Lois Lathan Watson, Vice Chair
A native of St. Louis, Missouri, Lois received her high school education at Sumner High School founded in 1876 and her bachelor's degree at Harris Teachers College, another historical institution founded in 1857 to train teachers for the city of St. Louis. It later became Harris-Stowe State University. After teaching a short time in the city, Lois moved to Gary, Indiana, where she taught three years as a classroom teacher. After receiving her Master's degree at Purdue University in Library Science, she became an Instructional Materials Coordinator for four years in Gary.
Lois and her husband Bernard moved to Philadelphia in 1967 and in 1968, she began a long tenure in the Philadelphia School System as an Instructional Materials Coordinator. During this period she was also a member of the American Library Association, the local NAACP Legal Defense Fund, the Urban League, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated ®, The Philadelphia Links, Inc., and a board member of the Chestnut Hill Hospital.
In the early eighties, she attended Temple University and received her certification in elementary administration and later took courses in computer science at Arcadia College in Pennsylvania. During the last six years of her career, she trained teachers to use computers in their classrooms.
After retiring to Sarasota, Lois became deeply involved in several local community organizations. As president of the Manasota branch of the Association of African-American Life and History, Lois was honored for her role as Producer of the award-winning documentary Veterans of Color. The film features first-hand accounts of the experiences of black veterans during World War II, the Korean and Vietnam wars. Lois’ devotion to the arts was evident by her commitment to the outstanding Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe (WBTT), where she served on the Board of Trustees for more than a decade. Lois helped spearhead fundraising efforts that saw the WBTT grow from a small local community theatre troupe, to being nationally recognized as one of the best theatre companies on the west coast of Florida.
Lois and Bernard are the proud parents of two children, Barbra and Bernard, Jr. Barbra was an attorney and married Brendon Riley. They had one daughter, Blayre. Barbra passed away in 2013. Bernard Jr. is married to DeLesia and they are parents of three children, Jordan, Arin, and Bernard III. Bernard Jr. worked many years as a broadcast journalist and is now working in Communications and Media Relations in Gwinnett County, Georgia.