From Public Housing to International Trailblazer

Lee Pitts has distinguished himself around the country as one of the most diversified leaders in our country. Pitts, who rose from the Collegeville Housing Projects in Birmingham, Alabama, is one of seven children raised alone by his mother. Pitts is a vice president at Wachovia Bank, where he manages the community development-lending department for South Florida. Pitts is the founder of the Lee Pitts Swim School, a nationally recognized swim program established to teach free swim lessons for disadvantaged youths. He is the only swim instructor to be inducted in the Boys and Girls Club National Hall of Fame. Pitts produced, directed and starred in the and only swim lesson video that features an African American swim instructor and African American children. The award winning video entitled, “Waters: Beginner’s Swim Lesson for Adults and Children with Lee Pitts” has received numerous awards. He is the first African American to teach swimming in Haiti and in Africa. Pitts is host and executive producer of the award-winning television talk show, “Lee Pitts Live” which airs on FOX 4 in South Florida. The show has received five NAACP Image Awards, Hodges University Diversity Excellence Award, and the Southwest Florida’s People’s Choice Award. It is first and only TV talk show in S.W. Florida hosted by an African American male. Visit Lee at www.leepittslive.com or at www.leepitts.com