After more than 33 years of service with the United States Post Office in Prairie View, Mary Watson Thompson plans to retire on February 28, 2019. Some 100 persons were on hand to celebrate the impending retirement on December 31 at the Waller Community Center.
Mr. Braun Bryant, Prairie View Postmaster, was the first to bring greetings and congratulations to Mrs. Thompson. "Mary is one of the most kind and cooperative employee I've worked with today is very special. When employees retire they usually receive a plaque or certificate but for Mary we could not allow her to retire without something worthy of recognition," he continued. He presented Mary a special engraved Postal Plaque and Certificate and also a set of engraved Postal Pens and Pencil.
Mary's son Douglas and her play son Terrell Clark presented her with flowers, plaques and certificates on behalf of the family. Among the others paying homage to Mary included former postal employees and Postmasters and other members of the family and the community. Everyone had nothing but love for Mary in terms of her demeanor, attitude, care for others and her kind service at the Post Office. Accolades were also praised on the Watson family and their support of the family and the community at large.
Larry Watson, the family patriarch served as the MC for the deserving event. Mary closed out the event by expressing her appreciation, through some happy tears, to the attendees. There was plenty of food, refreshments and of course the celebratory cake which displayed a portrait of Mary at Work.
2019 is here and 2018 is out with all the hoopla of changes, scandals, winners and losers, and the launching of campaigns for the presidency of the United States of America.
In closing out 2018, let is also pause to honor and those who departed from our lives and give thanks to those who are still with us. As we are at the beginning of a new year and the ending of an old one, we often wish we could turn over a new leaf or have a fresh start. No doubt about it, there have been certain things we have said or done in this past year that we may not be proud of. Wouldn't it be great to just start over again? In reality you can have a fresh start. The New Year is still a blank slate with 364 blank pages to go!
We are moving into uncharted waters, 2018 doesn't have any history for us; therefore, we have to make history. We don't know what the New Year is going to bring. We don't know what problems we are going to encounter or the changes that we will have to make. We don't know what blessings the Lord has in store for us. But whatever the New Year holds don't be afraid.
Let your God guide you down the path you may go. There are opportunities ahead of you to make a new commitment. You decide which path you are going to walk in this coming year. You decide what your priorities are going to be. You decide which direction you are going to take, each and every day.
Here are the 10 traits from "Investors Business Daily" that has been helpful to others over the years. 10 Traits For Success: (1) How You Think Is Everything - Always be positive. Think success, not failure. Beware of a negative environment. (2) Decide Upon Your True Dreams and Goals - Write down your specific goals and develop a plan to reach them. (3) Take Action - A Goals is nothing without action. Don't be afraid to get started. Just do it. (4) Never Stop Learning - Go back to school or read books. Get training and acquire skills. (5) Be Persistent and Work Hard - Success is a marathon, not a sprint. Never give up. (6) Learn To Analyze Details - Get all the facts, all the input. Learn from your mistakes (7). Focus Your Time and Money - Don't let other people or things distract you. (8) Don't Be Afraid to Innovate; Be Different - Following the herd is a sure way to mediocrity. (9) Deal and Communicate With People Effectively - No person is an island. Learn to understand and motivate others. (10) Be Honest and Dependable and Take Responsibility - Otherwise, Numbers 1-9 won't matter.
On the subject of writing: I am pleased to share some points to help you as you take time to create your personal family history or spiritual journey. Here are the first two of 17 suggestions provided by Dr. Sylvester Shannon, a Presbyterian minister of Fort Belvoir, Va. Begin by writing (1) your birth: when, where, parents, surrounding circumstances, and conditions. (2)Your childhood: health, diseases, incidents, funny accidents, visitors in your home, etc. grandparents, relatives you remember, religion in your home, financial condition of parents. Embellish those points with personal anecdotes. You will find that at the end of the next 10-12 weeks you would have completed, what may be a best seller for the whole world to read.
By the way, if you have never had a mentor or personal coach, it won't hurt to get one now. This person can help you plan your course of action and stay with you through the implementation. You know the best tennis player, entertainer or golfer in the world all have coaches or mentors who helped them to success. Yet most people (who admire them) never even take the first lesson, and much less invest in a personal coach. Be different. Seek the support of a coach in your life? Best wishes! I look forward to your success.
JANUARY BIRTHDAY GREETINGS TO: Willie J. Bell III and Felecia Bell (1), Pearl Martin (1), Helen Boyer (2), Doris Thomas (2), Alice Goode (3), Donald Sowell (6), Gloria Richardson (7), Eddie Jessie (9), James Kromah (14), Gloria Holloway (14), Arie Yell (14), Eugene Armstrong (15), Gib Dungey (15), Mary Curtis (16), Madolyn Reed (17) and Hosie Anderson (19).
ON A CULTURAL NOTE, I am sure you knew that on: Jan. 01/01/1804 - Haiti gains independence from France; 1/1/1863 - President Abraham Lincoln signs the Emancipation Proclamation freeing the slaves in the United States; 01/02/1831 - William Lloyd Garrison began publishing "The Liberator" abolitionist newspaper, in Boston Mass; 01/02/15- Noted historian John Hope Franklin is born; 01/03/1624 - William Tucker, first black child born in America, baptized in Jamestown; 01/04/20 - The first black baseball league, the National Negro Baseball League, was founded; 1/4/85 Congressman William Gray is first African American elected chairman of the House Budget Committee; 1/5/11 Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity is founded at Indiana University; 1/15/29 The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is born in Atlanta, Ga.; 8, 1836-Fannie M Jackson, educator and first black woman college graduate in the U.S., was born on this date; 1/9/1866-Fisk University was founded in Nashville; 1/12/48 - The U.S. Supreme Court decision gives blacks the right to study law at state institutions; 1/12/71-The Congressional Black Caucus organized in DC; 1/13/13-Delta Sigma Theta Sorority founded at Howard University; 1/15/08-Alpha Kappa Alpha, first black Greek letter sorority, founded at Howard University and 1/16/20-Zeta Phi Beta founded at Howard University.
A VIEW FROM THE HILL: Prairie View A&M University will host its Spring Student Orientation for incoming undergraduate freshman and transfer students. The goal is for our students to have a successful start to their first year at the university. The event is on January 9 at 8:00 am - 5:00 pm in the Opal Johnson Smith Auditorium.
The University will also host its 2019 University/Community Council Meeting on January 9 @ 2:00 pm - 4:00 pm in the Julius Becton Auditorium in the Alvin I. Thomas Building. The public is invited.
Prairie View A&M University will present a special Symposium: Scholars’ Voices Series, African American History and Culture on January 18 at 4:00 pm - 6:00 pm in Opal Johnson Smith Auditorium, Willie A. Tempton, Sr. Memorial Student Center. Featured speaker is
Dr. Cornell West, philosopher, author, and social activist, a scholar of African-American studies, and is Professor of the Practice of Public Philosophy at Harvard University. He also holds the title of Professor Emeritus at Princeton University and has taught at Union Theological Seminary, Yale, Harvard, and the University of Paris. West graduated Magna Cum Laude from Harvard in three years and obtained his M.A. and Ph.D. in Philosophy at Princeton. He has authored 20 books and has edited 13. He is best known for his classics, Race Matters and Democracy Matters, and for his memoir, Brother West: Living and Loving Out Loud. His most recent book, Black Prophetic Fire, offers an unflinching look at nineteenth and twentieth-century African American leaders and their visionary legacies. Persons interested in attending should click here
EVENTBRITE
Please continue your prayers for Loraine Kirkpatrick, Willie Smith, Madolyn Reed, Pamelyn Reed, Amy Boykin, who stand in the need of prayer. May the peace of God which passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in the knowledge of God, through Jesus Christ! Have a great 2019.
Until next week, in the words of the late great god-father of soul James Brown, "Get On the Good Foot because Papa's got a Brand New Bag!" in 2019. Keep the news, achievements, and recognitions coming to prairieviewtoday@yahoo.com or P. O. Box 2906, Prairie View, Texas 77446.
No comments:
Post a Comment