“Guyana is ours to develop” – GAOG newly-elected president

By Natasha Waldron Anthony

Newly-elected president of the Guyana Association of Georgia, Inc., Austin Thompson, takes the helm of the association on January 1, 2011. He told Guyana Times International in a recent interview that, during his two-year tenure, he hopes to galvanize “many prominent Guyanese organizations in the diaspora to see how we can work along with them on programs in our homeland.  Guyana is ours to develop.” 

As part of the set directives for the coming year, Thompson said areas of focus include operational efficiency, membership recruitment, strategic planning and development, and increasing GAOG’s sphere of influence. 2011 also marks the association’s 20th anniversary observance, and celebratory events are being planned. 

The GAOG is usually funded by the business community, members and the Memorial Weekend activities in Georgia. However, Thompson says: “We have come to a period in the evolution of the GAOG where we are now pursuing grant writing and corporate sponsorship to fund our expanded schedule of programs and activities.  It has become critical for us to expand our sponsorship reach, as the GAOG sits on a reservoir of potential waiting to be implemented.” 

Meanwhile, on January 8, 2011, the organization’s budget will be presented during its retreat. This will be held at GAOG’s newly-bought building, which is a 2010 accomplishment. “In this building, we will host many educational and cultural activities for the Guyanese and Caribbean-American community, and it will serve as a location for all of the organization’s business and community services,” Thompson said. 

Also, this year, the association brought together the Guyanese community in Georgia to celebrate Guyana’s 40th Republic and 44th Independence anniversaries, its two annual signature events, where GAOG netted a US$19,146.81 profit. “This was a success for us, considering the still-declining economic conditions under which we had to plan for this weekend,” Thompson told this publication. 

GAOG also awards academic scholarships to graduating high school students of Guyanese parentage. It awarded scholarships this year totalling more than US$6,000, including two US$1,000 and two US$800 scholarships, and a US$650 book scholarship. The organization, in 2009, also offered a full four-year US$4,400 scholarship to Sussan Simon, a communications major at the University of Guyana. Thompson boasts that “in 19 years, we have awarded over 70 scholarships totalling approximately US$85,000, continuing our goal of subsidising the educational costs of our young future leaders”. 

During this year, too, GAOG hosted its second Annual Youth Symposium, which focused on science and technology, preparing for college, becoming an effective leader, the seven habits of highly effective teens, and participation in a middle and high school academic competition.  The youth symposium also featured a parents’ workshop series that addressed transitioning from high school to college, nutrition, and immigration.