MLK Center saying farewell to a founder
FILE PHOTO
Robert L. Thomas
Robert L. Thomas, the co-founder of Worcester’s Martin Luther King Jr. Opportunity Center is stepping down as its director.
“It’s been a blessing for me to serve the people of this community for the past 21 years,” Thomas said in a statement Thursday from the South Middlesex Opportunity Council (SMOC), the center’s parent organization since 2012.
Thomas co-founded the MLKJ Business Empowerment Center in 1994, and was named division director in 2012 when the organization affiliated with SMOC. The facility was later renamed the Martin Luther King Jr. Opportunity Center.
The statement did not give a reason for Thomas’ departure. A SMOC spokeswoman said a successor has not yet been named.
“The work we do at the center is critical to improving the lives of so many in this community and in the Greater Worcester County. To lead that mission for more than 20 years has been gratifying, but I want the community to understand that I will continue to work within the neighborhoods in the ongoing pursuit of justice, educational attainment and economic parity,” Thomas said in the statement.
An open house will be held from noon to 1:30 p.m. at the MLK offices, on Chandler Street, on Tuesday, to honor Thomas.
“When SMOC made the decision to affiliate with the MLKJ Business Empowerment Center, it was Robert’s vision and leadership that allowed it to succeed,” said Charles E. Gagnon, SMOC’s chief operating officer. “Over the past three years under Robert’s guidance, the mission of the center has been preserved and strengthened.”
SMOC Executive Director James T. Cuddy also thanked Thomas for his years of service: “We are now stronger and our mission has been expanded because of Robert’s leadership,” added James T. Cuddy, executive director for SMOC, which is based in Framingham.
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