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Lambda Delta Zeta recognizes Uncle E’s owner 

By Amy Lewis 

 

Arlene Steele Purdue, owner of Uncle E’s BBQ and Catering, has been named the 2025 Woman of the Year by the Lambda Delta Zeta Chapter of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority Incorporated. The award was presented during the chapter’s annual Finer Womanhood Observance and Scholarship Luncheon.

The Lambda Delta Zeta chapter, which includes 26 active members, voted to honor Purdue, citing her community outreach, small business growth and commitment to service as the deciding factors.

“We chose her because of her drive to improve her community and the passion she has for everything that she does,” said chapter president Reneasha Gardner-Hasley. “She’s bringing in small businesses. She’s always willing to lend a hand and she just really wants to see her community thrive.”

Purdue said the news caught her completely off guard.

“I received a letter in the mail that told me that I had been chosen,” she said. “I thought they sent it to the wrong person so I called and they said, yes, it was for me.”

Having operated Uncle E’s BBQ and Catering for five years, Puedue recently expanded her entrepreneurial efforts with the February opening of Sitting Pretty Boutique. 

“I’m still head over heels,” she said. “We’re doing really well and we’re actually preparing to launch a website for nationwide shipping.

“I make it a mission to try to work and help in the community. That’s always my goal. So it’s an honor to know that someone’s watching you and sees what you’re doing even if you don’t know they’re watching.”