Local black business advocates to receive honor
Triad residents John Raye and Rosie Smith will be honored by Compro-Tax, a national, black-owned income tax preparation and bookkeeping company, for their longtime advocacy of black entrepreneurship, self-development and self-employment.
The husband and wife team have long run the local Compro-Tax office, one of 220 in 26 states. Raye is also CEO of John Raye & Associates, which specializes in entrepreneurship training and professional development and has been instrumental in developing the nationwide mobile tax office concept.
“Year in and year out, they outshine others and lead the company in recruiting, motivating and nurturing the spirit of entrepreneurship,” Dr. Jackie Mayfield, Compro-Tax founder, said about Raye and Smith.
Before his business career, Raye was one of the first black television anchormen at prominent broadcast stations in Seattle, New York and Washington, D.C. He later won national acclaim when he raised a record $100,000 in cash in one night to open the Majestic Eagles Federal Credit Union in D.C. It was one of the first standalone, black-owned federal credit unions in the nation’s capital. Under Raye’s intense, never-stop drive, the Majestic Eagles became an international organization, guiding the skills and talents of aspiring entrepreneurs, including Lella Jones, who now runs a successful office in Hamlet, N.C.
“John Raye and Ms. Rosie inspired me so. I remember selling North Carolina watermelons from the back of a pick-up truck to buy my first Dudley (Cosmetology) Kit. I became a Dudley Sales representative, then began working with (Dudley Co-founder) Ms. Eunice Dudley and managed two successful beauty schools,” she recalled. “Then John – ever on the lookout for business opportunities – introduced me to Compro-Tax and Dr. Jackie Mayfield. This union has allowed me to soar to new heights of business success. Fact is, I’ve been soaring ever since I met the Raye and Rosie power couple.”
Raye and Smith, who have been married for 50 years, will receive the Culture of Business Award at the Sundance Plaza, 3050 University Parkway in Winston-Salem, on Sunday, Sept. 9 at 4 p.m.
For ticket and registration information, call 336-996-4704, 336-782-8383 or email: HYPERLINK “mailto:rayeandrosie@aol.com” rayeandrosie@aol.com.
