IBA SUCCESS MAGAZINE Volume 6 Campaign 1 | Page 28

INFINITE SCHOLARS
DR. VELMA
HAYES WILLIAMS
Leadership and Relationship =
A Winning Combination
By Laura Dorsey
Dr. Velma Hayes Williams
In 1996, Dr. Velma Hayes Williams took
out a full-page ad in the Sanford Herald,
announcing her candidacy for the Sanford
City Council. She went on to become the
first African American female elected to
Sanford City Commission, and the first Af-
rican American (male or female) to serve as
Vice Mayor of Sanford.
A Sanford native, Dr. Williams is a communi-
ty activist with a too-long list of community
accomplishments such as board member
of the Seminole Safehouse Victims’ Rights
Coalition and The Chamber of Commerce
Education Committee. As the recipient of
multiple degrees from Florida A&M Uni-
versity and Florida State, this wife, mother,
retired educator, technical proposal/grant
reader and member of Allen Chapel AME
Church; Dr. Williams is my definition of a
SHERO.
Commissioner Williams realized that her
success does not come in a vacuum. She
is quoted saying, “Coming together is a
beginning; keeping together is progress
and working together is success”. One of
her greatest achievements comes from
working with the community to help se-
cure a Front Porch designation for Golds-
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IBA Success Magazine
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VOL 6, Issue 1
boro—one of the oldest African American
communities in the United States founded
in 1891 and annexed to Sanford in 1911.
Goldsboro Front Porch is a federally fund-
ed initiative partnership with the Housing
Authority, the City of Sanford, and Golds-
boro Front Porch Community. The Council
is made up of people, working with District
2 Commissioner Williams, dedicated to
helping their community with such initia-
tives as health/education development
and The Velma Hayes Williams Commu-
nity Resource Center. The Center offers
support regarding housing, economic
development, and crime prevention. It
also offers tutoring, counseling, college
prep and other opportunities needed by
the youth and their families to keep them
on-track for high school graduation and
post-secondary education. The Choice
Neighborhood initiative, which helped to
outline a plan for the future of Goldsboro,
is a point of pride for her. A quote from
Harold Ramis comes to mind, “Nothing re-
inforces a professional relationship more
than enjoying success with someone”, and
she has enjoyed sharing her success with
her native community of Sanford. Every
successful individual knows that his or her
achievement depends on a community of
persons working together. As she reflects
on her 21 years as City Commissioner, she
is proud of not only her leadership, but the
relationships that she developed, which is
proof to her of what the government could
accomplish if they work together. It was
this very combination of leadership and
relationships which would write one the
last chapters for Commissioner Dr. Velma
Hayes Williams.
Super-Power At Work —
INFINITE SCHOLARS PROGRAM
Infinite Scholars Program (ISP) facilitates
scholarship fairs that connect students with
scholarship and financial aid opportunities
from participating colleges. ISP is based
out of St. Louis, MO, but as the S.E. Region-
al Vice President, I resided in Kissimmee.
In 2008, after a series of relationships, ISP
A
ccording to blackamericaweb.com,
the city of Sanford Florida will
go down in history as the place
where Trayvon Martin was shot
and killed. However, there was one per-
son who was determined to change the
negative impression of Sanford. Dr. Velma
Hayes Williams was going to write a differ-
ent chapter in the history of Sanford.