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2003 Service Award Recipient Mrs. Imogene Collins A Lifetime Dedicated to the Service of Humanity “Eduation, then, beyond all other devices of human origin, is the great equalizer of the condition of men-the balanced-wheel of the social machinery”. So Horace Mann tells us. In recognition of the valuable and selfless contributions Mrs. Imogene Collins has made to the education of the children of Ricks Institute in particular, and Liberia in general; the Ricks Institute Alumni Association, U.S.A., Inc. has deemed it expedient to rightfully honor her during its fifteenth annual national convention. Her contributions to Ricks Institute and the children of Liberia are enormous and highly esteemed by her peers and students. She served in several capacities, including Secretary of the Ricks Institute Board of Trustee for many years and President of the Parent-Teacher Association. She was singularly responsible for the reorganization and molding of the Parent-Teacher Association of Ricks Institute. During her tenure as President of the P.T.A., many fundraising projects were successfully implemented. She treated all children at Ricks Institute as her own; on several occasions standing proxy for parents who were unable to participate fully in the works of the P.T.A. Her physical presence was also felt at many athletics events that Ricks Institute participated in. In addition to her numerous contributions mentioned above, she was an active and faithful member of the Providence Baptist Church, Monrovia, Liberia; where she served as teacher and Superintendent of the Sunday School, President of the Women’s Department; Treasurer and Vice Chairman of the Deacon Board. In her public life, she served with distinction as the Director of Publication, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Republic of Liberian. She was also President of the Cuttington College and Divinity School Alumni Association, Suacoco, Liberia. During her tenure as President of this Alumni Association, she was instrumental in assisting the enrollment of many students from Ricks Institute in this prestigious institution. In furtherance of her universal service to mankind, she continues to teach Sunday School at Bethany Baptist Church in New Jersey, U.S.A. and serves also with three women’s groups in the church. We are extremely grateful for the indelible imprints that she has made on the lives of all her many children. May the Lord continue to bless her immensely. As the poet Langston Hughes once said; “First in the heart is the dream, then the mind starts seeking a way, then the hand seeks other hands to help, a community of hands to help, thus the dream becomes not one man’s dream alone, but a community dream”. |