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(Last Updated on November 27, 2005 4:55 PM> )

MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD

Hello All,

It is with profound gratitude and thanks to those who have made it possible that I, once again, have the opportunity and privilege to collectively address our beloved community in THEVOICE (now The Voice Online…). The Voice (in print) has been the messenger of this community for the past nine years. (It looks like He took a long vacation or was fired!) However, on behave of the Board of Directors, I take this opportunity to welcome him back on the job, and to congratulate him for a job well done in the past.

Since some of us do not have Internet services, we will continue to make available printed editions of this newsletter and it is my hope that we will use this medium to express our suggestions, opinions and criticism openly.

Our messenger, having been brought into the Internet Age, will again help us to bring this community together as we were a few years ago. If properly equipped and informed, our messenger will let us know about birthdays, graduations, sickness, deaths, weddings, parties and other events happening in our community. And when you come to think about it, these are some of the things that often do bring us together as a community.

Since 1996 some of us have taken this community to heart and given it all we’ve got. At times our efforts have benefited the general welfare of the community and specific individuals. Let me thank those of you who have been part of this effort of giving yourselves selflessly. Please continue the good work! Let me also remind all of us, that this is a voluntary effort where we all give our time, money, knowledge, service, and expertise without compensation of any form except for the satisfaction of being involved in a worthy cause to lift up our less fortunate brothers and sisters in our community.

Although the more industrious members of our community are selfless and strong willed, trying to do what they think is right, they are, at times, under constant criticism by others of us who think that things could be done better, yet however, they are unwilling to participate and give their time and effort as well.

Let me remind us of what Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said, “The ultimate measure of a person is not where they stand in moments of comfort and convenience, but where they stand in times of challenge and controversy”.

In every group of people, be it a church group, a community like ours, a nation, a club, etc., you will find fence sitters and gatekeepers. So we will have to struggle and move ahead with the willing few.

According to Frederick Douglas “where there is no struggle, there is no progress”.

The committed few will find motivation and strength in their collective efforts to make our success sure in this community. Having said all this though, from past experience we are a community of passion; loving, caring and working well together when we commit ourselves to a cause. I am therefore appealing to the community and the friends of this community to commit ourselves to revitalizing the only organization we have as our common forum. Please do come with your suggestions, criticisms, time, effort, money and drive to bring this organization to higher heights.

Our new President, Lewis Free, is determined just as any past president, to bring this organization to a new level, one we can all be proud to be a part of. However, he can not do it without our support and I know that together we can all do it.

I have visited many communities around the country and I can attest to the fact that this community is one of THE few communities void of internal factionalism. There are no tribal or regional organizations that I know of in this community. And THAT, my friends, is the foundation of unity! It is up to us to put a majestic building on this excellent foundation. This community has the manpower to do just that.

The Liberian American Community Organization is a bona-fide nonprofit organization, governed under U.S. Federal and California state law, with all the rights and privileges to operate in the US and abroad as such. Those of us members, who have the ideas and heart to take advantage of this opportunity and bring us to the next level, as the president is determined to do, please stand up to the challenge. We will help you get there as we are all working towards the common good of our community.

Some of us have been asking questions as to the status of the organization over the past two years. These have been legitimate questions. However, to legitimatize these questions, we would also appreciate it if you came to some of the meetings to voice your questions, suggestions or opinions on some of the issues that face us from time to time. You may even have the answer to your own questions too!

We did not have the administrative arm of the organization operating for one and a half years because the president and his cabinet resigned from office. We could not find anybody to fill these positions. Therefore, the board had to administer the affairs of the organization during this period. At one of our general meetings, Mr. Joshua Howard expressed his concern and volunteered to be the caretaker president until elections were held. The board then set up a commission to have elections held on the scheduled date. The commission, however, worked for three months without success. Due to the lack of cooperation, Mr. Howard could not resuscitate our beloved organization from its death bed. Therefore, the organization had sunk into a proverbial coma for about two years.

Due to unjust criticism and the lack of cooperation from some of us in the organization, Mr. Howard resigned from the caretaker presidency position, leaving the organization in care of the board again. However, during this period Mr. Howard continued his efforts to resuscitate the organization, running its affairs without the title and even generating over a thousand dollars for it. This kept the organization operating. It accounted for paying the telephone bills, the cost of box rental fees, finance meetings, helped generate donations for good causes and financed the elections of this present administration.

Given the circumstances under which he worked, Mr. Howard did his best and I take this time to personally say thank you, Mr. Howard, your work has not gone unnoticed. Now that we have a new administration in place, it is my hope and prayer that we support the officers as they carry on the day to day affairs of the organization in a prudent fashion as required by non-profit governing regulations and the laws of California.

My thanks to goes to Mr. Beyan, the chairman of the election commission, and members of the commission that conducted the elections which gave us these fine individuasl who will guide us to the “Promise Land”.

Mr. Lewis Free, President-Elect and other elective officials, welcome on board and thanks for your willingness to serve your community! It’s always a good feeling when you do some thing for yourself and for others from your heart. I promise that you will have 100% of my support “twenty-four-seven”.

It is said that those committed to service risk their feelings, prestige and even position for the welfare of others. Just remember that you are the servant to the community and not its master. My thanks goes to Mr. Emmanuel Leon for accepting the acting treasurer position to keep things flowing smoothly after the resignation of the treasurer elect, Ms. Evelyn Hightower. I also say thanks to Ms. Hightower for the time served and hope that she will continue her good work with the community as she has always done in the past.

My thanks also goes to Ms. Mai Cassell for her willing to serve as acting secretary for the organization. As you may know, no one stood for this position at the election. Considering that it is very difficult or almost impossible to run an organization without proper records keeping, Mai has been willing to fill this vacancy for us. Thank you very much Mai.

On behalf of the board of directors, I say thanks to all in the community and to any other members I have not specifically mentioned for your continued support over the years, whether things were bad or good. This is the type of spirit we need in order to continue to do what needs to be done within our community so that we can have a better today and a brighter hope for tomorrow.

Yours Sincerely,

J. Mamadee Dorbor, Chairman of the Board