Finding someone who has a calling to serve in the neighborhood that you grew up in is an extraordinary opportunity. Being able to witness some of the activities and good deeds that were accomplished is life changing.
George Manning and Kent Curtis reveal that this calling to serve begins with the feeling deep down inside that one cares about people and wants to help others (Manning & Curtis, 2009). Ever since I can remember, there was always Mrs. Leola Dillard. To this day, she lives her life to help others.
Celebrating her 104th birthday this year, by the time I was born 51 years ago, Mrs. Dillard's leadership journey was well on the way. Tracing back to the early 1960s, Mrs. Dillard was the first African American employee with the Mississippi State Employment Service in Yazoo City. Sometime during the 1950s, Mrs. Dillard began her teaching career at Cedar Falls Schools.
For three years, she taught on emergency certification because she did not have a college degree. Her supervisor stated that he helped her and now it was time for her to help herself. In order to continue teaching, something that she loved so much, she would have to go to college.
On May 30 1960, she earned her Bachelor of Science in Education from Jackson State College. She continued to teach at Cedar Falls until the doors closed at which time, she transferred to Linwood School, where she retired after a total of 27 years of teaching.
Being an advocate for change is one of Mrs. Dillard best traits. After being hired at Cedar Falls, she knew she had to make a difference. There was no water in the building and the bathroom was outside. Mrs. Dillard began to ask questions. Some people did not know that the school existed. After voicing her concerns, things begin to happen. The school received running water in the building, an indoor toilet and a milk route.
Moving from Bentonia to Yazoo City brought about a new set of challenges. Although she lived in the city, she had to have a cesspool. During this time, all neighborhoods did not have sewage lines. When something happened to her cesspool, she knew something needed to be done to make things better for this community that she had made her home.
Mrs. Dillard was determined to find a way to get proper sewage for her neighborhood. She knew that she needed to find a way to talk to the city officials. Although she was not allowed in the town meetings, she did not mind sitting on the bench until she could be heard. Her efforts lead to the installation of sewage lines so that indoor toilets could be installed in the houses in her new neighborhood.
Growing up in the same neighborhood, there was always children coming in and out of her home, including me. What caused this attraction? Mrs. Dillard always had something for the children. A cool drink, story time, a tutoring lesson, sharing a craft lesson, but most importantly, a kind word that always said “help someone less fortunate than you.”
Her care and concern for the neighborhood children led to the establishment of a community playground that was constructed directly across the street from her home. Of course, someone needed to watch the children during the summer months, so she coordinated a program that allowed opportunities for summer work and recreation programs. I can still imagine seeing her sitting on the porch, keeping careful watch over all of us. Yes, this was during the time that true meaning of neighborhood watch meant that every child had to answer to every grownup in the neighborhood. There was no way to wiggle or lie your way out of any type of misdeed.
Yet her efforts to provide opportunities for children did not stop with just the playground that was renamed Leola Dillard Community Park in 2003.
Mrs. Dillard is one of the charter members of the Yazoo City Community Civic Club, an organization whose foundation was built on providing engaging activities and scholarships for children and promoting community service. Starting out with baby steps, this organization was able to open the eyes of youth to see the world outside of Yazoo City, Mississippi. Starting with the Petrified Forrest in Flora, this group of ladies led by Mrs. Dillard, were blessed to take groups of children out of Mississippi to Florida, Texas, Georgia, Tennessee, St. Louis, California, and to Canada. Yet, this organization was about more than taking a group of youth to places outside of Yazoo City. It built opportunities to instill importance of serving and helping others.
Robert Greenleaf and Larry Spears state in their book, The Power of Servant Leadership, if a better society is to be built, one more just and more caring and providing opportunity for people to grow, the most effective and economical way while supportive of the social order, is to raise the performance as servant of as many institutions as possible by new voluntary regenerative forces initiated within them by committed individuals: servants (Greenleaf & Spears, 1998).
Not only did Mrs. Dillard and the Yazoo Community Civic Club work with youth, but parents and community members were encouraged to participate as well. It was important that everyone knew how important is to help others.
George Manning and Kent Curtis report that a leader must have a vision that must be communicated to followers and must be supported by them (Manning & Curtis, 2009). When asked the question how she is able to get numerous people to support her visions, she responded by saying “that you have to be kind, nice and loving. You have to talk to people in order to get them motivated and you have to want to do something to improve yourself.”
Mrs. Dillard’s efforts are timeless, and they have surpassed many generations. Timeless in the sense that over the years, her goal of helping others has not changed. Surpassing many generations because she has always tried to pass on what she does. She speaks not to one group, but to all. She shares her gift of helping others as she instills in us the same principle.
Mrs. Dillard shared with me her favorite poem that has been a major source of inspiration from the time she learning it over 90 years ago.
I hear the little clock as it hangs against the wall;
tick, ticking time away from all.
As it ticks, we dream dreams, yet dreams will get you nowhere unless you get up, and do something about them.
Each tick reminds us that it is time to work;
work to help ourselves and our fellowman.
Each tick reminds us that it is time to be kind;
be kind to each other and always lend a helping hand.
I hear a little clock as it hangs against the wall;
tick, tick, ticking time away from all.
And the clock goes ticking on.
Author Unknown
References:
Dillard, L. (2012, April 2). My Ideal Leader Essay. (H. Taylor, Interviewer)
Greenleaf, R. K., & Spears, L. C. (1998). The Power of Servant Leadership. San Francisco, CA: Berrett-Koehler Publishers.
Manning, G., & Curtis, K. (2009). The Art of Leadership. New York: McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
