Press Release
PRESS RELEASE
To: The Tuskegee News
From: Mayor Johnny Ford, Founder
The World Conference of Mayors
THE WORLD CONFERENCE OF MAYORS CONVENES 22ND ANNUAL MEETING IN SENEGAL, WEST AFRICA
Mayors, other elected officials, diplomats, corporate leaders, international
students, and religious leaders, convened in Rufisque and Dakar, Senegal,
West Africa, for the 22nd Annual Conference, hosted by Mayor Ndiawar Toure,
a member of the Parliament of Senegal, and Mayor of Rufisque, Senegal,
Sister City to Tuskegee, Alabama. Tuskegee Mayor, Johnny Ford, WCM Founder,
made the following statement with regard to the Conference:
" On behalf of our Board and fellow Mayors from around the world, I wish to thank Mayor Toure for hosting the Conference, and Mayor Murchinson Brown, WCM President, and Mayor of Port of Spain, Trinidad/Tobago, for presiding over our 22nd Annual Conference, which had as its theme, ‘Building An Economic Bridge Between Africa, The USA, And The World’.
During the four day Conference, the Mayors, and other elected and appointed officials, participated in workshops on World Trust, Trade, Tourism, Technology Transfer, Twin Cities, Treasury, and Training. They also adopted resolutions, elected officers, appointed committees, were hosted by the US Embassy in Senegal, toured historic Goree Island, and instituted a computer project to help close the digital divide between Africa, the USA and the world.
The members of WCM also expressed their deepest sympathy to the family of the late Honorable John Smith, former Mayor of Prichard, Alabama, and Secretary General of the WCM. They all wanted the family to know, that the world will miss him, and his global vision, and that we remembered him at the Conference, by naming the WCM Mayor’s "Training Institute", which was founded in 2005, during our Annual Conference in Cotonou, Benin, Africa, in his honor.
In 2007, the WCM will convene Conferences and Board Meetings concurrently. These Conferences will focus on tourism, opportunities for minorities in the gaming industry, housing and community redevelopment, global health disparities, and a Training Institute for new Mayors. The Annual Conference will be held in November, in Port au Prince, Haiti. In 2007, we will expand our two new initiatives: our Youth Division, and our Women’s Division.
The WCM is a 501 (c) 3 organization, founded in 1984, in St. Louis, Missouri, with membership from organizations comprised of elected and appointed Mayors, Councilpersons, County Officials, Legislators, Congress Persons, Ministers of National Governments, and Municipal Advisors, from around the world. During the 22nd Annual Conference, the following persons were elected as Officers of the WCM Board for 2006-2007:
PRESIDENT,
Honorable Ndiawar Toure,
Mayor, Rufisque
Dakar, Senegal, Africa
1st VICE
PRESIDENT, Honorable Charles Evers,
Former Mayor
of Fayette, Mississippi, and now
Special Advisor
to the Mayor of Jackson, Mississippi, USA
2nd VICE
PRESIDENT, Honorable Paul Antione Ben-Amin,
Minister of
Local Government, Port au Prince, Haiti
VICE PRESIDENT,
TRUST, Honorable Francis George Gomez,
Acting
Mayor, Kanifing Municipal Council, The Gambia, Africa
VICE PRESIDENT,
TRADE, Honorable James Perkins,
Mayor, Selma,
Alabama, USA
VICE PRESIDENT,
TOURISM, Honorable C. Jack Ellis,
Mayor, Macon,
Georgia, USA
VICE PRESIDENT,
TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER, Honorable Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai, OFR
Minister
of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, Nigeria, Africa
VICE PRESIDENT,
TWIN CITIES, Honorable Rennie Dumas,
Minister of
Local Government, Trinidad/Tobago
VICE PRESIDENT,
TREASURY, Honorable Bobby Payne,
Mayor, Tallassee,
Alabama, USA
VICE PRESIDENT,
TRAINING, Honorable Grace Lawani,
Deputy
Mayor, Contonou, Benin, Africa
VICE PRESIENT,
WOMEN, Honorable Sabrina Paul Mowlah-Baksh,
Special Advisor to the Mayor/Council, Penal/Debe Regional Corp, Penal,
Trinidad/Tobago
VICE PRESIDENT,
YOUTH, Honorable Eugene Grant,
Mayor, Seat Pleasant, Maryland, USA
SECRETARY, Honorable Ron Davis,
Mayor, Prichard,
Alabama, USA
ASSISTANT
SECRETARY, Honorable Marie A. Dalliah,
Councilwoman,
Banjul, The Gambia, Africa
TREASURER,
Honorable John McGowan,
Former Mayor,
now Councilman, Union Springs, Alabama, USA
ASSISTANT
TREASURER, Honorable Charles Woods,
Mayor Pro
Tem, Childersburg, Alabama, USA
WCM Founder, Johnny Ford, presents a Certificate of Appreciation on behalf of the WCM to the US Ambassador to Senegal, Her Excellency Janice Jacobs, during the 22nd Annual Convention. The Ambassador provided official support for the Conference, hosted an International Diplomatic Reception, and brought greetings to the convention from Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, and President George Bush.
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WCM Founder, Johnny Ford accepts a Plaque of Appreciation, during the WCM Annual Convention, from the Minister of Local Government of the Country of Haiti, Honorable Paul Antione Ben Amin, for inviting the Haitian Delegation to attend the WCM Convention.
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The Honorable Ndiawar Toure (Left), Mayor of Rufisque, Senegal, 1st
Vice President of the WCM, and a member of the Parliament of Senegal,
being presented a Certificate of Appreciation by WCM Founder, Mayor
Johnny Ford, for hosting the 22nd Annual WCM Conference in Dakar/Rufisque
, Senegal. Toure was elected President for the 2007 year, and Ford will
continue to serve as Founder and Director General.
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