L.E.A.D. Community Day in East Point

On Saturday, July 31st, L.E.A.D. will be hosting its 1st Annual Community Day in East Point. Through the support of South Fulton Medical Center and Hope-Beckham PR, L.E.A.D. will bring the community together for some fun activities, medical health screenings and BASEBALL!

I remember, competing as a youth in football, basketball and baseball in East Point. I even pitched a no hitter against the Tri-Cities Bulldogs. Those were the days. I was young and prayed to God that I could fulfill all of my hopes and dreams of being a successful citizen when I became an adult.

Over a decade later, I’m back in East Point as the CEO and founder of L.E.A.D. The name of the city is the same but the community sure isn’t.

Back in my day, community leaders were everywhere helping young men like me stay on track. It seemed like there was at least one mentor in the community for every young man that wanted one. Those elders aren’t around anymore, God bless them. Businesses were successful in the community because the community supported them. Now, some of those businesses of old are boarded up or being robbed by preteen boys. Back then, all the girls were trying to graduate from high school with the highest GPA and then excel at UGA. Now I see a community of teenage pregnancy. I remember East Point like yesterday when Outkast came out with its first hit that encouraged my high school graduating class to reach for the stars. Now, teenagers don’t want to listen to their lyrics because they don’t curse enough.

With L.E.A.D. now in the community, there is a sharing of information that promotes college attendance. There is development of skills on and off the baseball field for young men that provides access to college scholarship opportunities. There is a helping hand to the hard working parents that want to see their son achieve his dreams and return to lead his community. There is an additional presence of positive men in the community to show young women how they should be treated with respect. The teachers that are striving everyday to reach their students now have additional support to expose them to new opportunities beyond the Eastside. There will be an increase of noise in the streets but not coming from cars blasting music. We are cracking a lot of bats and cheering loud and proud for a new generation of Leaders led by a spirit of past legends.

A community is as strong as its leaders. Who is leading the East Point community now? Where does the East Point community want to be a decade from now?

L.E.A.D. may not be able to solve the problems that exist in East Point but we sure can be a part of the solution.