One of my earliest memories that I recall occurred during preschool. I must have been around three or four years of age. I was standing on a street corner, starring at a black and white sign, and crying my eyes out. A gentleman in a suit approached me and asked why was I crying? I pointed to a sign with an arrow that read “One way.” I further explained that I live that way, pointing in the opposite direction, contradicting the sign’s command. The gentleman said that it was okay to walk that way. He accompanied me to my door steps. I was so ograteful. To this day, I’m at a loss to understand how I was capable of reading and comprehending the sign’s meaning, yet not able to realize that the sign’s intention was for motorists only. I was the youngest of six children raised on Grand Rapids, Michigan’s lower west side. Although my father was absent most of the time, I had a loving mother, four brothers and a sister that helped to raise and protect me. To make ends meet, the whole family performed work resembling the work of today’s migrants. We went to various farms picking fruit and sometimes vegetables to make ends meet. My mother instilled in all of us a strong work ethic. There’s nothing easy about harvesting crops in the August sun. I was brought up under very strict religious teachings. My mother, Was Reverend Annie L. Welford. She founded a Pentecostal Church of God in Christ over 40 years ago in Grand Rapids, Michigan. That was in a time when that particular faith did not believing in women pastors. My mother has been deceased for 25 years, and not a day has passed since her demise, that I haven’t thought of her and what she tried to instill me. My siblings and I attended public school, and also benefited from government assistance, more commonly referred to at the time as welfare. Today it’s also known as (SNAP) Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program. The assistance bridged the gap for me, and because of it, we didn’t go hungry. I am grateful. I was an industrious youth. I mowed my neighbors’ yard and shoveled their snow. When I got older, I delivered the Grand Rapids Press door-to-door. Later, I joined a crew of older teenagers, working for a book club. selling subscriptions for magazines, as we traveling to surrounding communities. During high school, I found work as a car washer and I was a janitor for Grand Rapids Public Schools. It was there that I and several bus loads of mostly minority youth got the opportunity to visited Grand Valley State College (GVSC). Little did I know at the time the impact that experience of visiting a college campus would have on my life. Grand Valley opened its doors in 1964. Its first graduating class was in 1967. Ten years later in 1977, I would graduate from that storied institution, with a Bachelors of Arts Degree in Psychology. It was tough, but I did it! My mother attended the graduation. She was so very proud of me, and I was happy. After graduating from GVSC, I gained employment as a community organizer in Grand Rapids, I worked in the Housing and Education sector for residents in the southeast side Baxter Community Center. It was exciting, but short lived. I applied for a position in which I could utilize my degree. I wanted to work with underserved, physically, mentally and emotionally challenged individuals. I applied and was hired at Lincoln Developmental Center. That was in 1981. 1981 was also the year that I fell head over heels in love with a woman that became the mother of my only child, my daughter Jen. Jen like her mother is one of the most intelligent and beautiful persons I know. We have a close relationship. My daughter’s husband and son are the missing link. They reside in Tennessee. We’re making plans to spend more time together. After my hiring at Lincoln Developmental Center, I re-enrolled in Grand Valley State University (GVSU) to become a full fledged teacher, instead of the para-pro I was hired in as. I completed my second degree in 1984, earning a Bachelor’s of Science Degree in Elementary and Secondary Education. with emphasis on the spectrum of disabilities, all the while working with developmentally, severely challenged children. Finally, I could do what I aspired to do, help those in need. I believe I gained a deeper sensitivity and empathy from interacting with those children. In between working at Baxter Community Center, and a Teacher for Grand Rapids Public School District, I followed two of my older brothers to earn a Black Belt in the martial arts. Tae Kwon Do Mu Duk Kwon was our style. When I brought Tae Kwon Do to Northern Michigan, I felt that my brothers and I were at the forefront of practicing this Korean form of martial arts, whereas most people I met identify with Japanese karate. My brothers and I entered tournaments in Michigan, Indiana, Ohio and Canada. Tae Kwon Do became an Olympic sport in 1988, the years I earned my Black Belt. The discipline was very challenging and gratifying. One thing I learned about myself through training was, the thing I did best (sparring/fighting/ making contact) is the one thing I liked the least! Go figure! I relocated to Baldwin, Michigan to begin the 1985-86 schools year as a middle school teacher. I felt that I had something extra special to offer. So, I opened a Tae Kwon Do Studio in Baldwin. Most parents appreciated what the Art did for their children. They told me so. I continue to teach at the middle school, but once my students had graduated the high school principal asked that I transfer and basically accompany them. They thought that I was best qualified to teach them. I received a scholarship to Michigan State University in 1990-93 while teaching. The scholarship was for Journalism. A Journalism Endorsement could be earned by completing summer coursework for 3 consecutive summer sessions. After celebrating our successful completion of courses, with dinner and guest speakers, I returned home. Two weeks later I received a letter from MSU stating that they had errored in converting quarter hours into semester hours. Therefore, instead of sending you a congratulatory letter, instead I would have to comeback next summer to pick up one more course to earn the endorsement. They said, of course, everything including tuition, room and board would be covered. I had been a full time teacher that had contractually sacrificed three summers in pursuit of a Journalism Endorsement, and had earned a 3.89 grade point average. A Journalism endorsement would have opened doors to newspapers and news rooms all across the country. I said to myself. I know what I know. I was no stranger to the rug being pulled out from under me. I never contacted the university again. That was 22 years ago. Time heals old wounds. The inescapable truth about longevity is, there’s a lot to talk about. For instance, did I mention that I was Head Coach for Junior High Boys Basketball, and Assistant Varsity Boys Basketball Coach, or that I served as a Trustee for the Village of Baldwin while in my fifteenth year of teaching from 2000-2009? I retired from teaching in 2015, after serving 29 years in Baldwin and 6 years in Grand Rapids for a total of 35 years Finally, I completed a six hundred level course in Leadership, in a Doctoral Program at Western Michigan University. That was then. With Trumpism on the rise and personal freedoms in danger of being eviscerated, I heard my clarion call to political action again In 2016. I decided to run for Lake County Road Commissioner.I lost. I lost by 179 votes. Not being dismayed, I ran again 2 years later in 2018. This time I lost by even a larger margin (1100) votes. People told me to not give up, that God had something better in store for me. Two years later in 2020, I was elected County Commissioner in District-7. In 2022 I was re-elected as County Commissioner, this time for a 4 year term. Currently I’m serving in the first year of that 4 year term.