Nathaniel Whaley was born on July 01, 1934 in Tallulah, Louisiana. He moved to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1943. He married his wife Eva, in 1984. Before leaving high school to provide for his new wife and son, Nathaniel had a successful high school career as an accomplished athlete and Eagle Scout in the first black Boy Scout troop in the area. Nathaniel would go on to have a fruitful career as a mason and contractor, literally helping build the city of Las Vegas. His jobs included the Dunes, the Sands, Union Plaza and the Maxim Hotel.

Joseph Thiriot was born August 20, 1906 in Provo, Utah to George W. and Elvira Thiriot and was raised with four brothers. His father sold a “typing machine,” a forerunner to the typewriter. Eventually the family moved from Boise, Idaho to a ranch in Pahranagat Valley, Nevada, where the limits of educational opportunities compelled his parents to send him back to Provo to finish his education while living with family there. Gaining a teaching certificate enabled Thiriot to teach in rural Nevada.

Jesse D. Scott was born March 3, 1920 in Ethel, Louisiana. Scott moved to Los Angeles and was urged to get involved in the local NAACP. As chairman of the Labor and Industry Committee, he found that he could make a difference. Rev. Scott's commitment in California, which included presidency of the West Side branch and field officer for the West Coast region, ended in 1970. He was offered a position in the Las Vegas branch and eventually hired on as executive director.