OSCEOLA COUNTY, Fla. — Spectrum News 13 is celebrating black empowerment and achievements by highlighting one St. Cloud man who’s being recognized as a leader in his community.


What You Need To Know

  • Gus Odom recalls the racism he experienced in the 1960s as a butcher

  • He is an assistant pastor of a Palm Bay church

Gus Odom moved to Osceola County as a young boy, he remembers living through segregation in the 1960s. He used to work as a butcher in St. Cloud and recalls some customers not letting him serve them.

Odom said he did not let those incidents shape him.

He’s long since retired but delivers bread and other goods daily to different non-profits in town.

Odom is also the assistant pastor at a Palm Bay church.

“And I love to help people. I always have and I will continue until the day I die,” Odom explained. “Or when I can’t do it anymore. I will always continue to reach out to somebody to help them.”

This month the City of St. Cloud issued a proclamation in honor of Odom as a community leader for Black History Month.