Saturday, October 30, 2010

Center 25th Anniversary is November 20, 2010

PRESIDENT'S CORNER

Norris McDonald

The Center for Environment, Commerce & Energy was incorporated 25 years ago on November 20, 1985.  How time flies.  Although not well known, our organization has been incredibly busy with significant accomplishments along the way.  We spent most of the first eight years of the 21st Century operating more through our outreach arm, the African American Environmentalist Association.  Sulaiman Mahdi, founding member and Director of our Southeastern Regional Office in Atlanta, came up with that name 25 years ago and we are proud to be the first African American-led environmental organization that is still operating.

We basically targeted climate change as the most important environmental issue to concentrate on and promoted plug in fuel cell hybrdi electric vehicles combined with nuclear power plants as our lead strategies for fighting the global warming menace. We did conservation, green jobs and efficiency during the last 15 years of the 20st Century.

The organization remained small on purpose because of my personal circumstances: single parenthood [divorce/full custody of a 2-year old] and  acute asthma that has tried to kill me often since I became chronic starting in 1991.  Complete respiratory failures in 1991 and 1996 that landed me in the ICU for four days each time.  Oh the hunger when I came out each time.  I commited to keeping myself alive so that I could raise my son. I succeeded.  My son is now 18 years old and has been accepted to attend South Carolina State University.

I will list some of our many accomplishments on November 20th.  It has been an interesting ride.  And it aint over yet.  The future is looking more exciting than ever.  We are trying to build power plants.  [Also see Autobiography]

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