SHARING THE ACCOMPLIHMENTS OF AFRICAN AMERICANS IN NORTHERN NEVADA HISTORY
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W. J. Wynn
The late W.J. Wynn, born in August 1937, was a Husband, Father, Pastor, Community Leader and Pioneer in the Reno/Sparks Community as well as the state of Nevada.
Wynn was very seldom without a smile or a kind word. He was a pillar of the Northern Nevada community and a respected man of God.
As a pastor, Wynn was a faithful leader of Faith Deliverance Church of God in Christ. He was the 1st Administrative Assistant to Bishop E.N. Webb, the Prelate of Nevada. He was also the former District Superintendent of the Northern Nevada District and received an honorary Doctorate of Divinity. As a Community leader, Willie J. Wynn served on the Sierra Pacific Power Company Advisory Board, Community Services Agency, Reno Housing Authority Board (was appointed Senior commissioner in February 1975), Consumers Advisory Panel, Community Service Board, and the Ministerial Association Board.
As a pioneer W. J. Wynn was the first African American cabinet member in the state of Nevada (appointed by Governor Paul Laxalt), and a Nevada Equal Rights Commissioner (appointed by Governor Richard Bryan).
Wynn’s life touched many people of all walks of life and he knew no color barriers. During his service to this community, he surmounted every stumbling block and made them stepping-stones and every trail he made into a challenge.
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