RESPECT awards to honor 5 set for Friday at dinner | Maryland Gazette (HometownGlenBurnie.com)

The five will be recognized Friday at the seventh annual RESPECT Inc. Awards Dinner in Glen Burnie.

RESPECT was founded in 1999 and develops partnerships with organizations that will positively impact the African-American community. It's annual dinner is a celebration of those partnerships.

This year the dinner will pay tribute to The Rev. Dr. Walter E. Middlebrooks, Lisa Hillman, the Rev. Karen Johnson, Dimitri Sfakiyanudis and the Rev. Rafael Vasquez.

County Council Chairman Cathy Vitale, R-Severna Park, will give the keynote address.

Lisa Hillman

Lisa Hillman, senior vice-president and chief development officer for Anne Arundel Health System, oversees the Health System's fundraising, public affairs, volunteers and legislative activities. She also serves as executive director of the Anne Arundel Medical Center Foundation and is chairman-elect of the Association for Healthcare Philanthropy.

She is a graduate of Leadership Maryland, class of 2006, serves on the Board of Visitors for Goucher College and was named one of the Daily Record's Top 100 Women in Maryland.

Karen Johnson

The Rev. Karen Vanessa Johnson is the spiritual leader and senior pastor of the First Christian Community Church of Annapolis, which she co-founded with her late husband.

A strong believer that the church must meet the needs of the community it serves, her church has many programs, including a financial education program for children and adults, and pastoral and outreach services to the Fairfield Nursing Home, the Lighthouse Shelter, Heritage Harbor Rehabilitation and Nursing Center and Chrysalis House of Addictions Rehabilitation.

She has been the recipient of numerous prestigious awards.

Walter E. Middlebrooks

The Rev. Dr. Walter E. Middlebrooks is the president and founder of the Black Chamber of Commerce of Anne Arundel County, an ordained pastor, and is the spiritual leader of Asbury United Methodist Church.

He has worked with Prince George's County Executive Jack Johnson, Anne Arundel County Executive John R. Leopold and Annapolis Mayor Ellen O. Moyer to increase procurement opportunities for African-Americans.

Dimitri Sfakiyanudis

Dimitri Sfakiyanudis is the chief executive officer and the founder of Sigma Engineering, Inc. in Annapolis.

A philanthropist, he served as a guarantor for a $200,000 loan for the first Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial and has served on the board of directors for the Mount Olive AME Church Community Development Corporation, Severn Savings Bank and St. Constantine and Helen Church, where he is a member.

A native of Greece, Mr. Sfakiyanudis has become an American citizen and has been the recipient of a number of prestigious awards.

Rafael "Tony" Vasquez

The Rev. Rafael Antonio "Tony" Vasquez was born in El Salvador and immigrated to Los Angeles in 1984.

He is the spiritual leader of the Fountains of Life Ministries in Stevensville, where he pastors a growing Hispanic Christian community, and works as a community specialist and liaison for the Annapolis Police Department.

He has helped build bridges to the Latino, African-American and white communities, worked to help immigrants learn English, established an anti-gang program and has worked with the Mayor's Office in establishing a job training program for public housing residents at the Harbour House community.

Tickets for the VIP reception at La Fontaine Bleue starting at 5:30 p.m. and the dinner are $100. Tickets for the dinner, which starts at 6:30 p.m. and awards presentation are $50.

Call John Wilson, executive director of RESPECT at 410-956-4848.

So far, about 200 tickets have sold. Mr. Wilson hopes to sell 350 tickets. All of the proceeds go back to the organization.