Queen and king of hearts

Two Bethune Cookman graduates bided their time and established careers before reigning for a day as bride and groom.

AMY SCHERZER'S DIARY E-mail: Click here

By AMY SCHERZER, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times
published August 30, 2002

TAMPA -- African drumbeats, flashing lights, smoke and thunder heralded Alva Simmons' royal entrance. Five ushers carried the bride into a Tampa Convention Center ballroom on a gold throne. "Like a Nubian princess meeting her king," said Alva, describing the procession into her wedding dinner.

Two bridesmaids escorted the groom, Terrell Sanders, into the room. Greeting his bride, he lifted her off the throne and carried her away for the first dance. The guests went wild, clapping and cheering.

"Terrell has always been my king and I'm his queen," said Alva. "We've been planning this day for a year."

Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority sisters serenaded the bride. Alpha Phi Alpha frat brothers sang a sacred hymm and performed a ritual Greek step in honor of the groom. Many of the couple's friends at the Aug. 3 wedding at Beulah Baptist Church remember when the two met, 10 years ago, as students at Bethune Cookman College.

They watched Alva's career take off. She's now an assistant principal at Plant High School. They applauded as Terrell's management skills propelled him into sales and marketing.

The desire to succeed fueled the relationship from Day One. It also caused some delays.

"We had to take advantage of our professional opportunities before settling down," Alva said.

"We knew we had a love that would last forever," Terrell said.

Alva sets high standards. In her mind, goals come before dreams. Hard work and sacrifice are expected.

Born to a family of female educators, she practices what they preached: "Education is power," she said.

Her mother, Lorraine, is an elementary school social worker. An aunt, Doris Ross Reddick, was the first black woman elected to serve on the Hillsborough County School Board. Another aunt, the late Ethel Jones, was dean at the original Blake High School. Altamese Simmons, "who's like an aunt," said Alva, retired as principal of Jackson Heights Elementary.

Her father, Alphonso Simmons, supervises a correctional facility in Largo.

She barely knew her maternal grandfather, the Rev. John Russell, or her great-grandfather, the Rev. Christopher Columbus Simmons.

"But I grew up hearing how they used their pulpits to fight desegregation and promote civil rights," she said.

Strong women influenced Terrell, too. His mother, the late Sylvia Cephus, a nurse, and his grandmother, Ola Mae Sanders, 86, instilled their work ethic. He's determined to run his own real estate business someday, and to write a book on business tactics.

Terrell's devotion to his mother impressed Alva as much as his drive. Cephus died of lung cancer in October 2000, the day before her son's 29th birthday.

"They say a man who loves his mother will take care of his wife," said Alva. "I could see the love and respect he showed her."

The friendship bloomed in the Bethune years. Fraternity and sorority affiliations threw Alva and Terrell together often. Alpha Kappa Alpha girls were always doing service projects with Alpha Phi Alpha guys. Alva never would have won the Miss Fashionetta competition without Terrell's help.

"AKAs were known as the beautiful women on campus," said Terrell.

"Boys were always after me," Alva said. "I played hard to get, but I loved the attention."

A sweetheart from Alva's days at Chamberlain High School was still in the picture, too.

"I wasn't sure that was over," she said. "I kept wondering, high school fling or the real thing? I still thought he might be the one."

After graduating in June 1993, Alva pursued a master's degree in guidance and counseling education from the University of South Florida. She interned at Adams Middle School, then worked as a guidance counselor and human resources specialist at Middleton Magnet School. She joined the Plant High faculty in April 2000.

By next fall, she will have completed a doctorate in organizational leadership from Nova Southeastern University.

Terrell, a Bartow High graduate, finished Bethune in 1994 with a bachelor's degree in marketing. He took a job with Publix Super Markets in Daytona Beach.

In December 1997, Terrell moved to Atlanta. He sold home and business security systems and worked for a marketing and consumer research firm.

"We managed to see each at least twice a month for the next five years," Terrell said.

They never missed a chance to cheer their alma mater at a Florida Classic game. He sent her flowers, plane tickets and lots of cards, each carefully chosen.

"I'd read them all and really research before I'd select the card," he said. If nothing expressed his sentiments perfectly, he'd write his own poetry for Alva.

"I took note," said Alva. "This was one thoughtful guy."

On Alva's birthday, Sept. 2, 2001, the two spent the day in Orlando at Islands of Adventure.

Terrell had a plan. He tried to get Alva up in a helicopter, thinking it would be an unusual place to propose. She wasn't crazy about the idea of a helicopter ride. Besides, she was hungry. They headed to the Hard Rock Cafe, where she would soon be the center of attention.

"Where's the birthday girl?" asked their waiter. Next thing Alva knew, she was being pulled up to the stage. The whole restaurant was singing "Happy Birthday," and Terrell was down on one knee asking her to marry him.

"I was laughing so hard I could hardly answer, " she said.

It didn't take 10 years to settle on a honeymoon. "Queen" and "King" Sanders will spend the Thanksgiving break in Maui in Hawaii and make their home in Tampa.

-- To pass along tips to Amy Scherzer, reach her at 226-3332 or scherzer@sptimes.com.

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