PHOTO: Joey T. Kennedy, ALJA Secretary-General and Officer-In-Charge
Minneapolis, USA–The Board of Directors of the Association of Liberian Journalists in the Americas (ALJA) has appointed the Association’s Secretary General, Joey Kennedy, as Officer-In-Charge of ALJA following the resignations of the National President and Vice President of the organization, an ALJA press release says.
President Pewee Baysah and Vice President Kadiatu Brohiri resigned their positions recently after accepting job offers in the Liberian government.
Mr. Baysah was appointed Executive Director at the National Port Authority (NPA) while Mrs. Brohiri was appointed Deputy Minister for Culture and Tourism at the Ministry of Information, Cultural Affairs and Tourism.
According to an ALJA press release issued on June 4, 2024, the ALJA National Board of Directors appointed Secretary-General Kennedy as Officer-In- Charge of the Association on June 1,2024, during a meeting held by the executive leadership and Board of Directors. Mr. Kennedy, along with Assistant Secretary-General Stanley McGill and Treasurer Lisa Willie, will work with the Board of Directors in administering the affairs of ALJA pending the conduct of by-elections to fill the vacant positions during ALJA’s National Convention which will be held in October 2024 in the City of Philadelphia, the United States.
Former National President Baysah and Vice President Brohiri were respectively elected in October 2023 at the last ALJA convention held in Minnesota for a two-year term, but served the organization for less than six months. Moreover, former President Baysah has failed to provide turn-over notes or status report regarding the organization’s finances and projects undertaken by his administration despite numerous requests by the Board of Directors.
Since ALJA’s resuscitation in 2014 following 10 years of dormancy as a result of internal strife, former National President Baysah and Vice President Brohiri are the only former officials to have created such leadership void in the organization.
ALJA is a conglomeration of current and retired Liberian journalists residing in the Americas. It is a 501c (3) non-profit organization. The Association was founded in 1998 with the objectives of advancing press freedom through media capacity building, and the fostering of good governance in Liberia through media advocacy. The Association is the most vibrant, outspoken, and cohesive diaspora based Liberian organization.
Meanwhile, the Chairman of the Board of Directors of ALJA, Mr. Seboe Maparyan, has notified the elections commission of the organization, headed by Rev. Suah Deddeh, of the vacancies created by the resignation of the President and Vice President and has mandated the commission to conduct By-elections to fill the vacancies, says the ALJA press release signed by the Secretary-General and Officer-In-Charge, Joey T. Kennedy.