Native Threads Account Executives, Bennae Calac and Josh Craddock recently traveled to Phoenix, Arizona to attend the 10th Annual First American Leadership Awards (FALA) banquet presented by the National Center for American Indian Enterprise Development.
Native Threads attended the event to sponsor the evening’s fundraising raffle and to spread the word about the company’s new clothing manufacturing division, which is now offering high quality silk screening and embroidery services to Native American businesses as well as mainstream enterprises.
In addition to paying tribute to the economic success and achievements of Native American businesses and entrepreneurs, this year’s FALA event honored the valiant contributions of Joe H. Kellwood, and his fellow WWII Navajo Code Talkers. "It was brought to our attention that Joe Kellwood was in dire need of financial support," said Calac. "He was very appreciative of the funds that Native Threads raised on his behalf. Only a few of these original Navajo Code Talkers and national treasures remain with us today. Native Threads is honored that another Navajo Code Talker, Joe Morris, Sr., appears in our current mail order catalog."
Roger Willie, a Native American actor who, along with Adam Beach, starred in “Windtalkers,” the 2002 film based on the lives of the real WWII Navajo Code Talkers, served as the evening’s Master of Ceremonies. It was a unique opportunity for Joe H. Kellwood to meet one of the actors who brought the Code Talkers’ inspiring war stories to the big screen.
Attendees with the winning raffle tickets walked away with clothing and accessories from Native Threads’ 2004 Summer Catalog. Proceeds from the raffle provided financial support for Joe H. Kellwood, as well as the National Center for American Indian Enterprise Development’s Youth Scholarships Program.
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