Patriva “Triva”Mack

Patriva “Triva” Mack was born and raised in Clearwater, Florida.  She attended public schools, graduating from Clearwater High. After completing St. Petersburg Junior College with an associate in computer science, she enlisted in the United States Air Force and spent the first six-and-a-half years as a Non-Commissioned Officer.  

Through the off-duty education program she earned a bachelor’s degree in Human Resources Administration, graduating with honors from St. Leo College.  She completed Officers’ Training School and later earned a master’s degree in Systems Management from the University of Southern California.

During a family reunion, she tried to build a family tree to understand the connection to the many new cousins she was meeting. Unfortunately, she encountered one cousin who said to her, “Mind your business.”  Thankfully, another cousin stepped up to help her fill in the gaps. The information she gathered at that reunion was the initial spark for her interest in learning her family’s history.  

She retired after 26 years of military service.

While convalescing, she attended an “Introduction to Genealogy” course at the local library. Her first Ancestry search yielded her grandfather’s World War I Draft Registration Card and she was irretrievably hooked! She continued to dabble in genealogy and finally took the Ancestry DNA test. Triva has taken advantage of numerous webinars and seminars.  She is an active member of the Florida Genealogical Society, Tampa as well as a former board member of the Pinellas Genealogy Society.  She is also an active member of the Clearwater African American Cemetery Committee.

Carlton S. Childs Sr.

Elder Carlton S. Childs Sr., is the second youngest of 11 children birthed to Mr. Carlton Leroy Dixon and the late Mrs. Eunice B. Childs-Dixon. Elder Childs was born and raised here in the beautiful, sparkling city of Clearwater, and began his education at Williams Elementary, Curtis Elementary, John F. Kennedy Middle, and graduated from Clearwater High in June of 1975.

He joined the United States Army in August 1975 and served until April 1986 when he was injured in Korea. While on a three-day pass from boot camp, he came home to marry Vanessa D. Clark on September 12, 1975. Pastor and Lady Childs have been blessed with 49 years of marriage and four lovely children: Nakisha (Atlanta), Carlton Jr. (Clearwater), Cedric (Clearwater), and Carpucine (Atlanta).

In 1997, then Brother Childs received his call to the ministry when the Lord gave him the vision for Up With Life Ministries, which is a non-profit outreach and prison ministry that founded a residential re-entry and recovery program: Joshua House for men and House of Ruth for women in Clearwater. In 1988, then Minister Childs was licensed to preach and appointed Youth Pastor at Overcoming Church of God in Christ. In 2000, Minister Childs was ordained as an Elder by Bishop Matthew Williams.

After serving faithfully in the ministry, in 2002 Bishop Williams appointed him Assistant Pastor, and in 2006 the Lord saw fit to have Elder Childs appointed Pastor of Overcoming Ministries. In 2022, Pastor Childs was appointed Superintendent of the Greater Suncoast District of the Jurisdiction of Southwestern Florida, Church of God in Christ, By his current Leader Bishop Anthony W. Gilyard.

Elder Childs is currently serving the Jurisdiction of Southwestern Florida as the President of Department of Evangelism. He has served in the Youth Department for the Church of God in Christ’s Jurisdiction of Southwestern Florida for 12 years, being Vice president for four years before becoming President in 2010. He has been serving as member of the National Adjutancy Core for the Church of God in Christ since 2008 and is currently a National Overseer. He is also the President of the Board of Directors for the Willa Carson Heath Resource Center in Clearwater. Elder Childs has served as the President of the Upper Pinellas County Ministerial Alliance and was appointed President on January 8, 2017. Elder Childs is the founder of Men of God Life Ministry – a mentoring ministry for youth, the Mother Callie Gulley Daycare Center, and the Deacon Willie B. Cason Playground.

In 2021, Superintendent Childs was appointed Regional President of Region 13 of the International Department Of Evangelism in the Church of God In Christ, which serves Florida and Alabama.

Elder Childs has a Certification in Building Construction, an Associate of Science in Architectural Construction and Design both from St. Petersburg College, and a Bachelors of Science in Business Administration from Tampa College. He is currently studying theology.

Eloise Saylor-Bell

Lois Saylor-Bell was born in Clearwater, Florida. She attended public schools in Pinellas County, graduating from Dunedin High School . She spent many of her youth and young adult years in Atlanta, Georgia that inspired her selection of the HBCU Clark Atlanta University formerly, Clark College. She graduated with a bachelor’s degree in the Science of Home Economics and later attended Nova Southern University where she obtained a Certification for teaching Elementary and Primary Education.

Her years of teaching experiences included Pinellas County Head Start, where she served as director. She taught in Pinellas County Schools for 31+ years, where she served as Multicultural Liaison for 10 years at her school.

Her interest in the children in her neighborhood being more involved in their school and community experiences inspired her to create the Cherry Harris Steppers which involved young girls and boys working together learning routines in stepping which gave them a skill that they could perform at school and in public appearances. She later realized that being a part of her community was important to her learning and helping others to be proud of where they lived and called home.

Family was always a big deal in her life because the elders in the family made sure that they knew family members locally and across the country.

Her dad started questioning where his mother was buried. His mother passed away when he was very young. He and his siblings were sent away to live with relatives out of state until he returned as an adult. The cemetery where his mother was buried was no longer available for visitations. Her grandmother did not have a tombstone, which indicated that she was still buried at the original burial site. Her dad’s continuous inquiry concerned her and encouraged her involvement with the cemetery journey.

She has developed an interest in genealogy inquiries that will eventually help identify some, if not all of those that lay in the North Greenwood Colored Cemetery.

Diane Stephens

Diane Stephens is a lifelong resident of Clearwater, Florida, who grew up near the former North Greenwood Cemetery. She attended Clearwater schools, and received an Associate in Arts degree from St. Petersburg Junior College and a Bachelor of Arts from Grambling State University.

She started her career as an educator in the Pinellas County School System in 1979 and remained there until her retirement in 2016. She also served as Department Chair for Exceptional Education and taught GED classes.

Diane’s dedication to her community is far-reaching. From 2019 to present, she has served on the District Monitoring and Advisory Committee (DMAC), which monitors and advises the district regarding implementation of its unitary status. She was with the NAACP                                                                                                                      (2019 – 2023) as education chair, a mentor with the school system’s Lunch Pals (2018 – 2019), and Co-Education Chair for the CRA Clearwater Urban Leadership Coalition (CULC)                                             (2020 -present).

She has volunteered for the Pinellas County African American History Museum since 2018.