{"id":118873,"date":"2025-01-23T01:58:00","date_gmt":"2025-01-23T07:58:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/?p=118873"},"modified":"2025-01-27T09:32:20","modified_gmt":"2025-01-27T15:32:20","slug":"at-mlk-program-mccroy-promotes-journey-of-service","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/2025\/01\/23\/at-mlk-program-mccroy-promotes-journey-of-service\/","title":{"rendered":"At MLK program, McCroy promotes ‘journey of service’"},"content":{"rendered":"
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At this year\u2019s Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebration, Christopher McCroy, executive director of 100 Black Men of Omaha Inc., urged the med center community and leaders to align their intellect, compassion and effort in a journey of service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The theme of this year\u2019s event on Jan. 20 was \u201cService in Action: Strengthening Communities by Honoring the Legacy of Unity, Hope and Equality.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

McCroy called the people in attendance \u2013 113 in person and 146 on Zoom \u2013 to action. He urged them to honor Dr. King\u2019s legacy \u201cnot just with our words, but with our deeds, not just with our remembrance today, but with our resolve. Let us all have the strength to serve.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDr. King would implore us to dedicate ourselves to this alignment,\u201d McCroy said. \u201cTo love is to act. To believe is to serve. To lead is to lift others up. Only when our head, our heart and our hands work together can we truly exemplify service in action.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Speaking to an audience of health care providers, academic medical center professionals and community members, McCroy pointed out that in order to be a doctor \u2013 or work at any variety of other organizations \u2013 people need a degree or certain qualification.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But in order to serve the community, he said, \u201call you need is a heart full of grace and a soul generated by love.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

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Christopher McCroy, executive director of 100 Black Men of Omaha, Inc., was awarded the med center\u2019s Servant Leader Award. From left are: Jim Linder, MD, CEO of Nebraska Medicine; H. Dele Davies, MD, UNMC interim chancellor; McCroy; Sheritta Strong, MD, UNMC’s assistant vice chancellor for engagement; and Ada Walker, JD, vice president for people and culture, Nebraska Medicine. <\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

McCroy told attendees that Dr. King\u2019s dream is in jeopardy. But in questioning how Dr. King might respond if he were alive to \u201csurvey the landscape in which we live,\u201d McCroy said that ultimately, \u201cthe good news is that response is left up to us.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDr. King can continue to live, but only through each and every one of us, through the work we render, through the service we provide,\u201d he said. \u201cThat is how Dr. King’s response can be realized today.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After his speech, McCroy was awarded the med center\u2019s Servant Leader Award.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Nebraska Medicine and UNMC Unsung Hero Award recipients also were named. They are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n