Page 19 - Delaware Lawyer - Issue 1 - 2024

DR. DAVID WILK
County (NCC) leadership, funders and community leaders, giving us renewed confidence that we had chosen a good direction for 107c. As 2019 drew to a close, we were very excited about the CDISE, but had no idea what was in store for our country in 2020.
2020 — The Year of 107c’s ‘Heartbreaking Validation’
FOHCS had just approved the CDISE, when events in 2020 (George Floyd, Black Lives Matter, Breonna Taylor) sadly validated that the Center was the perfect impact and value-add strategy for 107c. These terrible events underscored the need for improved
human relations and greater social equity, and they further energized our motiva- tion and commitment to 107c’s future.
FOHCS entered into a partnership agreement with NCC during early 2020 and NCC Resolution #20-161 was unanimously approved in June 2020 (see above).
A signing ceremony was held at 107c in August 2020 and 107c became the 250th NCC Park, with NCC providing $172,000 in capital to pay off the AAEF and Dick Christopher. The partnership with NCC and achieving this repay- ment milestone in late 2020 was one of FOHCS’s greatest moments and emo- tional springboards.
The signing ceremony was serendip- itously attended by Dr. Ray Blackwell, chief of cardiac surgery at ChristianaCare (who saved my mother-in-law’s life in 2007) and Dr. Lanette Edwards (whom I met on a school field trip with our daughters in 2011). After one conver- sation with each of them, and realizing the depth of their connection to 107c, it became clear that Drs. Edwards and Blackwell were ideal future Board mem- bers. Both were elected to the Board in the fall of 2020.
Execution of the Redevelopment Plan for 107c
In January 2021, or nine years after saving 107c from sheriff’s sale, FOHCS was able to move forward on architec- tural and engineering work on 107c, thanks to critical grant funding from Secretary Jeffrey W. Bullock at the Del- aware Department of State.
Also in 2021, Dr. Blackwell sug- gested that FOHCS begin a tradition of having an Annual Brown v. Board of Education Day. This idea became a reality when Gov. John Carney and the State Legislature declared May 17, 2021 “Brown v. Board of Education Day” in Delaware. The highlight of the first Brown v. Board of Education Day were the emotional words of Sonny Knott, who tearfully said “we’re walk- ing through the door again.”
FOHCS spent 2021 in major fund- raising mode and received grants from the State of Delaware Bond Bill Com- mittee and the Longwood Foundation to build further momentum. We also completed a competitive bidding pro- cess for construction and selected EDiS Company, based on their lowest price and highest percentage of minority par- ticipation.
Details on the Redevelopment Plan for 107c
The redevelopment plan consisted of adding a small addition (6’ by 44’) to the back of the existing building and
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