Portland Observar December 27. 1979 Page 3
Leadership recognized
by Kathryn Bottle
Exemplifying young Black people
with the "qualities of leadership
needed in the 1980s," twenty-five
young Portlanders were selected to re
ceive "Leadership Scrolls" awarded to
them by the Northwest Conference of
Black Public Officials at a recent din
ner meeting in Seattle.
Among the twenty-five chosen for
this distinction were Robert Steen and
Charlotte Williams, both employees of
the Bureau of Labor and Industry for
the State of Oregon.
Selection of the candidates hinged
on each one’s satisfying 14 criteria.
Among
these
were:
integrity,
knowledge of community needs, edu
cation, courage, the ability to inspire
others to work together and pride in
the Black heritage.
Steen, now Executive Assistant to
State Labor Commissioner Mary
“ Wendy” Roberts, is a graduate of
Portland State University in Political
Science. His work background in
cludes three and one-half years as the
Multnomah County Juvenile Home
Director and four years as Personnel
and Training Analyst.
He is a member of the Portland
Urban League and of the NAACP.
Among the women recognised as
leaders, Charlotte Williams, a native
P o rtlan d er, is also a graduate of
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P o rtland State U niversity. She
received her degree in A d
ministration of Justice in 1976.
Williams worked two years as
Research Assistant in the Black
Studies Center at PSU and also has
experience as a talk-show hostess and
co-producer associated with KOAP-
TV and the show "Black on Black.”
Currently she is a Compliance Officer
in the Civil Rights Division for the
State of Oregon.
Volunteer activities for Williams in
clude work with the Black Justice
Committee, the Metropolitan Human
Relations Commission and the Educa
tional Opportunity Program at PSU.
Williams is a member of the Oregon
Assembly for Black Affairs and of the
NAACP.
Those receiving Leadership Scrolls
include; Art Barfield, Nick Barnett,
C arol B ryant, H erb C aw thorne,
Danny Copeland, Evie Crowell, Clco
Franklin, Ron H erndon, Lucious
Hicks IV, A rm ando L aguardia,
Ethel Lee, Robert Phillips, George
R ankins, Roosevelt R obinson,
Robert Steen, Dr. Virgus Street, An
na Street, Bonita Stroughter, Ben
Talley, Kay T oran, Ocie T ro tter,
Florice Walker, Charlotte Williams,
Pina W illiam s, Zoe W ilson and
Jeanna Wooley.
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ROBERT STEEN
PCC trains Lekoethe' optician
When M ichael L ekoetje leaves
Cascade Center of Portland Com
m unity College in two years for
Lesotho, he’ll be the only optician in
a country of l .5 million people.
Two years ago Lekoethe, 30, was a
laborer and supervisor in a South
African gold mine who had never
dreamed of traveling halfway across
the world.
•‘I
had
only
a
peasant
back g ro u n d ,’’ Lekoelje said. But
one year ago Lekoetje returned to his
home city of Maluti to work at the
Maluti Adventist Hospital where his
wife is a nurse.
He became an assistant to Dr.
D onald C arro ll,
a M orton,
Washington optometrist, who was in
Maluti for one year as the country’s
only op to m etrist. Dr. C arro ll
became so strongly convinced that
Lesotho must have a local African as
an optician that he began a trust
fund to sponsor and educate Lekoet
je-
C arroll said A m erican O ptical
C om pany sent several tho u san d
dollars worth of optical equipment
to the hospital, but once Carroll left
there would be no one to fill
prescriptions and dispense glasses in
Maluti since there was no local per
son trained to use the equipment.
"There was an othoinologist ( a
medical doctor who specializes in
the eye) in the capital city,” Carroll
said. “ But prescriptions were sent
out to South Arica.”
“ It is true that Michael has a very
hum ble background just like
everyone else there,” Dr. Carroll ex
plained in a telphone interview from
his home in Morton. "Really, wealth
isn ’t as im p o rtan t in L esotho as
o th er people and how they are
treated. It’s a fine education to live
there and learn from the culture.”
Land-locked by South Africa on
every side, Lesotho is a mountainous
country that has limited political in
dependence and is econom ically
dependent on South Africa. "T he
South Africans are discriminatory,”
Carroll said. “ Almost all the men in
L esotho go into South A frica to
work. Lekoetje had come back to be
near his wife and children. We sent
him into a South African optical lab
for about two months training. The
Open New Years Eve Reg. Hours
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whites wouldn’t cooperate and train
him.”
By then Lekoetje was determined
to become an optician. “ I wanted to
learn a profession and I wanted to
help people in Lesotho who need
medical help,” Lekoetje said.
C arro l, who had attended o p
tometry school at Pacific University,
had met a form er Portland Com
munity College optical technology
student there. He wrote to PCC for
applications and tests for Lekoetje,
who was admitted for classes in Sep
tember. Because of delays in mail
service Lekoetje wasn’t aware of the
admission in time to arrive in Sep
tember.
"B ecause I came late I have to
work very had - it’s quite strenuous
catching up,” Lekoetje said.
"M y aim is to take it all in ,”
Lekoetje said. “ Since I’ll be the only
optician in my country I have to
teach others so when I die it will go
on and while I live others can learn.”
Lekoetje traveled through high
mountain country, at times blocked
by snow storms, to help Carrol reach
people in the outlying villages. He
also w orked in the hospital with
Carroll, learning optical work from
him.
Lekoetje’s two children are three
months old and two years old. He is
the eldest brother in his family of
nine.
"M y father was in ill health when I
finished high school, so I went to
work in South Africa in the mines
for five years to help my brothers
and sisters go to school,” Lekoetje
said.
l ekoetje misses his fam ily and
fresh home cooking o f L esotho.
"T h e fact is, I wanted to have a
profession that I liked and would be
able to support my family. I know
I’ll be able to be with them for the
rest of my life if I stay here and
learn.”
Lekoetje’s $3,000 education trust
is primarily funded by Dr. Carroll.
Dr. H arold Drake of Twin Falls,
Idaho, also contributed $ l ,(XX) but
Dr. Carrol said further donations are
needed for Lekoetje to complete his
education here. Lekoetje and Dr.
Carroll are available to speak to Por
tland area groups about Africa and
Lesotho.
County seeks
committee
members
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Oregon City 878 MOLALLA
14410 SE D IV IS IO N
3956 SE POWELL
M ultnom ah C ounty Executive
Don Clark encourages citizens to ap
ply for appointment to the County’s
citizen advisory boards and com
missions which have current vacan
cies.
The following County boards have
vacancies at this time:
Bicycle and Pedestrian Paths Ad
visory C om m ittee; C ity-C ounty
C ouncil on Aging; Econom ic
Development Advisory Commission;
H ealth
C are
C om m ission;
M etropolitan H um an Relations
C om m ission; Plum bing Appeals
Board.
The Moms Marks House
1501 SW Hornson Sneer
Portland 97201
Telephone 227-26ÔÔ
DES CONNALL
Professional Corpororion
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CONCENTRATING IN THE FIELDS OF:
CRIMINAL LAW
INDUSTRIAL ACCIDENTS
DRIVING UNDER THE INFLUENCE
OF INTOXICANTS
DOMESTIC RELATIONS
WORKERS' COMPENSATION
BANKRUPTCY
PERSONAL INJURY
WILLS-PROBATE
AUTOMOBILE ACCIDENTS
CONSUMER PROTECTION
If you have a problem that is not covered in this list, please call and ask
whether we can help. Chances are, we can. If not, we can recommend
someone else for you to call. One way or the other, we want to see you get
the kind of professional legal counsel you're entitled to.
The best time to call us, or any attorney, is before you are embroiled in a legal
problem. This is called preventative law and it makes a lot of sense.
Regardless, when you call us we will arrange for an initial consultation at
your convenience. Cost: $20 We probably can't solve anything in this meeting,
but it is a chance for you to explain your particular problem and for us to give
you some idea of what it'll take to reach a solution If you want us to proceed,
we'll give you an estimate of the fees you should plan on. In writing
For in fo rm a tio n co n tact Ms.
Maggie Pendleton in Clark’s office,
Multnomah County Courthouse.
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