Charlotte — Members and officials of the Cathedral School Alumni Association of North America (CSAA) on Saturday awarded its highest honor to Liberia's Deputy Speaker, Cllr. J. Fonati Koffa, for his outstanding service and dedication.
The Cat's alumni awarded the Glass Plaque of Honor, with the inscription, Shining Star. It is the Association's highest honor, which is given in recognition of one's "outstanding service and dedication" to Cathedral School Alumni Association (CSAA).
The honoring was done during the CSAA 2022 Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina, USA, attended by many members, including Mrs. Dama Yekeson-Koffa, wife of the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Deputy Speaker Koffa is a 1982 graduate of the Cathedral High school, and he served as President of the 12th Grade and Students Council Government.
Fourteen (14) years later, Liberia's Deputy Speaker Koffa was the founding President of CSAA, where he served a three-year tenure.
Prior to the honoring, the Deputy Speaker, who served as the Keynote Speaker, told the alumni that CSAA was established to continue the spirit and euphoria and give back to those who are walking the corridors of where they once walked.
He admonished his former class and schoolmates to stop the hustling and fighting of leadership and tearing down of each other and focus on the aims and objectives of CSAA.
He urged the alumni to stop character assassination and tearing down of each other in chartrooms and stressed that there should be no more revolution.
The Deputy Speaker furthered that there has not been any institution that has not passed through the fire of revolution.
He intimated that though the current President of CSAA, Mrs. Wede Williams Gant, is poised for her second year, but because of the revolution - struggle in leadership which wasted the first year, she should be given a third year. Mrs. Grant was elected in 2021 for a two-year's term.
The Deputy Speaker stated that during the" unforgettable, unforeseen and unfortunate" 2021's power struggle in the CSAA, he watched Mrs. Grant, and she proved herself to be a real leader.
He said, she reminded him of the saying of political activist, Baptist Minister, and politician Jesse Jackson: "Leader must be tough enough to fight; tender enough to cry; human enough to make mistakes; humble enough to admit them; strong enough to absorb them and resilient enough to bounce back and keep moving."
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In spite of the Association's crisis, he challenged Mrs. Grant to reach out and bring unity to the CSAA amid diversity.
He intoned that healing is necessarily important because those who are aggrieved and lost the election are also Cats.
Meanwhile, the CSAA celebrated its 27 years of existence of unpaid sacrifices. During the review of the achievements of CSAA, amidst challenges during their contributions of time, talent, and treasure to their alma mater in Liberia, the alumni have resolved to continue their support to Cathedral Catholic High School and its students.
Some of the contributions of the CSAA to the Cathedral Catholic School over the years included: a well-stocked library, relatively well-equipped science and computer labs, a vibrant financial assistance program, sports materials and the provision of audiovisual and other educational materials, among others.
