A Major-League Dream Come True

SPOTLIGHT

As one of 10 children of a die-hard New York Yankees’ fan, Berna Greer, CPA, grew up in a house that revolved around baseball. But she never expected to make it to the Major Leagues.

Still, there she was, throwing out the first pitch at the Detroit Tigers game at Comerica Park on July 14—thanks to her dual role as national treasurer of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority and senior auditor for DaimlerChrysler. DaimlerChrysler is a sponsor of AKA, which was having its national convention in Detroit that weekend. AKA is the nation’s oldest Greek letter sorority founded by African-American women.

Greer got involved with AKA as an undergraduate at Jackson State University, where she followed her older sister into the sorority and into the field of accounting. She first worked with DaimlerChrysler on AKA’s ONTRACK Program, which helps ease the transition of disadvantaged elementary school children into middle school; today she is a member of AKA’s board of directors.

While she was too busy studying to play sports in college, Greer has run six marathons to raise money for charity. Still, she spent an entire weekend pitching—pointing, stepping and throwing to three brothers and two nephews—before hitting the mound in Detroit.

“I’m ready for Yankee Stadium now,” she says.

—Cheryl Rosen