I was born at Mount Sinai Hospital in Miami Beach, to Peggy and
William "Willie" Harris, and grew up in Miami, Florida. I am the
eldest of three daughters. My parents were hardworking people. My
father's three girls were the apple of his eye. My mother ruled
with a heavy hand, was a stickler for education and dressed neatly
and appropriately whenever we stepped out of our home. Now that I
look back on my life, it feels as if our childhood friends looked
up to my family, even after my parents divorced and my mother
remarried my wonderful stepfather, Clinton Green.
My sisters and I all went to college and were very active in high
school activities, including intramural sports. Being involved in
school and church activities was our ticket to get out and
socialize. It was Peggy's rule that if you were breathing and could
walk, you were going to be in school and church.
In 1972, my parents brought me to Daytona Beach, Florida, to attend
Bethune-Cookman College. I completed my studies in 3.5 years and
attained a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Education. After
college, instead of teaching, I took employment as an
Administrative Assistant in the Personnel Department at Brunswick
Corporation in DeLand, Florida. In the late 1970s, Brunswick
Corporation was a defense plant that made camouflage nets. The
company garnered federal contracts, as well as contracts from U.S.
allies throughout the world. After a year, I was promoted to be the
Engineering Department's Administrative Assistant and was privy to
the detailed specs on how the camouflage nets were made. This
information was classified, so a security clearance was necessary.
This was quite a learning curve for me, fresh out of college, but I
nailed it.
In 1976 I decided that it was time to start my teaching career as a
business educator and had a few assignments helping students get on
the right track, which entailed school-wide discipline. I enjoyed
21 years of educating students.
After Vince Carter became the fifth pick in the National Basketball
Association's draft in 1998, it took approximately five months to
agree the terms on the collective bargaining agreement. During that
time, it was one of my tasks to help Vince establish and register
his Embassy of Hope Foundation. I became the executive director of
this organization, and I remain in this position to date.
In addition, I hold the position of chief executive officer of
Visions in Flight (VIF), Inc., which is another Vince Carter
company. My role with VIF is to oversee many of Vince Carter's
business endeavors, including his major personal contributions.
Some of the more notable are the Vince Carter Athletic Center on
the campus of his high school alma mater, Mainland High School and
the Vince Carter Sanctuary, which is the home of Project Warm- a
residential behavioral substance abuse rehabilitation center for
women. This facility includes the Michelle Carter-Scott
Multipurpose Building. Vince Carter's Lettermen's Lane is located
next to the Dean E. Smith Center on the campus of
the University of North Carolina. Vince Carter's Restaurant, for 6
years, was one of the finest restaurants in the Daytona Beach, FL,
area. It was my job to purchase the property, oversee the
architectural design of the building, layout and interior design;
and supervise the day-to-day operations of the restaurant.
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