Dear Colleagues,

First, let me say thank you for endorsing my candidacy, at our September 15th Election, to become the new Vice President of UJAA. It is an honor for me to take up this mantle, and I promise to serve you faithfully, to the best of my ability.

Needless to say, over the past seven weeks, our new administration, led by our President, Donovan Wilson, with the support of the rest of the Board, has continued to work on your behalf to advance the mission of this great organization. Thus far, we have had two Board meetings, one Board Retreat, and a very successful President’s Roundtable. In addition, we have held a number of committee meetings and one-on-one conversations with our members, as we continue to forge ahead. As a Board, we have also begun to focus our attention on the goal of growing and sustaining our membership, while increasing our impact and visibility here and in Jamaica. While there is much more to do, I can assure you that we are off and running.

This Sunday, November 6, 2022, for the first time since 2019, we will gather at the Bronx-Westchester Community Church in Mt. Vernon (see attached flyer), to give God thanks for taking us through another year. This Service of Thanksgiving is even more significant when we consider how lucky we are to have overcome two years of a devastating global pandemic. Some of us have lost family and friends, and our lives will never be the same. As we come together on Sunday, let us be thankful that we are still here. I truly hope that you will be there with us to share in that celebration of life, but if you can’t be there in person, please be with us in spirit.

Friends, as we look back, there is much that we have accomplished together over the past 32 years of our existence, but there is even more that we can do in the years ahead. More than any other time, we ask for your continuing support, as we strive to lift the flag of UJAA to even higher heights. Remember that as Jamaicans, there is nothing we cannot do, if we put our minds to it and work in unity towards our goals.

Once again, thank you for giving me the opportunity to be a part of this team, and to be at your service.

Michael Salmon

Vice-President
Union of Jamaican Alumni Associations (USA) Inc. (UJAA)