The Wilmington, NC Chapter of The Links, Inc.

We had a wonderful Kwanzaa Celebration today at the Village at Greenfield Family Resource Center.  Link Rita gave an excellent overview of Kwanzaa and engaged the 35 youth plus adults in a lively discussion of the 7 principles.   Gift bags for all attendees were assembled by International Trends facet members and included Kwanzaa reference materials, recipes, fruit and candy.   Special thanks to all who helped to prepare for and execute this event.  Pictures can be seen here. 

Happy Kwanzaa!!! Link Gloria

Pictured, Facet members Link Valita Quattlebaum and Link Rita Todd-Griffith, Chapter President Link Connie Drain Greene, and Chair of International Trends and Services, Link Gloria Monroe

Link Marva Robinson, Knoxville College alumna, along with fellow honorees, was recognized for the accomplishments she achieved as a leader and innovator in her community as she was inducted into the Robert H. Harvey Alumni Hall of Fame.

Link Marva is a member of St. Luke AME Zion Church, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., serves as choral director of the Williston Alumni Community Choir and is on the board of directors for the Wilmington Symphony. She also performs regularly with the Symphony. Link Marva serves as the fashion show commentator at our annual community brunch and is a member of the Arts Facet.

Southern Area Program Chair, Link Daisy Walker came to town and had lunch with our chapter. We got to hear from her how to improve our programming and reporting of those programs. She gave us lots of food for thought, along with our delicious luncheon fare at Innovations restaurant in downtown Wilmington. Link Gloria Monroe, Chair of the International Trends and Services facet invited Link Daisy to meet with us. Link Daisy recruited several of us to be program reviewers, while she was here!   These pictures are from Link Rachel Stephens' camera!

NAACP Freedom Fund Dinner will feature Link Debra Saunders-White

THEME-" Empowering our Lives by Educating Our Minds"
Speaker- Dr. Debra Sanders-White, United States Department of Education, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Higher Education Programs.

Dancing after banquet.

Supporting local NAACP activities and scholarship program. Tickets are available at the Wilmington Journal offices, and are $50 per person.

The Links have supported the Family Neighborhood Institute over the years. They are in need of funding more than ever. Former Connecting Link KennethWeeden is sponsoring this fundraiser for them. It'll be something fun to do during the holiday season and will help the FMI continue to tutor and mentor our school children.

Jazz Cafe benefits FMI

Entrees

• Orange Chicken (Breaded Chicken in Orange Sauce with Brown Rice)
• Moo Goo Gai Pan (Sliced Chicken with mixed vegetables and stir fried rice)
• Pepper Steak (Sliced Beef, Green Pepper and Onion in brown sauce and stir fried rice)

• Warmed Chocolate Cup Cake with Vanilla ice Cream
• Key Lime Pie

WHAT ARE YOU PLANTING TO ACHIEVE EXCELLENCE   IN   FRIENDSHIP?

42^ND Annual Fine Arts Luncheon, Wilmington, North Carolina

Sponsored by Wilmington, Chapter of the Links, Incorporated Saturday, March 19, 2011

Location: Burney Center, University of North Carolina, Wilmington

Remarks Given by   Dr. Glenda Newell-Harris, National Vice President  The Links, Incorporated

Gloria, thank you so much for that very generous and kind introduction.   It is so special for me to be here and I thank you for this wonderful opportunity. To the President of the Wilmington, Chapter Emma Jackson, to the First Lady of South Africa, Madame Bongi Ngema-Zuma, to all elected officials, Sister Links, Connecting Links, Heir-O-Links  and Guests.  It is indeed an honor and a privilege to return to my birth state, the great state of North Carolina.  It is here, that I learned the most important and basic fundamentals of life:  how to tie my shoe, how to count, how to share and how to wait my turn. Under the direction and guidance of two wonderful parents who are also North Carolinians and the “village” that looked out  for me, I was able to avoid the pitfalls of can’t do, won’t do and never will do.

To my dear Link Sisters from the Wilmington Chapter on this celebration of 42 years of  your Fine Arts Luncheon, I extend warm kudos to you for demonstrating what can happen when sisterhood and friendship meet. Your willingness to partner with the UN 2015 Millennium Development Goals is another demonstration of your vision and commitment to reach beyond your immediate surroundings and help others through your work with Haitian and Belize Schools, the Childhood Obesity Initiative and the Mama Kits, to name a few and for this, you must be commended.

I am especially honored today to have my family and so many friends in attendance, my lovely mother, Dr. Virginia K. Newell from the Winston-Salem Chapter, accompanied by many of her Links sisters from the Winston-Salem Chapter, who continue to show hometown support to  their local girl. In addition, I am also fortunate to have my supportive and loving husband of 27 years Robert L. Harris here with me today, having just celebrated   27^th years of marriage,  two days ago.

Please allow me to also thank the entire   Wilmington Chapter of the Links, Incorporated   for this special invitation and for your warm expressions of kindness and sisterhood., as well as that unique southern hospitality that I remember so well. Your theme today is Celebrate Life With Excellence and Grace Our theme during this bi-ennnium under the direction of our National President, Margot James Copeland is: LEADING WITH EXCELLENCE SERVING WITH GRACE.

Today I would like to for us to reflect upon this question: WHAT ARE YOU PLANTING TO ACHIEVE EXCELLENCE IN FRIENDSHIP?

I am grateful today that our founders, Margaret Hawkins and Sarah Scott, two friends from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania decided in 1945 to “do some good to help less fortunate citizens, raise the cultural level of our race”, but  most of all recognize the importance of  enjoying  the social company of our friends. It has been said that these are the best of times but also the worst of times.  But ladies and gentleman, I am still grateful today because we  have broad and strong shoulders on which we stand.  We are standing on the shoulders of our founding Mothers and Fathers, who not only paved the way for us to have lunch  in this beautiful facility because , as you know there was a time we were not allowed within this educational institution.

Oh yes, I remember participating in the civil rights demonstrations of the 60’s in Raleigh, N.C. and although a young child, I did have the presence of mind to know and understand that there were things that were afforded to some but not to others and because of those who preceded us we are here today in this beautiful room on the campus of UNC Wilmington, enjoying this delicious meal, savoring long standing friendships and making  new ones.

We are fortunate to have had parents, grandparents and extended family who taught us the important values and principles upon which we should build a foundation. The founders of this organization were rooted in friendship and service but it was friendship  that was the catalyst to ignite this organization. It was a unique and special friendship between two women, Margaret Hawkins and Sarah Scott  who served as the architects  and interior designers of  the Links Incorporated. It was friendship that brought Margaret and Sarah together to discuss the possibilities of forming an organization that would later  spread from the East to the West and would stretch its love and support to serving youth, the underserved, embracing the Arts and recognizing the importance of health as an area of focus and a priority.

I would imagine if   they were alive today they would be so proud to know that we are  approximately  12, 000 women, representing  274 chapters in 42 states through out  this United States and the Commonwealth of the Bahamas.  They would be even prouder to know that we have embraced an intergenerational organization  of women who  are heads of companies, entrepeneurs , physicians, judges, attorneys and name noted elected officials.  And yet, while we boast about our accomplishments we must be reminded that our first commitment is to the bond of friendship.   What is a friend?

An  unknown author says, Friends are the part of our family that we get to choose.

A friend is one of the nicest things you can have, and one of the best things you can be.  ~Douglas Pagels

A friend is the one who comes in when the whole world has gone out. ~Grace Pulpit

And so I challenge you today to reflect on your recent personal encounters with friends, and ask yourself , if you have been there for a friend when others have walked away?

Have you shared a kind word to a friend when you knew it was needed?

A real friend provides honest feedback and shares insight that is not always popular. When your friend puts on a dress that you know does not compliment her figure or her style, are you willing to offer her honest feedback? These types of interactions can sometimes challenge a friendship but if shared with love, exemplify the essence of a real friend.

The best time to make friends is before you need them. ~Ethel Barrymore

Our intergenerational relationships whether in Links, other organizations, or your church are all too often a wealth of knowledge and resource for all of us. How often have you thought to take the time to engage in a conversation with  someone you didn’t really know, only to find out that they were the resource bank that you were seeking, as you strive to locate what you consider the BEST pre school for your child, the BEST resource for a tutor or the Human Resource person who helps you to land your favorite job.?

Friendships come in all shapes and size, as well as all ages and levels of experience. Remember to honor, appreciate and engage our senior members of our organizations, our church elders, and our history makers. For they are the foundation upon whom we stand, and while some may be reluctant to engage in email, texting or Facebook,  others are “ all over it”.  I am reminded of a phrase from my father, who often said to me,  Just live a little Glenda…… believe me, you too will one day need a hearing aid and glasses.

Meaningful friendships take time.   They   must be cultivated, watered and nurtured but they also must be honest and sincere.

It is March and this is a time to think about planting, planting new seeds of  friendship that will see you through the best of times and the worst of times. What are you doing to cultivate new friendships? What are you planting to insure that your friendships see you through the best of times and the worst of times?

I would like to close with a story. A successful business man was growing old and knew it was time to choose a successor to take over the business. Instead of choosing one of his directors or his children, he decided to do something different. He called all the young executives in his company together. He said “ It is time for me to step down and choose the next CEO and I have decided to choose one of you.” The young executives were shocked, but the boss continued. “ I am going to give each one of you a seed today,  one very special seed. I want you to plant the seed, water it and come back here one year from today with what you have grown from the seed I have given you.  I will then judge the plants that you bring, and the one I choose will be  the next CEO. One man named Jim was there that day and he, like the others, received a seed. He went home and excitedly, told his wife the story. She helped him get a pot, soil and compost and he planted the seed. Everyday he would water it and watch to see if it had grown. After about three weeks, some of the other executives began to talk at work about their seeds and the plants that were beginning to grow.  Jim kept checking his, but nothing ever grew.  Three weeks , four weeks,  five weeks went by and still nothing. By now, others were talking about their plants, but Jim didn’t have a  plant  and he felt like a failure. Six months went by,  still nothing in Jim’s pot. He just knew he had killed his seed.

Everyone else had trees and tall plants, but he had nothing. Jim didn’t say anything to his colleagues, however he just kept watering and fertilizing the soil. He so wanted the seed to grow. A year finally went by and all the young executives of the company brought their plants to the CEO for inspection. Jim told his wife that he wasn’t going to take an empty pot to the office. But she asked him to be honest about what happened. He took his empty pot to the board room. When Jim arrived he was amazed at the variety of plants grown by others. They were beautiful, in all shapes, and sizes. Jim put his empty pot on the floor. When the CEO arrived, he surveyed the room.  “My what great plants, trees and flowers you have grown. Today one of you will be appointed CEO. He spotted Jim in the back of the room and asked him to come forward. Jim was terrified.  When Jim got to the front of the room, the CEO asked him what had happened to his seed. Jim told him the story.

The CEO asked everyone to sit down except Jim. He looked at Jim and then announced to them, Behold, Your Next CEO!! His name is JIM! Jim was shocked. Then the CEO said… “One year ago today, I gave everyone in this room a seed. I told you to take the seed, plant it, water it  and bring it back to me today. But I gave all of you boiled seeds. They were dead. It was not possible for them to grow” All of you except Jim, have brought me trees and plants. When you found that the seed would not grow, you substituted another seed for the one I gave you. Jim was the only one with courage and honesty to bring me a pot with my seed in it. Therefore he is in the one who will be the new CEO.”

Therefore ladies and gentleman, because I am sharing this in the great state of North Carolina, I think you will understand when I say to you that my Bible tells me, you reap what you sow…. And I say to you:   If you plant doubt you will reap uncertainty.  If you plant confusion you will reap chaos AND if you plant status quo you WONT BE the CEO    BUT

If you plant honesty you will reap trust

If you plant kindness you will reap compassion

If you plant goodness you will reap friends

If you plant humility you will reap greatness

If you plant preparation you will reap opportunity

If you plant gratitude you will reap gratefulness

If you plant appreciation you will reap admiration

If you plant team -work you will reap collaboration

If you plant friendship you will reap closeness

What are you doing to insure that your friendships see you through the best of times and the worst of times.? Be careful, what you plant now, it will determine what you will reap later.

Thank you again for this opportunity.

Speech by Madam Bongi Ngema-Zuma, First Lady of the Republic of South Africa and Patron of the Bongi Ngema-Zuma Foundation

Saturday, 19 March 2011

The Wilmington, North Carolina Chapter of The Links, Incorporated’s 42^nd Annual Fine Arts Brunch

Burney Centre, University of North Carolina, Wilmington, North Carolina

v  National Vice-President of The Links, Incorporated, Dr. Glenda Newell-Harris;

v  President of the Wilmington, North Carolina Chapter of The Links, Incorporated, Ms. Emma Jackson;

v  The Honourable US Congressman for the 7^th District of North Carolina,

Mr. Mike McIntyre;

v  The Honourable Mayor of the City of Wilmington, Mr. Bill Saffo;

v  Chairman of the New Hanover County Board of Commissioners,

Mr. Jonathan Barfield;

v  Chair of the Board of the School in Haiti, Dr. Solanges Vivens;

v  Public Officials;

v  Members of the Various Chapters of The Links and other Fraternal Organisations;

v  Leaders of Business, Non-Governmental Organisations and Society;

v  Ladies and Gentlemen,

I bring you warm greetings from the President of the Republic of South Africa,

Jacob Zuma, and the people of the Republic of South Africa.

Wow!  I have to tell you upfront that I am lost for words.  This is very true, after having witnessed this great occasion of the 42^nd Annual Fine Arts Brunch organised by the Wilmington, North Carolina Chapter of The Links, Incorporated.   I am delighted.  What an event?  Following my country, South Africa’s successful hosting of the 2010 Fifa Soccer World Cup, I had the sense that no one could conquer us in terms of staging the best events.  But today’s Brunch has simply opened my eyes.

It is indeed a great pleasure for me to have been invited to attend this august event.  I can only express my sincere gratitude – from the bottom of my heart – to all who are involved in putting together this event and to all of you my dear friends, who saw it fit to have me come over.  I am especially indebted to Dr. Lee and Gloria Monroe for all your efforts and sense of borderless service.

As some of you may be aware, I come from South Africa.  My country is a land of opportunity.  But we all know very well that it takes an extra hand of help and education for even those with opportunity aplenty to realise that not even the sky is the limit to what they can achieve.

It is this realisation on my part that in 2010 I established the Bongi Ngema-Zuma Foundation to focus on creating awareness about diabetes, which is among the leading killers in our country and the world over.  An estimated 1.5 million people in South Africa live with diabetes, yet a further four million people are at risk of development complications from this illness.  The biggest challenge is lack of awareness and information about the illness, its treatment, management and care.  And these are precisely what my Foundation seeks to tackle head-on.

I extend my heartfelt gratitude to The Links, Incorporated for what the organisation has done in my country, where it has helped build schools and equip universities in various communities in South Africa.  In my terms, an investment in education – which is also an area of focus alongside rural development for our Foundation, is the best intervention anybody can make in society because it is the cornerstone for sustainable development.  The freedom we attained in South Africa nearly 17 years ago will come to naught if we were to slip on the fundamental building bloc that is education.  The support given by The Links towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals in South Africa is also to be applauded for the substantive, positive impact it is making in the struggle to overcome poverty and inequality, among others.

As I conclude, I would like to profusely thank each and every one of you for the support you have given to our country and other developing nations of the world.  I am certain that you are well alive to the reality that life is meaningless when the great majority of the world continues to live below the acceptable breadline.  I further appeal to you to continue to extend your support to good causes, because it is the lifeblood for development and growth.  I am thoroughly encouraged by the warmth and support my Foundation has already received from the Wilmington Chapter of The Links.  My wish is that all The Links Chapters will do likewise.  And let us work together to build a better world.

Viva The Links, Incorporated!  Viva!

Viva Wilmington, North Carolina!  Viva!

Viva to the People of the United States of America!   Viva!

God Bless You!

Contact The Bongi Ngema-Zuma Foundation:

Nathi Sukazi

Secretary of the Foundation

+27 82 565 0205

Sukazi76@yahoo.com