Handel K.C.Diggs, National Chairman
Member of the Hall of Fame, WOR, Great Ball Player, Member Class of '75

 

Speech by the Chairman Diggs

Fellow Spartans, you have entrusted us with the leadership of this organization for the next two years; we will build on the progress of the outgoing leadership. During our campaign, your voices towered to transform this association into a premiere alumni association. To reach our destination, we will set high performance expectations for national and regional officers. To accomplish premiere status, it will require a renewed commitment from the membership and all Spartans must commit to doing more. To build a world class web site and newsletter as you rightfully expect, we need volunteers, writers and contributors. To expect more and commit less is not ideal. To be successful, our rhetoric must match our commitment.

As national officers, our focus for the next seven hundred and thirty days will be:

• Greater accountability: we will provide timely financial statements to be deliberated at convention. National and the host chapter will collaborate to achieve this confidence-enhancing goal. We want a quarterly newsletter to provide newsworthy information on activities and projects of national and chapters. Each chapter should designate a point person to disseminate information to the newsletter. To reflect how you want to transform our association, your full participation in the post convention survey will be critical.

• Collaboration with B.W. Harris: we will continue to support our alma mater as they strive for academic excellence. It is critical to know the academic ranking of B.W.H. relative to other schools. If it is not in the top 10%, then they could develop a roadmap to reach this goal. If there is a need for tutorial classes in math and sciences to upgrade skills, we will support them.

• Viable fundraising mechanisms: Corporate Sponsorship – the First Vice Chair will adopt this project and formulate a plan to attract funding to support our efforts at B.W.H... Alumnus Jared Brandy will serve as Co-Chair.

B.W.Harris Scholarship Capital Campaign – we will create this fund to principally expand scholarships at B.W.H. If there is a need for tutorial classes, the fund will support this initiative. The campaign will be chaired by the former National Chair, Rev. H. Budu Shannon and Co-Chaired by the outgoing Second Vice Chair, Bendu Hansford. Bendu is highly acclaimed in reaching out. Other members will be chapter presidents and class leaders. Fellow Spartans, we are blessed and “To whom much is given, much is expected”.

• Re-energize membership: we want our conventions to be personally and professionally enriching. We will build an alumni talent bank and members’ expertise will be utilized at convention workshops in finance and investment, new business development, college saving plans, first time home purchase, refinancing, health and wellness programs, chapters best practice fundraising programs and others that will serve your needs.

We will maintain and expand our Benevolence Outreach. This outreach helps us live the words of John Fawcett’s “We share our mutual woes, our mutual burdens bear, and often for each other flows the sympathizing tear”.

In this new beginning, let us move beyond the ballot box to being DIFFERENCE-MAKERS for our alma mater and our association. Fellow Spartans, this is our moment, this is our time. Thank you and God bless you.

Spartanly yours,

Handel K.C.Diggs
National Chairman,
B.W.Harris Alumni Association
United States of America

The National Chairman