Robert Spooney

Born and raised in Orlando, Rev. Dr. Robert M. Spooney serves as executive director of the African-American Chamber of Commerce of Central Florida.

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News 13 celebrates Black History Month every day in February with profiles of African-American history makers from around Central Florida. You can also watch them on News 13 On Demand, Channel 313.

More Black History Makers

• Deacon Jones - David "Deacon" Jones was an obscure 14th-round draft pick in the NFL in 1961, but the man who got his start in Eatonville quickly made a name for himself.
  
  
• Johnny Rivers - Rivers was born in Orlando and as a child he was always eager to help his mother in the kitchen. He began his restaurant career as a breakfast cook.
  
  
• Martin Luther King Jr. - Martin Luther King Jr. was an African-American clergyman, activist and prominent leader of the American civil rights movement.
  
  
• Jimmy Huger - James Huger is a local legend who's devoted countless hours to supporting community service organizations around Volusia County.
  
  
• Eatonville - It's a town rich in black history and tucked away just north of of Orlando. Home to a more than 2,000, Eatonville is known as one of the first incorporated black towns.
  
  
• Mary McLeod Bethune - It was 1904 and a very determined young African-American woman opened the Daytona Education and Industrial Training School for Negro Girls.
  
  
  
• Charles Bolden - Retired Marine Corps Gen. Charles Bolden Jr. made a lot of history during his 14 year NASA career as an astronaut.
  
  
• Napoleon "Nap" Ford - Educator, athlete, commissioner, mentor and more.Napoleon "Nap" Ford certainly left his mark on Central Florida.As a young athlete,
  
  
• Darrell Armstrong - Darrell Armstrong first came to Orlando in 1994 after signing with the NBA as a free agent for the Orlando Magic.In 2004, he left the Magic. He retired in 2008.
  
  
• Robin Fisher - Brevard County Commissioner Robin Fisher is the first African-American to serve on the board of commissioners. Before politics, Fisher was a football player.
  
  
• Arthur "Pappy" Kennedy - Arthur "Pappy" Kennedy was Orlando's first African-American city commissioner. He was elected to the Orlando City Council in 1972 at age 58.
  
  
• William Monroe Wells - Dr. William Monroe Wells first came to Orlando in 1917 to practice medicine. He was one of Orlando's first black physicians.
  
  
• Jim Lewis - Jim Lewis is the highest ranking African-American executive at the Walt Disney Company in Florida. Serving as president of Disney Vacation Club,
  
  
• Carrie Meek - A woman's place is in the House and Carrie Meek knew just that. Meek was born the granddaughter of a slave and the daughter of former sharecroppers.
  
  
• Jerry Demings - Jerry Demings is Orange County Sheriff. He is also the husband of the Orlando Police Chief, Val Demings. The name Demings should be familiar to people of Orlando.
  
  
• Dr. Trudie Kibbe Reed - Dr. Trudie Kibbe Reed is the fifth president of Bethune-Cookman University and the first woman to serve in this capacity since founder Mary McLeod Bethune.
  
  
• Jackie Robinson - Jackie Robinson is immortalized in a statue located at the main entrance to the Jackie Robinson Ballpark in Daytona Beach.
  
  
• Clarence Otis - In 2004, Clarence Otis, 48, was named chief executive officer of the largest casual-dining restaurant company in the United States -- Darden.
  
  
• Katherine Johnson - Katherine Johnson has never lived in the state of Florida, but her work with NASA had a deep impact on developing the Space Coast.
  
  
• Geraldine Thompson - Rep. Geraldine Thompson serves District 39 in the Florida House.She is the first African-American female to represent Orlando in the Legislature
  
  
• Harry And Harriette Moore - On Christmas Day 1951, the home of Harry T. and Harriette V. Moore in Mims was bombed. Twenty sticks of dynamite were placed beneath their bed.
  
  
• Orlando Black School - The Orlando Black School, as it was called, was on the corner of Garland Avenue and Church Street. Students from around Orlando flocked to the school because it was the only one of its kind.
  
  
• Vince Carter - Central Florida did a bit of celebrating in 2009 when Vince Carter was traded to the Orlando Magic. Careter is from Daytona Beach.
  
  
• Belvin Perry - Belvin Perry grew up in Sanford as the only child of a single mother. Perry went to Crooms Academy, but didn't make it past the 10th grade -- his one greatest regret.
  
  
• Val Demings - Val Demings is one of the most powerful women in Central Florida.