Alumni News

“True success comes only when every generation continues to develop the next generation.” – John C. Maxwell

Because of your continued support, Leadership York has successfully existed long enough to see third generation leaders come through our programs!

As Leadership York prepares to enter our 45th anniversary as an organization, I sat down with the Smallwood, Day, and Parker families to discuss their Leadership York stories.

Douglas Smallwood went through the Leadership Training Program in 1989 and was selected as Leadership York’s 2022 Alumnus of the Year. His daughter, Solita Day, went through LTP in 1992 as well as the Leadership for Diverse Schools Program in 2011. Solita’s son, Tavon Parker, went through LTP in 2022 and his wife, Tanique Parker, went through the Future Leaders of York program in 2012.

While each of their journeys led them to a life of servant leadership and giving back to the community, they all had different reasons for initially going through the program.

Douglas used the program to assist in advancing his career at work, working his way up from laborer to regional manager. Now twice retired (first from Colombia Gas and then from the State where he worked as a budget analyst), Douglas now works part time as tip staff for Judge Kraft and is also involved in the Drug Wellness Court.

Solita, now a licensed social worker for Lincoln Charter School, utilized her leadership journey to help her find a career in the community where she could help others as that is what has always brought her the most satisfaction. 

Tavon was starting a nonprofit with no experience when he began the Leadership Training Program. He came into the experience with an open mind and would leave the LTP sessions every other Wednesday to go back to his board with suggestions of new things to try, ways to improve, etc. He expressed, “Being able to be in that environment and have that exposure was monumental to me.”

Tanique was chosen for the Future Leaders of York program through York High. She moved here from Jamaica in June of that year and started high school (and subsequently the FLY program) only a few months later. Being thrown right into high school was quite a culture shock. She credits the FLY program with helping her get accustomed to the different traditions and the concept of different school districts, as well as helping her to realize all the possibilities that were out there. The experience she received from the program as well as the exposure to different kids from different backgrounds help forced her out of her shell and helped form the person she is today.

While there were many nuggets of wisdom shared throughout our conversation, my main takeaway was that there are two key parts to creating a tradition of leadership: leading by example and sharing your story.

Douglas learned early on that examples are important. Leading by example is an important part of leadership and that is exactly what he did. Solita shared, “Growing up, my mom and dad were always present in the community. They had what we called the ‘Kool-Aid’ house, the gathering place. Friends always came over asking for advice, community members would be tapping into my parents related to decisions that needed made.” She found she also gained the most satisfaction from helping others, so she knew that’s what she needed to do with her career. 

Being involved in the community was not the only way Douglas led by example. “When I was in high school, I was the President of the Black Student Union and during that time we were in the fallout of Martin Luther King’s death, John Kennedy’s death, Robert Kennedy’s death, Malcolm X…we were trying to make a stand for something that we needed in our community for people of color. I had a four-year academic scholarship that they took from me because I participated in those demonstrations.” With the scholarship lost and a young daughter to support, an alternative path took him to the military before joining the workforce. While he was doing very well for himself, one of his daughters wanting to drop out of college after two years motivated him to lead by example and go back to school. He ended up going back to complete not only his Associates Degree, but also his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees! Today he can proudly say that all three of his children have at least one Master’s Degree.  

The other key part to creating a tradition of leadership, one of the reasons Douglas agreed to sit down with me, was that he was astounded that his grandson did not already know that he also went through the Leadership Training Program. He elaborated, “It’s important to share your legacy and have these conversations with your family while you’re still here.”

The work that Tavon and Tanique are doing through their nonprofit, The Advantage Program, is a great example. For eight years, Douglas and his wife ran a boys’ club before turning it over to Solita. “We have always invested in kids.  We recognized early on that there were kids out there that were very intelligent but by no fault of their own, did not have the same opportunities as us, so we tried to pour into that. To step back and watch my grandson take off with The Advantage Program without even mentioning to him that hey, you’re doing what we did…we never had that conversation, I just watched him and tried to support him. This conversation allows him to hear that he had a lot of support. The things that he’s successfully obtaining now, a big part of it is because of that support.”

Solita chimed in, “Plant those seeds early on and watch them grow. All those seeds you’re planting now, they’re going to be awesome to watch.”

Not only is sharing your story important, but so is making the effort to understand your history. Tavon explained, “I think something important to add is that you don’t know what you don’t know. A lot of people in my generation don’t know their history. I think often, especially in our community, there is a history that people don’t know and don’t educate themselves on and that is why people are running around lost. A lot of times people find themselves in positions and do not know how they got there because they do not know their family’s history.”

To close out the interview, I asked each of them what advice they would give to those just starting out on their leadership journey.

DOUGLAS: “Never let other people define you. Other people will tell you that you can’t and if you listen to that you won’t. Whatever it is you want to do, pursue it, and then look for mentors or villages to try to help you put things in place so that you can become successful at it. Also, being a leader isn’t always about being out in front.”

SOLITA: “Whether you think you can or you think you can’t, you are correct.”

TANIQUE: “Always remain a learner, be teachable. That’s how you grow, embrace it.”

TAVON: “Everything that you think you know, rethink it. Never be afraid to relearn something.”

I have so much gratitude to these four individuals for taking the time to share more about their stories. While this conversation focused on the three generations of leadership, the family also have nieces, cousins, aunts, etc. that have gone through programs as well! It’s clear they have certainly pushed and inspired each other over the years, but it’s also clear that their impact extends well into the family tree and beyond. We’re lucky to have them all in our family of alumni!

If you feel inspired and want to make a gift in honor of community leadership, you can donate here.  

BAR= Bar Association Leadership Academy

BOD= Board of Directors

BWB= Boardward Bound

EC= Executive Connections

FLY= Future Leaders of York

LDS= Leadership for Diverse Schools

LTP= Leadership Training Program

MY= Mentorship York

NLA= Nonprofit Leadership Academy