Bowling Green, Ky. - Journalist, entrepreneur and minister LaMont Jones Jr. will be the guest speaker for Western Kentucky University's Society of African American Alumni Spring Celebration on April 9.

Jones, a 1988 WKU graduate, is an award-winning veteran journalist at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, where he has written about race relations, higher education, and youth. He has been fashion editor for the last five years and was creator of Teen Forum, a monthly page he coordinated for 11 years.

As an entrepreneur, Jones is founding publisher and chief executive officer of Pneuma Publishing International, Inc., which has published five books, including his meditational journal "Living in the Winner's Circle" and "Ghetto of Eden: The Poetic Battle Between Humanity and Hip-hop" by 2003 WKU alumnus Z. William Mills.

Jones also is a fourth-generation Baptist preacher and serves as an associate minister and worship coordinator at Rodman Street Missionary Baptist Church in Pittsburgh, where he is a mentor in Imachi Pittsburgh, a program for children of prison inmates.

The 2005 Spring Celebration begins with dinner at 6 p.m. April 9 at the Knicely Conference Center at WKU's South Campus. The program begins at 7 p.m.

In addition to remarks from Jones, the program will feature the announcement of scholarship recipients and recognition of African American Leadership Scholars.

Tickets for the event are $25 each and are available by calling the WKU Alumni Association at (270) 745-4396. Deadline to purchase tickets is April 1.

Jones, a native of Cincinnati, grew up in Lexington and graduated from Owensboro High School in 1984. He received a bachelor's degree in journalism and government from WKU in 1988. At Western, he was named to the National Dean's List, Outstanding Young Men of America, Omicron Delta Kappa National Leadership Honor Society, and Pi Sigma Alpha National Political Science Honor Society.

In May 2004, Jones graduated from Pittsburgh Theological Seminary with a master's degree in theology. As a seminarian, he served as president of the Black Seminarians Association and placed in the top five in a national homiletics competition sponsored by the Michigan-based Acton Institute for the Study of Religion and Liberty. He is a member of the National Association of Black Journalists and seven-time past president of the Pittsburgh Black Media Federation.

Jones was named one of Pittsburgh's "Top 40 Under 40" people to watch in 2001 by Pittsburgh Magazine and the Pittsburgh Urban Magnet Project. In 2003, he was named to the New Pittsburgh Courier's inaugural annual lists of "50 Men of Influence" and "Fab 40" movers and shakers under the age of 40. In February 2005, Pittsburgh City Council presented him with a proclamation honoring his community service and professional and entrepreneurial achievements.

More WKU news is available at www.wku.edu. If you'd like to receive WKU news via e-mail, send a message to WKUNews@wku.edu.

For information, contact Tracy Morrison at (270) 745-4395.