Ward, Annette Scott

Packed in a '60s Volkswagen, with her husband and a few worldly possessions, Arnette Scott Ward journeyed from Tallahassee, Florida to the vast whiteness of Tempe. For President Ward, it was a decided shock. Coming from a place where she ate, slept and breathed black culture she needed to get back into the flock and after completing her graduate studies, became involved in the community.

President Ward’s singing abilities were recognized at an early age. She used her singing to bring joy to others as well as a vehicle of forgiveness. With her singing she was able to handle life’s pain and obstacles that came her way. President Ward has become renowned for her singing around the valley and is always in demand. So lovely is her voice! Her reputation precedes her. In addition, an honorable mention of her as a singer by “Roots” author, Alex Haley was featured on the cover of Mesa magazine (Nov. 1983).

She was born the eldest of four children and raised by her grandmother who instilled in Arnette the value of higher education and work. She credits her aunt, who was the only one to graduate from college as her role model. President Ward set about getting that education and making accomplishments in life. President Ward considers two of her greatest accomplishments as being in the right place at the right time to become the founding president of Chandler-Gilbert Community College, and subsequently taking the college to accreditation. Her other proudest accomplishment she states, is the fact that she reconciled with her mother from whom she was estranged for years, becoming friends, and meeting each other as daughter and mother.

“There is not a dream that you cannot conquer or achieve. Listen to people around you. You don’t have to live other people’s lives to know that certain things are not good for you. Never leave relationships in a negative manner. Most importantly, you cannot live your life without honoring some source that is more divine than you are, some kind of source of understanding, comfort and love,” says President Ward.