His HIV positive status has motivated him to help eliminate the negative behaviors in others' lives, and take a more proactive approach to stopping the spread of HIV/AIDS. That's why 107.3 JAMZ has chosen Tim Pitts as one of our Upstate Black History Makers.

Tim spent four years as a prevention specialist with the Interagency Prevention Collaboration. This past year he founded the LEAD (Life, Enrichment, Adaptation, & Development) Center and serves as its Executive Director. The agency focuses on the negative behaviors that put people at risk and helps people change those behaviors.

The LEAD Center is partnering with The Spartanburg Housing Authority and ReGenesis Community Health Center. The Housing Authority and ReGenesis provide space for testing and education in their communities. In addition, USC Upstate is partnering with the agency to do research on how well its interventions and approaches work in the community.

One of the programs that Tim has implemented and that LEAD Center will continue to oversee is the Man 2 Man program, which distributes condoms in black barber shops and trains barbers to dispel myths associated with HIV/AIDS.

Tim was recently featured in the Spartanburg Herald Journal and has partnered with New Horizons to get the message of safe, responsible and healthy living habits out to our youth and community at large.

Although his HIV/AIDS efforts are often his focus, Tim and The LEAD Center are dedicated to counseling the whole person. By treating the person as a whole, and not just the symptoms of their negative behavior, Tim believes that he can help people prevent more than just HIV/AIDS but a multitude of pitfalls that face the citizens of our community.

For his tireless efforts in preventing HIV/AIDS and more, 107.3 JAMZ is proud to salute Tim Pitts as one of our Upstate Black History Makers.