Humanitarian Thumper Newman has been given
credit for organizing the Concert of Malawi. Newman who founded the
Williamsburg ( A Gift From Ben) food bank after his son died in a car accident in 2001. Newman first became nationally known as a high
school basketball player in the 80's. Street and Smith magazine named Newman
the top point guard in the South. Thumper had a pro basketball tryout in 1990
but was cut by the Topeka Sizzlers of the CBA . During the 90's Newman founded
Metro Marketing a timeshare marketing company they did more than 50 million
dollars in business that decade. Thumper was called one of the top five
businessmen in the country by Forbes magazine in 1998. Since he founded the food bank
Newman has distribute more than ten million pounds of food to more than
one hundred and twenty five thousand people in the
Williamsburg area.
In The fall of 2005 Newman & W&M senior John
Bell, one of Newman's volunteers at the food bank, began to make plans for the
concert.
