I am delighted to be here. I came back from New York just to join in the tribute to a truly extraordinary human being, Joe Kennedy. I have known Joe for more than 30 years, from the earliest days of the Peace Corps through the founding and subsequent development of Africare.
Now as to Africare, here is living proof that Peace Corps really produces results. Most of Africare’s founders were ex-Peace Corps Volunteers, or staff.
The same has been true of more than 90% of all Americans who have worked for Africare over the years. It is inspiring, I think that so many people chose to transform their Peace Corps’ experience into a lifetime career with Africare. Most heartening of all has been the way they have approached their careers: with a sense of mission, with great dedication, with self-reliance and innovation, with respect for all races, all cultures and all nations. Those are Peace Corps’ ideals. Those are also Africare ideals. We know they work! And we see them here, tonight, exemplified both by this wonderful organization, Africare and by the man we gather to salute, Joe Kennedy!
I first came to know Joe at Peace Corps, where he worked in our “growth and development” from 1965 through 1971. He was also Deputy Regional Director for all of Africa serving under our friend C. Payne Lucas, the Africa Regional Director at that time. He went on to head up the Peace Corps programs in Sierra Leone. Finally, Joe became Regional Director for East Asia and the Pacific, with responsibility for Peace Corps programs in Fiji, Korea, Malaysia, Micronesia, the Philippines, Samoa, Thailand and Tonga.
Joe was a big success with the Peace Corps overseas and at our U.S. Headquarters. No wonder “C. Payne” enticed him away from “us” and put Joe to work in Africare! Only “C. Payne” could have sucked Joe away from us. But C. Payne was smart and farsighted. He got Joe to drive the growth, the quality and the spirit of this organization for 28 years!
No one except C. Payne himself has worked so hard, so intelligently and with such vision as Joe Kennedy! Everyone who admires “Africare” admires Joe! No wonder this man has boosters all over Africa and all over the USA! He deserves every award our country could give and every bit all of us can give him tonight! Therefore, let us altogether cheer, cheer and cheer, clap our hands and shout, shout, shout our Hurrahs for Joe Kennedy! May he live long and prosper always! Hip, Hip Hooray! Hip, Hip, Hooray! Hip, Hip, Hooray! Clap! Clap! Clap! Clap! Clap! Clap! Joe, Joe Joe!
