Members of the Liberian Community in the Piedmont, I would like to congratulate you all for remaining united and upholding the basic founding principles of this noble organization. More than 30 years ago, men and women now in their 70s had a vision of forming a united front that would champion the cause of Liberians living in the Piedmont. Their vision of assisting one another, fostering unity and understanding, advancing education opportunity for Liberians, and promoting international understand have endured.

30 years later, I have come to stand on those things that were envisioned by those men and women that organized themselves as a unified force to form the Liberian Organization of the Piedmont. With that in mind, I have come to lend a hand of support that will help move LOP into the 21^st Century and beyond. As President of the Liberian Organization of the Piedmont, my administration has four pillars or agenda items that will propel LOP to a higher height. These pillars that I simply refer to as MICS take a holistic approach in running the day-to-day affairs of the organization. The pillars are as follow:

Make LOP more community focused!
To achieve this, we are going to engage members of the community like it has never be done before. We are going to:

• Cater to the youth within the community.
• Cater to our Liberian seniors within the community
• Create opportunities for members of our community.
• Empower entrepreneurs within our community with funding resources.
• Create employment opportunities within our community.

 

Increase the membership of the organization!
The lifeblood and strengths of every community institution is its members. With that in mind, we will:

• Recruit new members
• Increase dues collection
• Address disputes and grievances within the community

 

Collaborate with other community organizations and partners
In order to move our community forward, we must collaborate and cooperate with other satellite organizations, be it at the local, state, or international level. My administration is going to value cooperation over competition as a way to thrive and empower others at the same time. I know that achieving such a feat is not easy, but we must keep reaching out to partners. To build a collaborative community ecosystem, we will:

• Reach out to Greensboro, Charlotte, Salisbury, Durham, High Point
• Form the Federation of Liberian Organization in North Carolina
• Create a pathway for job creation in Liberia.
• Expand LOP’s Annual Gala beyond North Carolina.

 

Start LOP’s relief program in Liberia!
Finally, LOP must continue to look outward while working internally to harden it achievements postures. To keep impacting the lives of Liberians in the Motherland, we will:

• Launch the Annual Textbooks for Liberian Student campaign.
• Embark on the collection and shipment or assorted items to Liberia
• Expand LOP’s scholarship opportunities to other states.

 

As your President, I deeply need the help of everyone within the community. We must all play our part to put LOP in a better place than where it is now. As one wise man once said, “We can always better our best.” With the above pillars, LOP will be able to live up to the vision of LOP’s founding members. If we can achieve these four pillars, the organization will be in a better position within the next 10 years.