100 Black Men Tallahassee Area, INC. Interview

Tallahassee Area, INC. 

Today on the Freedom Train our guests were COL. (Ret.) Ronald M. Joe, Sr. the current President of 100 Black Men Tallahassee Area, Inc. and Mr. Eric Fraill the President Elect of 100 Black Men Tallahassee Area, Inc. 

​COL. (Ret.) Ronald M. Joe, Sr. is a 1966 graduate of Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU) with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Political Science and received his Masters of Science in Public Administration from The Florida State University (FSU). He is listed in Who’s Who in American Colleges and is a Distinguished Military Graduate (DMG) of FAMU ROTC.   He served in the military for thirty years, retiring with the rank of Full Colonel and is a graduate of the Army War College.  During his military career, he saw duty in Vietnam, Europe, Africa, South East Asia, Canada, Germany, Russia, and the United States.  He commanded the 3rd Battalion 33rd Armor an M1 Tank Battalion. Two of his tours brought him back to FAMU as an ROTC Instructor and as Professor of Military Science (PMS). He was Commandant of the Defense Equal Opportunity Management Institute (DEOMI) (1991-96) and returned as the Principal Director of DEOMI, the first civilian leader, from 2010-2012 as a member of the Senior Executive Service (SES), a grade equivalent to the military rank of Brigadier General. DEOMI is the only institute conducting research and training for all Department Of Defense (DOD) military and civilian Equal opportunity Advisors and diversity practitioners.
After retiring from the military in 1996, he returned to FAMU, and served as Director of Student Activities, Associate Vice President of Development, Executive Director of the FAMU Foundation, Inc., and Interim Vice President of University Relations.  Joe is the recipient of many medals and awards to include the Secretary of Defense Award for Outstanding Public Service, the Defense Superior Service Medal, Legion of Merit (2nd Award), Bronze Star, and both Army and DOD Meritorious service medals. He is listed in the Office of the Secretary Defense’s (OSD) publication: Black Americans in Defense of our Nation. He received the Florida A&M University President’s Service Award, FAMU Distinguished Alumni Award and was named by FAMU and the Tallahassee Democrat as one of FAMU’s 125 Distinguished Alumni. He is a member of the FAMU ROTC Hall of Honor. He served as a chairperson on the Florida Council for Education and Employment of Women and Girls and is a former member and Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors for Search for Common Ground.
He presently serves as president of The 100 Black Men of America Tallahassee Area, Inc. and president of the FAMU National ROTC Alumni Association. He is a member of the local chapter of the NAACP, member of Alpha Zeta Boule’ of Sigma Pi Phi Fraternity, Life Member of both the FAMU National ROTC and FAMU National Alumni Associations, a Life Member of Blacks in Government, Member Board of Directors Voices for Florida, and FAMU President’s FAMU Forward Think Tank.
He and his wife, the former Lenita Jones are Daytona Beach, Florida natives.  They have one adult son, Ronald M. Joe II and one granddaughter, Caitlin, a senior at FAMU.