ETA Omega Chapter's 'Omega Manhood Leadership Institute' Receives Award of Excellence

(l. to r.) Bro. Christopher K. Norman - Co-Executive Director, Bro. Ronald Coleman – Vice Basileus, holding the A+ Award, Jovita Moore, local news personality, and Bro. Dominic D. Adams - Co-Executive Director.

In May 2007, Eta Omega Chapter launched the Omega Manhood Leadership Institute (OMLI). OMLI was a bold program to improve the lives of young boys. OMLI’s mission was to create the opportunity for Eta Omega Chapter to make early contact with and provide strategic intervention in the lives of African-American and other minority boys ages eight to fifteen. OMLI’s long term goal is to create partnerships with families and schools, in order to help these boys develop and refine the knowledge, skills and attitudes necessary to succeed in school, work and life. OMLI is conducted in cooperation with the Atlanta Public Schools, with sessions being held at the Deerwood Academy Elementary School located in southwest Atlanta, Georgia.

OMLI’s excellence was recognized on May 19, 2009, during the A+ Awards Luncheon at the Georgia Aquarium, when the OMLI received the “A+ Award for the Rookie Achievement” category. The “A+ Awards” are sponsored by the Atlanta Partners for Education (APFE), a joint venture between the Atlanta Public Schools and the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce. The A+ Award for Rookie Achievement recognizes outstanding achievements for programs that have been operational for only one full academic year.

The “A+ Awards” encourage the pursuit of excellence in education, while focusing public attention on educational achievements in the Atlanta Public Schools and successful partnerships between schools and the business community, non-profit, civic, higher education, religious, social, and professional organizations. OMLI truly meets the “A+ Awards” criteria, because through OMLI, Eta Omega Chapter has turned flowery speech, about what needs to be done to help today’s young men and boys, into meaningful action benefiting young men and boys at risk in our society. The “A+ Awards” acknowledge the successful achievement of OMLI’s goals and hopefully will assist OMLI to expand to reach older students.

OMLI is conducted in Saturday morning sessions at Deerwood Academy. Starting in September 2007, there have been about forty OMLI sessions. Sessions are usually lead by Eta Omega Brothers, which provides the opportunity to demonstrate the “Four Cardinal Principles of: Manhood, Scholarship Perseverance and Uplift” to a younger generation searching for the right path to adulthood.

OMLI could not exist without strong leadership. OMLI is Co-Chaired by Brother Christopher K. Norman and Brother Dominic D. Adams. Strong leadership is also provided by Eta Omega’s OMLI partner, Deerwood Academy. Deerwood Academy is an elementary school offering education in grades pre-kindergarten through fifth grade, serving approximately four hundred students. Deerwood Academy’s Principal is Dr. Lisa Smith, an imaginative and innovative educational leader who has led Deerwood Academy into partnerships with numerous civic and professional organizations with the goal of improving the educational experience at Deerwood Academy.

This article is respectfully submitted by


Bro. Stedman S. Southall
Director of Public Relations
Eta Omega Chapter
Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc.