ACTION elects new officers

Staff report

The board of directors of the faith-based community organizing group ACTION has elected new officers for the new year. ACTION is the Alliance for Congregational Transformation Influencing Our Neighborhoods.

In January, the organization’s outgoing president, the Rev. Dr. Lewis W. Macklin II, pastor of Holy Trinity Missionary Baptist Church, will be succeeded by the Rev. Joseph Dwayne Heard, senior pastor of Elizabeth Missionary Baptist Church, on Youngstown’s East Side. Other new officers include vice president, the Rev. Edward P. Noga, pastor of St. Patrick Catholic Church of Youngstown; secretary Eleanor Williamson, a member of New Freedom Baptist Church of Warren; and treasurer Kathy Garcia, a member of St. Edward Catholic Church of Youngstown.

The Rev. Mr. Heard has been pastor of Elizabeth Baptist Missionary Church since 2008. He studied at Youngstown State University, the American Baptist Theological Seminary, Moody Bible Institute and Malone College, where he earned a degree in organizational management.

Ordained in 1988, Mr. Heard served as chairman of the Christian Education Ministry prior to his election as pastor.

Father Noga, a co-founder of ACTION, has been pastor of St. Patrick Church since 1985. He is a board member of the Western Reserve Transit Authority and has served as the chaplain of the Youngstown Police Department since 1988. In 2010, Father Noga was one of three founding members of ACTION honored at the organization’s annual banquet.

Eleanor Williamson, who serves on ACTION’s board of directors, is co-chairwoman of Warren’s Weed and Seed neighborhood restoration and board-up committees. She is an active member of the Southwest Warren Neighborhood Association.

Kathy Garcia, who has 40 years of teaching experience in local public and parochial schools, has served on the state commission for Youngstown schools and volunteers as a docent at the Butler Institute of American Art.

ACTION’s outgoing president, Dr. Macklin, said he felt gratified to provide leadership during a period when, among others, ACTION spearheaded a campaign to establish a local campus for Eastern Gateway Community College, while lobbying for the retention of Youngstown State University’s Early College program.