Providence, Rhode Island – May 5, 2008: The National Board of Director of the Union of Liberian Associations in the Americas (ULAA) met in Detroit, Michigan on May 3rd, 2008 at a very well attended board meeting in fulfillment of count 3 of the Resolution from the ULAA Eminent Persons Council Mediation. The Board resolved outstanding critical issues, including electoral matters that have stymied the functions of the Board for months. 

In an atmosphere of cordiality and respect, with several eminent persons and guests in attendance, the Board deliberated for nearly nine hours and made the following decisions: The Board voted overwhelmingly to instruct the elections commission to enforce the Approved Revised 2004 Elections Law in conducting the upcoming 2008 ULAA elections and make recommendations, if necessary, for the Board’s consideration. 

The Approved Revised 2004 Elections Law, among many others, requires the election of chapter delegates to the Union's Annual General Assembly and seeks to increase the numbers of delegates to the Annual General Assembly. In addition to the 15 delegates across the board that member chapters are currently assigned, each member chapter with membership in excess of 200 will be entitled to one additional delegate per each set of 25 voting members; meaning that if a chapter has 400 members, it will be entitled to its original 15 delegates and then eight additional delegates for the 200 extra members. The new guidelines also stipulate that, in the elections of these delegates, the Board will derive special fees that each of the members in the various chapters will pay.

Additionally, the board voted to approve all restructured standing committees, including the much contentious Electoral Panel. The restructured electoral panel elected the following individuals as leaders: Hons. Randolph Ben-Davies (MD), as Chairman; Orlando Richards (MA), as Co-Chairman; and Alice Jackson (MD) as Secretary. The other two members of the panel are Hons. Emmanuel Toe (MI) and Joseph Kokro (NJ). The Panel immediately held hearings for Elections Commission Chairman-designate, Mr. Amos Koukou and recommended his approval to the full board. Following several pointed questions, the Board voted overwhelmingly, with only one against, to confirm Mr. Koukou. The New elections commission chairman is a resident of Pennsylvania. Mr. Frank Carter of Ohio – a commissioner designated by President Wettee, was also grilled and confirmed as a member of the elections commission.

However, the proposal for a new ad-hoc committee was scrapped. Board members voted to spread the functions of the proposed ad-hoc committee on Rules, Order and Fiduciary among other committees, including Law and Public Safety committee.  The ad-hoc committee was proposed by the Chairman to handle fiduciary matters and resolve rules and order issues, particularly with respect to interpretations.

As first order of business following the opening formalities, several new board members were sworn in by the Chairman to enable their full participate in the Board deliberations. Those sworn in included Messrs. Andrew Tehmeh and Henry Kesselly from Minnesota; Alex Quiormolue and James Galakpan from Connecticut, Rev. Frank Stewart from North New Jersey, Mr. Isaac Settro from Wisconsin and Mr. Samuel Rennie from Detroit. Four other individuals were also sworn in as proxies for their various chapters.

Another critical highlight of the meeting was the presence and participation of ULAA national president, Emmanuel Wettee, who drove more than three hours from Ohio to make the meeting. President Wettee contributed significantly to the discussions, particularly to the issues concerning the elections. The president later distributed printed copies of the Union’s 2007 financial report. Each ULAA member chapter was given a copy of the report through their Board representatives at the meeting. The submission of the financial report was in fulfillment of another requirement of the April 12 Eminent Council medication resolution. The financial report was not discussed by the Board.

Among those bearing witness to the historic meeting were Chairperson of the ULAA Eminent Persons Council, Mrs. Mardea karpeh-Reeves, former President Mohammed Kromah and his wife, Dr. Margaret Kromah, former Board Chairman Anthony Kesselly and former Elections Commission Chairmen, Abraham Massaley and Benoni Tarr Grimes as well as ULAA Social Services Council Chairman, Dr. Mariah Seton. Several others including former Board members, Francis Duwana, Mrs. Karen Chesson and Mr. Fayiah Nuyma were also in attendance at the open Board meeting.

Members of the National Board of Directors voted to convene their next Regular Session in Minnesota on August 2, 2008. They resolved to continue holding monthly Board meetings on the third Monday of every month. The Board also sanctioned the decision by the leadership to create a new Board listserve that includes current Board members only. The issue of the creation of a new listserve was among the initial issues of disagreements that led to further deterioration in relations among Board members.

Meanwhile, The Board, under the leadership of Chairman James Nan Larsah, Jr., has expressed immense gratitude to all Board members and guest participants for taking the time to attend the historic meeting and for the level of cordiality and respect exhibited during deliberations, particularly regarding hotly contested and contentious issues.  The Chairman is confident that the landmark open meeting, during which non Board members were allowed to participate by asking questions and making comments, will serve as a useful platform for a new beginning and help to refocus the energies of all Board members on the crucial task of delivering on the promises of the Union.

Chairman Larsah and all members of the National Board of Directors have also expressed their appreciation to the leadership and members of the Liberian Community in Michigan for the accommodation and flexibility in making necessary adjustments to allow time for the meeting to be concluded. The meeting originally scheduled to end at 6:00PM, lasted additional three hours with the Michigan leadership making one adjustment after another and ad-hoc arrangements to facilitate the extended discussion. 

Another critical highlight of the meeting was the presence and participation of ULAA national president, Emmanuel Wettee, who drove more than three hours from Ohio to make the meeting. President Wettee contributed significantly to the discussions, particularly to the issues concerning the elections. The president later distributed printed copies of the Union’s 2007 financial report. Each ULAA member chapter was given a copy of the report through their Board representatives at the meeting. The submission of the financial report was in fulfillment of another requirement of the April 12 Eminent Council medication resolution. The financial report was not discussed by the Board.

Signed:

Nyekeh Forkpa

General Secretary