More than 30 years of a simple love to help people has earned Pittsburgh native and Westinghouse high school grad Walter Wade the honor of 2009 inductee into the Atlanta Convention & Visitors Bureau’s Hall of Fame.

WALTER WADE

“Walt has a very colorful history in the business and specifically with Hyatt, and he’s also got a fantastic memory,” said Joe Hindsley, the Hyatt Regency Atlanta’s general manager.

Wade’s sense of humor, penchant for storytelling and passion for hospitality make him so memorable, the first question meeting planners who’ve worked with him before ask is whether Wade will be helping them again, Hindsley said.

Beware of scams

The Pittsburgh Bureau of Police is warning residents to beware of scams, especially ones targeted toward senior citizens.The bureau says that it has been receiving reports of several types of scams, such as individuals calling and pretending to be a family member incarcerated in another country and needing money for bail; individuals going door-to-door pretending to be repair persons, carpet cleaners and insurance agents and robbing homeowners while they are distracted. Also they said they have received reports of individuals tapping into emails and sending letters requesting money to individuals on the person’s contact list. The scammers tend to try to include some information to reinforce the relationship. The bureau suggests that residents be cautious when speaking to or verifying personal information, check identification and if a person calls, ask the caller to provide a call back number and tell them you will return the call. That usually deters the scammer and they hang up the phone abruptly. Residents should contact their local police bureau if they feel something is illegal.

General membership meeting

MARCH 9—The Pittsburgh Branch of the NAACP will host a General Membership Meeting at 7 p.m. at the Hill House Association, 1835 Centre Ave., Hill District. There will be an FBI representative who will discuss civil rights issues in Pittsburgh. There will also be an Executive Committee Meeting at 6 p.m. For more information, call 412-471-1024.

In about two weeks, the U.S. government will begin mailing out census forms and it is sparing no expense to ensure the 2010 census is the most complete ever. Part of that includes a broad outreach effort to the country’s minority communities, where past responses have been less complete.

In Allegheny County, said U.S. Census Bureau Media Specialist Pamela Golden, the outreach effort includes some 450 partner organizations. Some of these include churches, community-based organizations, libraries, media companies and local government.

FOLLOWING UP— In April, census takers will begin going door-to-door to follow up with households that did not return their census forms.

“It is critical to achieve a complete count because not only does the information determine our number of representatives in congress, but it also helps to determine how federal resources are allocated,” said Golden. “It’s used for community planning and economic development. It’s about where roads go, where schools are built.  Even the allocation of H1N1 vaccine was based on the census.”