Bravo and congratulations to the New York/New Jersey/Philadelphia chapter for a most exciting and meaningful 21st anniversary convention. “Running By”, a familiar song to many of the Ricks students from the earlier days preceded the message from Annette Johnson-Brown, class of ’68 who was determined to get as many alumni members as possible to this convention. Her message, “this might be my last time with you; you must come and do your part to support our school” went very far. Come they did—one person can make a difference. Thankfully the chapter accepted the assistance from Mrs. Brown and the rest is history. We had represented, students from 1960, and graduating class beginning 1962 throughout. It was truly wonderful.

The board assembled on Thursday, September 4th in Willingboro to set the agenda for the business session and to report on the progress at Ricks. Following a scrumptious breakfast, we convened the business session with the National Chairman, Mr. Dave Thomas conducting the meeting. The four major items on the agenda for action were:

1. Discussion of the allocation of association funds as requested by Mr. Menjay, Principal of Ricks Institute and approval of recommendation by the board.
2. Election of our Financial Secretary, position held by Mrs. Lucelia Hammond-Bropleh during the previous administration--pls see minutes from Recording Secretary, Ms. Miatta Morris, for additional information.
3. Adoption of the 2008 convention minutes and financial reports.
4. The site for the next convention.

Action taken:

1. We are pleased to report that after much deliberation, the convention approved the recommendation of the board and voted to continue to support our school through funding for administrative costs.
2. The convention voted to retain the services of Mrs. Bropleh as Financial Secretary echoing her commitment and diligence to the financial business of the association.
3. The minutes and financial reports were approved and accepted to form a part of our national archive. Meeting adjourned to meet with the Washington/Virginia/Maryland chapter in 2010.

As is customary, the official welcome of our convention began with a celebration party, Friday evening. Included in the evening were a few new additions, Recitations from Lucelia and Glory; song by Dennis Hall quartet—Tenekay, Jacko, Wesley and John and a skate from the Slabtown Women’s convention. We laughed so hard—as Slabtowners would say, “wes goin to have a convention this year”. The rest of the night was followed by serous partying and just plain fun.

The next day we gathered to watch the various teams compete in soccer and other sports. I tell you the folks in this chapter left nothing to chance. They were prepared to raise money and that they did. They had enough food and other items to sell while the games were being held to drain your pocket. This was also a time for good conversation and catching up with friends you had not seen for years. We ate, danced and clowned for the many cameras and camcorders that were going around. It is marvelous what God has done for all of us through the years. It was as if we were back on campus after vacation and catching up with each other. The events culminated in the presentation of trophies to the winning teams.

On Saturday evening, we gathered for the annual Chairman’s banquet at the Touch of Class banquet hall. The site was beautifully decorated and the ladies were adorned with the best of African and European designs. The men could have given Ralph Lauren and GQ magazines a run for their money. The highlights for the evening were the messages from the two speakers and presentation of awards. Dr. Roger Oldham representative from the Southern Baptist Convention shared a little history of the relationship between his convention and the Liberia Baptist Missionary and Educational Convention which eventually led to the commitment of years of service to Ricks Institute, (Educational, Social & Spiritual). He noted his surprise and pleasure to have been invited to participate in such a worthy undertaking. He was encouraged by what he saw and especially that we recognized the importance to give back as we had received of others. Dr. Oldham accepted the award on behalf of the convention and commented that this would be a report he was excited to bring back to his convention.

Our second guest, Mr. Lee Rouson, two time NFL champion and pro speaker for Sports World Ministries, brought us a message about staying focus on our mission as we sought ways to give back to the children of Ricks and our country. He talked about his connection with Liberians and was pleased to be asked to participate. The rest of the evening was filled with conversation and dancing. It was really an extraordinarily wonderful evening.

On Sunday we gathered at Delaware Valley Baptist Church where we were joined by members of the church to give of our best to God for all He had and continues to do for us. There was singing, praising, and worshiping at its best. Our message was delivered by Rev. Dr. Napoleon L. Divine, class of ’74. His message, “Preserved for God’s Purpose” was timely and it reminded us of our responsibilities to others and echoed the meaning of our motto “Not for self, but for others”. What an awesome opportunity we had to have received the education and spiritual guidance from Ricks Institute.

The convention ended with a farewell party and good byes until next year. Thanks to all who planned and implemented the goals of this convention. Well done!