1-15, 2010 | Web site: Racineinsideronline.com | E-mail: [email protected] | 262.632.9370 T a k e ON E FR EE MAN OF THE YEAR An educational system isn't worth a great deal if it teaches young people how to make a living but doesn't teach them how to make a life. As African American people, we have a tradition of cele- brating those in our community who have influenced, affected, and brought change to our world. As an example, every year BET honors a worthy person with the Humanitarian award. So in following the tradition of our heritage, the Insider News honors Pastor Melvin Hargrove as Man of the Year. Hargrove has been laboring and investing in the city of Racine for many years. He and his wife Marie started Zoe Outreach Ministries, located at 2130 Racine St., in 1998 and they have been ministering to the spiritual needs of the com- munity for 12 years. He has not only served this city but also the country. Having been in the military since high school, he was called to the Iraq war in 2003 and faced the challenging task of taking care of his family, his wife and 3 children, and maintaining the ministry while serving in active duty. In addition to pastoring, Hargrove has a passion to make an impact in the educational system in Racine and has been advo- cating vigorously to close the achievement gap among African American students. As a part of his efforts, he was appointed to the Racine Unified School Board in October 2007 and was actually elected in April 20x08. Dr. Tony Evans, a renowned speaker, author, and Pastor of Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship in Dallas, TX, inspired and encour- aged Hargrove through his national “Adopt a School Initiative.” Evans spoke in Racine a few years ago about this program at the Miracle Center and that gave Hargrove more definition and direction to his goal of changing the face of edu- cation in Racine. In addition, he made several trips to Dallas to view the inner workings of Evan’s program and formulate a