Herman Michael “Mike” Spears, the 2004 – 2006 President of
the National Alumni Association of Hillside High School, is a native of Durham,
North Carolina. He attended the Durham
Public Schools starting at W.G. Pearson Elementary, J.A. Whitted Jr. High
School and graduated from Hillside High School in 1965. During his attendance at Hillside, he
participated in several school and extra-curricular activities such as, manager
of the varsity football team, competed in auto mechanics contest and was
captain of the tennis team. Mike was
chosen from his peers as the most popular male student in his senior class.
The “65” yearbook lists his favorite quotation as, “Truth is
the light”, which is a motto he lives by.
Mike joined the NAACP at an early age and participated in many civil
rights demonstrations where he was arrested and spent nights in jail. He is regarded by many of always fighting
for ‘those with lesser choices and voices” and considers himself an ‘agent for
the struggle of the Black man.” Mike is
remembered for having annual Christmas
parties at his home where more than 100 classmates from all socio-economic
walks of life attended and enjoyed.
Mike attended North Carolina Central University and was
awarded a full tennis scholarship where he was captain of the tennis team. After graduation he relocated to Raleigh and
worked as planning director for Wake Opportunities Anti-Poverty Program and was
hired later by the City of Raleigh as Director of Roberts Park Recreation
Center. He then attended North Carolina
State University Graduate School pursuing a master’s degree in Public Affairs
and Recreation.
While at NCSU he was appointed, Residence Director of four
different residence halls with the last being Sullivan Hall, a 12-story
facility with over 1,000 co-ed students.
Mike, an individual who welcomes adventure, drove alone to Los Angeles,
CA and was hired as the Assistant Dean of On-Campus Housing at the University
of Southern California (UCLA). In 1984,
Mike was co-founder of a business venture, Integrity Cleaning, Maintenance and
Painting Co. At his local church he
served for years as the director of the usher board and wrote, developed and
directed a mentor program for boys and young men.
In 1994, Mike and his family moved to Groton, CT where he
worked for the Allstate Insurance Company as an insurance agent where he opened
his own agency, Mike Spears and Associates.
In CT, Mike also served as director of the usher board and developed and
directed a mentor program at his church.
Mike and his family moved “back home” to Durham in 2001
where he became active with the National Alumni Association of Hillside High School, the HHS
Class of 65, Executive Board Member of the Hillside High School Quarterback
Club and the Durham Committee on the Affairs of Black People, where he served
as Chairman of the Housing Committee.
Mike served as project manager for a local construction company and
currently is co-founder, partner / owner of Integrity Building and Maintenance
Services which has its home office on the 9th floor of the North
Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Company.
Mike is married to NancyLee Spears and they are the proud
parents of two children, Tianna Shanel and Michael Anthony Spears. He enjoys golf, tennis, jazz, multi-cultural
events, and spending time with family and friends in his leisure time’.