02/24/2025
In honor of Black History Month, Bradfield Community Center would like to spotlight Mr. Walter Potts. Mr. Potts was the first Black Electrical Engineering Employee at the B. P. Oil Lima Refinery; he was also the First Black Electrical Contractor to work in the City of Lima. He also was a Private Business Owner of Potts Electric Service.
Mr. Potts was a member of St. John Catholic Church and a member of the Black Lay Catholics. He attended Tuskegee Institute and graduated from Ohio Northern University. He was a Retired Master Chief from the United States Navy, a World War II Veteran, a member of the Better Business Bureau, a member of the Civil Service Board for many years, an Elks Club Member – 1st Black Member - Broke Color Barrier and was on the Board of Governors at the Better Business Bureau.
Mr. Potts was a Social and Community Leader he was a Lifetime Member of NAACP, served as a Lima City Councilman, and was on the AmeriCom Bank Board of Directors. He was a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity and had served as the Executive Director of Bradfield Center where he was a member for over 70 years. He was a member of the Allen County Board of Trustees and was a member of the Shawnee Country Club. He was the first Recipient of the Allen County Visionaries Citizen of the Year, he was awarded the Liberty Bell Award from the Allen County Bar Association and he was the recipient of the Toledo Diocese Martin Luther King Drum Major Award.
