NAACP Salt Lake Branch 108th Annual Life Membership & Freedom Fund Banquet - Friday, October 30th, 2026
marriott City Creek Hotel 

Speaker

Ari Berman is the national voting rights correspondent for Mother Jones and a reporting fellow at Type Media Center. He’s the author of Minority Rule: The Right-Wing Attack on the Will of the People—and the Fight to Resist It, Give Us the Ballot: The Modern Struggle for Voting Rights in America (finalist, National Book Critics Circle Award for nonfiction) and Herding Donkeys: The Fight to Rebuild the Democratic Party and Reshape American Politics. His writing has also appeared in The New York Times, the Washington Post and Rolling Stone, and he is a frequent commentator on MSNBC and NPR. He’s won the Sidney Hillman Foundation Prize for Magazine Journalism and an Izzy Award for outstanding achievement in independent media. He lives in New York.

Deputy Director, Utah Division of Multicultural Affairs

Guided by Maya Angelou’s reminder that people remember how you made them feel, Eddy Thompson Jr. has devoted his career to empowering young people and strengthening communities across Utah.

A high honors graduate of Layton High School, Eddy grew up serving at True Vine Baptist Church, eventually becoming Youth Director. Encouraged by his parents, Ed Sr. and Dr. Jackie Thompson, and community mentors, he attended the University of Utah. While earning his communications degree in 2004, he worked in sports radio, interned with the Utah Jazz, modeled, and coached basketball. He later served on the university’s Alumni Board of Governors and continues to support its MLK Week initiatives.

At Layton Christian Academy, Eddy coached alongside Bobby Porter and his father. When players faced racial prejudice while traveling, the coaches taught them to respond with resilience and dignity. Their emphasis on academics, faith, and athletics helped the team win its first Utah 1A state championship in 2007.

Eddy built a career in proposals and compliance at L3Harris Technologies while advancing employee development and community partnerships. As chair of its L.E.A.D. employee resource group, he and mentor Dr. Thomas Appiah promoted mentorship and career opportunities for multicultural employees. Their efforts included raising $30,000 for computers and technology at Backman Elementary, organizing literacy and cultural awareness programs, and building partnerships with community organizations and universities.

In 2022, Eddy founded the Heritage Builders–Black History Initiative with Michelle Love-Day and Rise Virtual Academy to celebrate Black and African diaspora leaders and inspire youth. In 2024, he joined Dr. Sidni Shorter and the PROG Foundation to launch the Be A CEO mentorship program, supporting leadership and entrepreneurship for youth and adults.

Today, as Deputy Director of the Utah Division of Multicultural Affairs, Eddy leads youth education initiatives and Multicultural Youth Days. He also oversees the Utah Martin Luther King Jr. Human Rights Commission, on which he previously served, and the Utah Multicultural Commission.

Eddy is grateful for the guidance of his parents and mentors. He and his wife, Carmen, are proud parents of Serenity, Taj, and Evangelyne. His younger brother is Mike Thompson

The President’s Award

Gordon and Connie have been involved in the College of Fine Arts, the College of Music, and the Athletic Department, providing scholarships and other support. They created and grew the JazzSLC/GAM Foundation, a nonprofit Jazz series in Salt Lake City. Connie is an active member of the National Honors Advisory Board. Gordon and Connie generously created an Honors College Scholarship fund in 2021. Gordon and Connie for years have supported the NAACP Salt Lake Branch and the scholarship program.

Scholarship Circle members Gordon and Connie Hanks have embraced the opportunity to sponsor student-athlete scholarships and welcome those individuals into their lives.

Souvenir Journal, 2023

2025 Journal