HISTORY OF RICKS INSTITUTE ALUMNI ASSOCIATION, USA, INC.
(1988 - 2008)
Several forces surrounding providing assistance to Ricks were in place at various times in the late eighties including a letter writing campaign started by Canmu Dennis and Joan Tweh in about 1987 to get alumni and former students together, Miss Johnetta Minor and Rev. Charles Jones who had traveled to the U.S. from Liberia in 1987 as emissaries of the Baptist Convention to find ways to help Ricks financially had had discussions around this subject with William R. Tolbert III and R. Napoleon Outland, Dave L. Dixon and William R. Tolbert III meeting, by happenstance, at JFK Airport in 1987 while seeing someone off on Pan Am to Liberia and discussing the need to find ways to help their struggling Alma Mater, Ricks Institute, and Dave Dixon visit to Ricks Institute in 1988 to assess the needs of the institution.
But none of these forces materialized into any concrete effort to solve the problem of providing financial assistance to the struggling Ricks Institute until a year later in 1988. In Boston, Massachusetts, Dave contacted alumni of Ricks living in Boston that he knew of and felt might be interested in joining in on this revitalization project for Ricks Institute. He first contacted R. Napoleon Outland through Christine Harris and, to his pleasant surprise, Napoleon told him how, together with Canmu Dennis, Watchen Harris, Christine Harris, Malvina Cooper, and a few others, they had bought and shipped some sporting equipments and supplies to help keep the sporting activities alive on Ricks. Furthermore, Napoleon said that Canmu Dennis was coming to Boston to strategize the formation of an alumni association.
In March 1988 a meeting was arranged to be held with Napoleon Outland, Canmu Dennis, Watchen Harris and Christine Harris in the Boston home of Christine to discuss how together this group could mobilize others to raise funds to provide assistance to Ricks Institute. It was at this meeting that a discussion around the formulation of a formal alumni association and planning committee to plan what would be the first reunion of alumni, former students, former faculty and friends of Ricks Institute in the United States of America was held.
Once it was agreed that this group should establish a potential alumni association and plan a reunion, the next item on the agenda was the election of interim officers to drive the planning of the reunion. Dave Llewellyn Dixon, CPA, was unanimously elected as the National Chairman of the Planning Committee and R. Napoleon Outland was elected as the National Vice Chairman. Christine Harris was elected to be the National Secretary while Watchen Barker was elected as National Chaplain.
In order to broaden the appeal and support for the first reunion, it was decided that the committee should expand the initial committee of six (6) persons to a total of eighteen (18) persons to include a few others from the various states where former Ricks students resided. Twelve others were invited to participate including Joan Tweh (Minnesota), Eliza Weeks (Boston), Liwelti White (Boston), Malvina Cooper (Boston), Thelma Garnett (Boston), Nathaniel Sayon (Boston), Mazu Cooper (Boston), Ciata Victor (Boston), Vivien Jones (Boston) and Martha Moore (Providence). It was also at this meeting that the committee decided to make this reunion an annual event to be held each year at the same time during the Labor Day weekend.
During this meeting it was agreed that before the first reunion in September of that year, this committee should have a draft Constitution prepared for ratification by the general body at the reunion. A draft constitution was prepared and presented to the body at its following meeting for their comments. It was further agreed that the committee should invite Mr. T. Eugene Oody, the first principal of Ricks Institute that most of us had known (there were two prior principals, Professor Deshield and Rev. Augustus Marwieh, who either did not serve long enough or were not known to most of the students), to be the first guest speaker and honoree. Mr. Oody had served as principal of Ricks Institute from 1963 until the late 1970’s.
At this first meeting, the committe agreed to a three-fold purpose of the organization as follows: (1) To raise funds to support Ricks Institute to ensure that it continues to provide, at a minimum, the same level of educational experience we had experienced as former students (2) To honor someone who had made substantial contributions to Ricks Institute in the past (3) To get together and fellowship with old classmates and friends as we had done while attending Ricks Institute. This three-fold purpose was then embedded into the draft constitution and eventually ratified by the general assembly as the official purposes of the organization.
As with any organization, as the planning progressed for what would be an historic reunion not only for Ricks Alumni but for all schools in Liberia, most of the eighteen (18) members of the committee that were invited either did not continue to participate or did not participate at all but the initial six (6) along with Nathaniel Sayon, Liwelti White, Malvina Cooper and Eliza Weeks remained faithful to the cause until the first reunion was held in September 1989. This lack of participation of other that were invited posed a big problem for the planning committee because part of the goal of having more participants was to tax each person a minimum fee to fund this first reunion since there was no money in the treasury. The National Chairman of the planning committee, Dave Dixon, not wanting to see this effort fail, volunteered to provide whatever funds were needed to fund this occasion and contributed $4,000 of his own money. This was augmented by another $4,000 contribution from the National Vice Chairman, Mr. Napoleon Outland. With this amount, airfares were purchased for Mr. and Mrs. Oody to fly round trip from California to Boston, rental car and hotel expenses for the Oodys were paid, deposit was made on the hall at Northeastern University for the reunion and to the cruise ship company for the cruise around Boston. Contributions from the rest of the committee were used to fund the meals, drinks, and decorations for the three day reunion among other expenses.
After many tireless months of dedicated efforts and contribution of personal resources, from the Planning Committee, finally over the Labor Day weekend of 1989, Mr. and Mrs T. Eugene Oody landed at Boston, Worcester airport, to attend the first Ricks Institute Reunion, and were met upon arrival by the National Chairman, Mr. Dave Dixon. They were given the keys to their rental car with directions to their hotel in Framingham, Massachusetts and a copy of the program for the weekend. Following their arrival, throngs of other Ricks alumnae, former students, former faculty and staff and friends from all areas of life, including Mr. Kwame Osei, a former instructor at Ricks, began to converge on Boston, Massachusetts to attend what would be an historic occasion.
When the reunion commenced, the first item on the agenda of this historic occasion was the opening address by the National Chairman who welcomed all and introduced the occasion and its purpose. Mr. Oody delivered the keynote speech. Following this portion of the program, the next business session began with the ratification of the draft constitution and election of officers. After lengthy discussions and a few modifications among members present, the draft constitution was ratified and, this ratification ushered in the birth of the organization known today as the Ricks Institute Alumni Association USA, the first of its kind in the history of Liberian schools.
The next item on the agenda was the election of officers. Upon a motion made by Timotheus Weeks and duly seconded by Nehemiah F. Dixon Jr, it was unanimously voted that all interim officers of the organization be elected to retain their various offices for another term. Thus Dave Llewellyn Dixon became the organization’s founding National Chairman, R. Napoleon Outland its first National Vice-Chairman, Christine Harris the first National Secretary and Watchen Barker the first National Chaplain. Before the conclusion of this reunion, it was voted upon by the body that the 2nd annual reunion be held in the State of Maryland.
Major accomplishments during the first year of the organization included, among others:
- Brought together Ricks alumni, former students, faculty and friends from all over the U.S. for the first time in history to the Ist annual RIAA reunion held in Boston, MA.
- Drafted the first Constitution of RIAA
- $12,000 donation to Ricks Institute ($6K of which was donated by Mr. Oody’s California’s church) to help renovate and outfit dilapidated buildings at Ricks and fund teachers salaries.
- Seed money to launch the association and cover operations
- Initiated an Annual Chairman’s award program to honor those who made significant contributions to RIAA during the year.
- Established the first official link between RIAA USA and the Leadership team at Ricks Institute.
- In a dramatic and emotional setting, connected a mother who was a former student of Ricks Institute with the father (also a former student of Ricks) of her child who had lost contact with each other since the child was born more than two decades earlier.
Measuring this first reunion against the three-fold purpose of the newly created RIAA, it was very successful. The first goal, to raise money to support Ricks, this reunion raised about $6,000 from its activities and combined with another $6,000 contributed by Mr. Oody’s church in California, a $12,000 assistance was sent to Ricks Institute to help renovate the buildings and provide funds for teacher’s salaries. Measured on the second criteria of honoring someone who had made substantial contribution to Ricks in the past, the first annual Chairman’s honor was bestowed upon Mr. T. Eugene Oody, who had made substantial contributions to Ricks as principal from 1963 until 1971. When measured on the social aspect of getting together with other fellow former students etc, attendance was in excess of 200 persons. Everyone had a great time meeting old classmates and school mates and enjoying the historic cruise around Boston. The weekend came to a close with a farewell party held at Napoleon's home, the eve of the Labor Day holiday and on Labor Day all the participants returned to their various cities.
The second annual reunion was held in Washington, DC at the historic Metropolitan Baptist Church on R Street, N.W. At this reunion, Ricks alumnae from all across the United States gathered for just the second time in the existence of this newly formed alumni association. At this reunion, the National Chairman, Mr. Dave Llewellyn was very pleased to confer upon Mrs. Victoria Tolbert, wife of the late president of Liberia, Dr. William R. Tolbert Jr., the annual National Chairman’s honor. Mother Vick, as she was affectionately called, was accorded this honor in recognition of the many sacrificial services she and her late husband had made to Ricks Institute. About $9,000 was raised and sent to Ricks Institute to fund teachers and staff salaries. Before the close of this 2nd reunion a new core of officers were elected for the following two year term. These officers included; Mr. Walter B. Skinner, National Chairman and Mr. R. Napoleon Outland, National Vice-Chairman. They were then duly installed by Rev. Eric David, former General Secretary of the Liberian Baptist Missionary and Educational Convention.
During the next two years, 1991 (the 3rd annual reunion) and 1992 (the 4th annual reunion) the two reunions over which Mr. Walter Skinner presided, the first task of the new administration was to continue to build upon the organizational structure that had been started by the previous administration in Boston. They drafted a set of By-Laws for the organization and formally incorporated the organization as a non-stock corporation in the District of Columbia. This administration also sent about $10,000 to Ricks Institute for general operating expenses. A very important initiative undertaken by the Skinner Administration was the monthly newspaper. He appointed his National Vice Chairman, Mr. Outland, to be the editor of this paper and Mr. Walter Skinner and Mr. Dave Dixon were the primary contributing editors.
During the 3rd annual reunion in Houston, Texas, Mr. Skinner was pleased to confer the National Chairman’s annual honor award upon Rev. Walter D. Richards, a former principal of Ricks Institute. The climax of the Skinner administration came at the close of the 4th annual reunion when his National Vice Chairman, Mr. R. Napoleon Outland, was elected to succeed him as the new National Chairman at the reunion held in Atlanta, Georgia.
Subsequent years saw RIAA, USA, Inc continue to make progress in keeping with one of the initial goals of making each convention better than the other. The 1993 (5th) and 1994 (6th) reunions were lead by this very capable alumnus, Mr. R. Napoleon Outland as National Chairman (who had so faithfully served as the first and 2nd National Vice Chairman). Elected to assist him was Mrs. Lucelia Harmon as National Vice Chairman. One of the primary initiatives of the Outland administration was to strengthen the various chapters and he did. During this administration, $6.000 was sent to Ricks Institute for faculty salaries and an additional $6,000 was sent for the renovation of the dining hall. Most of this money was raised from pledges made by various members. The single highest pledge made and paid was from the first National Chairman, Mr. Dave L. Dixon in the amount of $3,000. The National Chairman, Mr. Outland, gave special recognition and presented the National Chairman’s award in the form of a plague of appreciation to Mr. Dixon for his continued sacrificial giving to the organization. Mr. Outland’s administration continued to solidify the organizational structure of RIAA by filing for and obtaining the coveted tax exempt status from the IRS commonly referred to as the 501(c) (3) status named after the code section of the tax laws which authorizes it. This status allows anyone who contributes monies to RIAA to take a deduction on their tax return for such amount.
Following a very successful two years in office, the close of the Outland reign, Mr. L. Wellington VanPelt was elected at the close of the 6th annual reunion which was held in Raleigh, North Carolina and served as National Chairman during reunions held in 1995 (7th) and 1996 (8th), which was held in Maryland. Elected to assist Mr.VanPelt was Mrs. Christine Harris Idiokitas. Major accomplishments of this administration was the shipments of twenty (20) barrels of educational and medical supplies and other basic essentials to Ricks Institute along with two (2) microscopes for the science laboratory.
As the 8th reunion was about to end in 1996 in Baltimore, Maryland, Wellington having completed his term of office, handed the affairs of RIAA over to the newly elected National Chairman, Mr. Wesley N. Bailey, his newly elected National Vice Chairman Mrs.Watchen Barker and their core of other elected officers This administration presided over the reunion in 1997 (9th) which took place in Minneapolis, Minnesota and 1998 (10th) which was held in Atlanta, Georgia and was very instrumental in providing the parts to rebuild the tractor (the life-blood of he campus’ livestock and farming project) along with a chevy S-10 Pickup truck that was donated by Mr. Henry Lewis from the graduating class of 1970.
The RIAA USA, Inc. continued to make progress following the end of Mr. Wesley N. Bailey’s term of office in 1998. To pick up from where he and his team of officers had left off, at the close of this 10th annual reunion held in Atlanta, Georgia, Dr. Randolph A.K.W. McClain, PhD, was elected as National Chairman for the reunions to be held in 1999 (11th) and 2000 (12th). Also elected to assist Dr. McClain as National Vice Chairman was Mrs. Lucelia Harmon-Bropleh (the former Lucelia Harmon).
Dr. McClain and team launched the theme 10-10-10, a strategic initiative to elevate Ricks Institute to excellence (especially in academics) in ten (10) years. Other accomplishments included; the devising of a methodology that shows the pathway to improve Ricks students’ competitiveness for the best college educational opportunities, provided interest on stagnant account, financial gain increased from 0% to 5% in the 1st year, provided 50% of the funds to obtain an electric generator at Ricks, for the 1st time, honored five Ricks employees, including Mrs. Rose Sherman Bartie and Mrs. A.C. Donath, for continuous dedicated service to Ricks in spite of the long civil war. Another major undertaken of the McClain administration was the launching of the RIAA website under the auspices of Mr. Eastman who served faithfully as webmaster. Mr. Eastman is also credited with securing the URL for the organization i.e. www.ricksinstitute.org .
Dr. McClain completed his term of office, at the close of the 12th annual reunion in 2000 which was held in Arlington, Texas The body then elected Dr. Inez Reeves (MD) as National Chairman and Mr. Albert Ireland as National Vice Chairman to lead the 2001 (13th) and 2002 (14th) reunions. This administration brought even more prosperity to RIAA and Ricks Institute some of which included; shipment to the “Ricks Project” which provided a variety of school and office supplies, including two computers and a number of high school science textbooks. Also two monetary awards were granted to graduating seniors with the highest achievement in Math and Science. Dr. Reeves continued to pursue the website project and then appointed Mr. Napoleon Outland, David Thomas and Conrad Thomas as the web team who further refined the website and again did a splendid job in maintaining it. This sophisticated website enabled former students from as far as Turkey, Jordan and missionaries from all over the United States to connect with the reunion and their fellow former students and faculty. It also supported a massive pen pal system connecting Ricks students with students all around the world.
At the 13th annual reunion held in Providence, Rhode Island in 2001, Dr. Reeves was pleased to confer the National Chairman’s honor on Mr. John Mills (a former missionary science and biology instructor who had served Ricks Institute for a very long period even after losing his wife on campus to a tropical illness). Also, at the 14th annual reunion held in Detroit, Michigan in 2002, she was pleased to honor Mr. and Mrs. Robert N. Bellinger (former long term instructor & school nurse respectively) with the National Chairman’s honor.
A major accomplishment of Dr. Reeves administration was the launching of the scholarship program for Ricks students. This initiative was managed by a scholarship committee consisting of Mr. Napoleon Outland, Mr. Calvin Bropleh and Miss Maltima Norma and through the state of the art process created on the web, this program was able to raise $5,000 over a three (3) year period in scholarship monies for students desiring to attend Ricks Institute. This state of the art web scholarship program created an equal opportunity for up to 100 student applicants to be selected for the scholarship.
At the close of the 14th annual reunion held in 2002 in Detroit, Michigan, Mr. Rosettus L. Weeks, CPA, was elected as the 8th National Chairman along with Mr. Feweh Sherman as his National Vice Chairman to succeed the Reeves’ administration. This team led the 2003 (15th) reunion which was held in Charlotte, North Carolina and the 2004 (16th) reunion which was held in Baltimore, Maryland. During the first year of this administration, 2003, about $10,000 was sent to Ricks Institute to fund faculty and staff salaries and another $1,000 was provided for scholarship. Mr. weeks was pleased to confer the National Chairman's honor on Mrs. Imogene Collins, former member of the Board of Trustee and former president of the PTA. During the 2nd year of the Weeks administration, 2004, $12,000 was sent for the renovation project at Ricks. This leadership team was very instrumental in completing the amendments to the Constitution and By-Laws. Mr. Weeks was pleased to confer the National Chairman’s honor on Mrs. Mildred Itoka, another former long term staff member who had diligently served the students of Ricks Institute, at the 16th annual reunion in Baltimore, Maryland.
Before the close of the 16th annual reunion in Baltimore in 2004, Mr. Weeks passed the mantel of leadership to another very able alumnus, Dr. Zwannah D. Dukuly (MD). Elected along side Dr. Dukuly was Mr. Tenekay Sayeh as National Vice Chairman. In 2005, the City of Houston, Texas was once again chosen to host the Ricks Institute Reunion but this time it was the 17th annual reunion.
The Dukuly administration saw its first year, 2005, sending $12,000 to Ricks Institute to renovate the William V. S. Tubman Administration building after a very successful reunion in Houston. It was at this reunion that Dr. Zwannah Dukuly (MD) honored Mr. and Mrs. Ezekiel Bambolo, a citizen of Cameron, who had rendered dedicated very long-term service to Ricks Institute as a former French instructor. Mr. Bambalo, inspite of all the calamities taking place in the war ravage Liberia, risked his life to stay at Ricks Institute to protect the students and property of the institution.
The 2nd year of Dr. Dukuly’s administration, 2006, saw itself honoring Mr. and Mrs. Phil Cole who both were long term former instructors at Ricks Institute. “Pa Cole” (as the husband was affectionately called), had once served as interim principal during the absence of Mr. Oody. This honoring ceremony took place at the 18th annual reunion hosted by the Atlanta, Georgia chapter. More than $15,000 netted from this convention was sent to Ricks Institute to fund teachers and staff salaries. This very successful convention brought together a wide array of Ricks alumni, former students and friends both Liberians and Americans.
In an unprecedented move, shortly before the close of the 18th annual reunion in Atlanta, Dr. Dukuly was re-elected to serve as National Chairman for a 2nd two year term. Mr. David Thomas was elected along side Dr. Dukuly as National Vice Chairman to replace Tenekay Sayeh. Never in the history of this organization had anyone been elected to serve a 2nd term.
2007 took the 19th annual reunion to Providence, Rhode Island once again with Dr. Dukuly and team still in charge. This time Rev. Bishop Augustus B. Marwieh (the 2nd principal of Ricks Institute) was chosen to receive the Annual National Chairman’s honor and this was conferred upon him, in abstentia by Dr. Dukuly. Following the close of this convention, $12,500 was sent to Ricks Institute to renovate the high school boy’s dormitory, Cheeseman Hall. An additional $7,500 was also sent to Ricks during the same period to purchase beds to facilitate the reopening of the Charlotte Tolbert Hall, the high school girl’s dormitory.
Another major accomplishment of Dr. Dukuly’s administration is the state of the art website that, when approached by Mr. Napoleon Outland explaining the need for such a site, he readily consented and Mr. Outland, Mr. David Thomas and Mrs. Maltima Outland made this happened within a matter of a week or less. Today RIAA USA, Inc. enjoys one of the most sophisticated website any non-profit organization can have.
A milestone that had never been achieved by any other school in Liberia was celebrated as alumnae, former students, former faculty and staff and friends from all over the United States gatherd in Charlotte, North Carolina over the 2008 Labor Day weekend (Thursday, August 28th thru Monday, September 1, 2008) to mark the 20th anniversary celebration of RIAA’s existence. At this 20th anniversary celebration, the mantel of leadership was passed from Dr. Dukuly to David Thomas. We thank God for the Grace He has given us to preserver during the past twenty (20) years to “Lift Others as We Climb”.
As we conclude this history, the organization wishes to offer special recognition to Mr. Albert Ireland for the numerous T-shirts he donated to the organization to raise money for the class challenge each year. The organization also would like to recognize and appreciate Mr. David Thomas for making himself available each year to take photographs at the reunions without any cost to the organization. Special recognition and appreciation also goes to Mrs. Lucelia Harmon-Bropleh who has worked tirelessly over the years in different capacities ranging from Vice Chairman to Treasurer and any other areas she was asked to serve. She has also faithfully attended most, if not all, the twenty conventions.
Special recognition goes to Sam McClain for the extraordinary efforts in putting controls around the finances of the organization and introducing an in depth financial reporting system and setting up a money market fund for the organization. We recognize Dr. Randolph McClain as one of the major contributors to RIAA and Rev. Rudolph Bropleh for always being ready to preach when called upon at the last minute to substitute for someone who did not show up. Finally, special recognition and appreciation goes out to our founding National Chairman, Dave Llewellyn Dixon as the only former National Chairman who has attended all twenty (2) reunions.
We also recognize all those who have also attended reunions and/or made substantial contributions to RIAA but have not been named in this history. We appreciate all that you have done and we say a very BIG thank you.
Stella Polaris, O Ricks Institute, Thine Way To Greatness and Prosperity, Here We Turn To Glorious Ricks For Fame and Victory for another twenty (20) years.
God bless RIAA, its leadership and restore Ricks Institute.