WALT FELTON - PRESIDENT:
I am Walter Felton; I have resided in the Allentown area since 1967. My brother-in-law, a past NAACP Allentown Branch President of the 1970 era, Alvin Howard, is now deceased
I grew up on the Lawrence Street corridor, now Martin Luther King Drive. The occupants were called urban renewal, which targeted and relocated occupants to the public housing at the Cumberland Garden Housing Project.
After completing the 11th grade in the Allentown School District, my mother allowed me to reside with my brother-in-law, Alvin Howard, and sister-in-law, Ruth Howard, of Salisbury Township. I attended Salisbury High School, excelling in basketball, and graduated. I attended LCCC before joining the United States Army and serving my country on active duty. I also served in reserve branches with the United States Army, Air Force, and Navy, including honorable discharges. I want to bring this experience to the Veterans Executive Committee of the NAACP.
I returned to the area after my time with the military. I applied to the Allentown Police Department and was accepted. I completed 20 years, held multiple titles, and served in different capacities. I was recognized with various awards and citations, including being awarded Police Officer of the Year on three occasions. I also was employed by the Northampton County Sheriff Department, where I served 12 years as Deputy Sheriff and was recognized and cited with two awards.
The first citation was for subduing an estranged husband attempting to bring a knife into a courtroom in a possible attempt to inflict harm on his wife at a custody hearing. Another event involved apprehending a New Jersey most wanted state fugitive of the week. I was also the first minority to be elected president of the Northampton County Deputy Sheriff association for a two-year term. The PA State has employed me, a Bureau of Enforcement and Investigation Professional Conduct Investigator.
I would bring the experience of conducting formal meetings requested by the NAACP National By-laws and Roberts Rules of Order. But despite unwarranted resistance from some Lehigh County Democratic Party Members, I attained the position as the 1st African American Party chairman in Lehigh County and the 2nd Democratic Party Chairman ever of 67 Counties in Pennsylvania to be elected County.
I was instrumental in having the first African American female elected in Lehigh County, Veronica Clemmons, to the State Democratic Committee. I assisted in allowing six other minorities to get on the ballot.
The six were challenged and removed from the ballots by their Democratic Party members.
Carmen Bell, Danielle Shackleford, April Riddick, Mike Watts, Barbara Redmond, and Veronica Clemmons either held their positions or returned the next session and won.
I was instrumental in introducing at least fifty persons to be elected and hold positions in the Lehigh County Democratic Party as Precinct Committee Persons, which was never previously diversely born. I want to engage and show Allentown NAACP chapter members how to run or get involved in political offices to represent their community. It is not about me “; It's about us.” I have been the County Chairman and First Vice Chairman already. The future is about telling and showing others how to navigate elections, voices, and concerns heard.
I want to show our bipartisan members how to get on the ballot, open a Political Action Committee network, and create a template for organizing their campaigns to pursue office, including how to raise money for their campaigns. I have run for Lehigh County, Commonwealth Senator, Magisterial District Judge, and Lehigh County Sheriff. I was the first Afro-American in the County to obtain the ballot for the office of the Lehigh County Sheriff. The Allentown Lehigh County NAACP branch can engage diverse candidates to run for political offices throughout Lehigh County. In addition, we have youthful and experienced adults that can run for political positions.
We can be effective in our community, especially with many years of experience in the political arena. The last but not the slightest reason for supporting my bid for the NAACP Vice Presidency is that I was instrumental in helping raise over $15,000 within the two months just before the 2017 NAACP PA Convention held at the Renaissance Hotel in Allentown, PA.
I have the grassroots connections within the Pennsylvania community, which allowed me to be instrumental in procuring Governor Wolf and other Pennsylvania State Officials and State and Local judges up for election to attend the 2017 State NAACP Pennsylvania Convention. I enjoy helping people. The Allentown Lehigh NAACP enjoys helping our people...
Vice President - Dr. Harold Kreithen M.D.
Dr. Harold Kreithen grew up in South Philadelphia in an African American neighborhood where his
Father had a wholesale and retail candy and tobacco business. They lived above the
store, and all of his neighborhood friends were African American, as was his beloved
Nanny. He was the only white boy in his first-grade class. With this background, he
He developed a lifelong empathy for Afro-American causes. It is in Harold’s bones.
Harold was educated in Philadelphia at West Philadelphia High School, University of
Pennsylvania, Hahnemann Medical College, and Temple University Hospital. He received
his M.D. degree in 1961 and served his internship at Philadelphia General Hospital,
where the majority of patients were African American.
In 1966, Harold moved to Allentown with his wife and two children, where he started a medical
Practice, specializing in Internal Medicine and Allergy. Dr. Kreithen built a busy private practice and
treated thousands of patients of all social, ethnic, and racial backgrounds over his 52
Year career, retiring in 2018.
Dr. Kreithen's practice had a staff of up to 12 people, which he managed (with the help of an office
Manager). Dr. Kreithen belonged to the medical staff of Sacred Heart and Allentown Hospitals
and served on their medical boards. He was active in teaching and training Resident
Physicians. The Dr. established a weekly Allergy Clinic to care for uninsured patients.
Since retiring, Dr. Kreithen has endeavored to be involved in social action issues. He is a
member of the Social Action Committee of the Unitarian Universalist Church of the
Lehigh Valley. He’s a member of a twenty-thousand-person (and growing) organization
PNP (Physicians for National Health Plan).
Having spent his long career working within the present health system, Dr. Kreithen can attest
that it is broken in many ways, resulting in unequal access and quality of care for
Disadvantaged people. The doctor joined the NAACP in 2020, hoping to work toward improving health care for all people. Dr. Harold Kreithen feels he could be an influential voice as 2nd Vice of the NAACP Allentown Branch.
SECRETARY
BARBARA REDMOND -MBA
Barbara is a native of Allentown. She graduated from Cedar Crest College with a B.S. in Business with a minor in Economics and an MBA in Business Administration. She served on the Cedar Crest College Alumnae Board for seven years. Barbara served as a State Committee Person for Lehigh County’s Southeast Caucus. She has been a PA Notary Public for the past 20 years. Barbara was elected South Whitehall precinct leader for the Democratic Party.
She has been employed at PPL for over 30 years and worked for 21 years as an Administrative Assistant until she was promoted to her current position, Facility Record Specialist. Barbara knows the importance of the secretary position and has extensively studied the NAACP National Bylaws. Barbara believes being a secretary to the NAACP is crucial to the community's advancement, and she wants to contribute to the organization's and the community's success.
TREASURER
Dave Hinrichs - Dave is a native of North Dakota but has lived in eastern PA since 1972. A CPA, he has an accounting degree from the University of North Dakota and an MBA and MS degrees from Lehigh University. After spending 30 years in the industry, including 25 years with Bethlehem Steel, he joined the accounting faculty at Lehigh University, where he teaches courses to both undergraduate and MBA students. He has served on the Board of Trustees at the Lutheran Seminary in Philadelphia and as Treasurer for the Northeastern PA Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
Annie Kollar - Labor and Industry Executive
Attorney Ronald Clever- Criminal Justice Executive
PHOEBE HARRIS - COMMUNITY COORDINATION
DR. ANDREA GRANNUM-MOSLEY - Education Committee Chair - Dr. Grannum-Mosley is the dean of the School of Workforce, Community Engagement, and Technical Education. She is responsible for noncredit programming, literacy, ESL, Center for Career Pathways, Center for Leadership & Workforce Development, Public Safety, specialized programming, and Transportation Institute. She earned her doctorate from Capella University, her master’s from Penn State University, and her bachelor’s from the City University of New York.
MAURICE MUHAMMAD - ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CHAIR
MS. ELAINE REDMOND EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE: Elaine Redmond is a native of Allentown and a dedicated public servant. She had worked for Western Electric/AT&T for 30 years, when her concern for our youth became her primary focus. She is now the owner/operator of a childcare/preschool in Laurys Station for over fifteen years. Elaine has an Associate’s Degree/Directors Certificate from Lehigh Carbon Community College in Early Childhood Education and is licensed by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. In addition to her preschool, she has fostered more than 30 children.
In 2003, Pinebrook Family Answers honored her with an Outstanding Achievement Award for “exceptional care of children and for always making children a priority in her life.” She will be a great addition to our Executive Committee and a loud voice for those she represents.
APRIL RIDDICK - Communications, Press, and Publicly Executive
