At MLK program, McCroy promotes ‘journey of service’

Christopher McCroy, executive director of 100 Black Men of Omaha, Inc., delivers the keynote address for the med center's annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day program.

At this year’s 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.

The theme of this year’s event on Jan. 20 was “Service in Action: Strengthening Communities by Honoring the Legacy of Unity, Hope and Equality.”

McCroy called the people in attendance – 113 in person and 146 on Zoom – to action. He urged them to honor Dr. King’s legacy “not 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.”

“Dr. King would implore us to dedicate ourselves to this alignment,” McCroy said. “To 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.”

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 – or work at any variety of other organizations – people need a degree or certain qualification.

But in order to serve the community, he said, “all you need is a heart full of grace and a soul generated by love.”

Christopher McCroy, executive director of 100 Black Men of Omaha, Inc., was awarded the med center’s 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. 

McCroy told attendees that Dr. King’s dream is in jeopardy. But in questioning how Dr. King might respond if he were alive to “survey the landscape in which we live,” McCroy said that ultimately, “the good news is that response is left up to us.”

“Dr. King can continue to live, but only through each and every one of us, through the work we render, through the service we provide,” he said. “That is how Dr. King’s response can be realized today.”

After his speech, McCroy was awarded the med center’s Servant Leader Award.

The Nebraska Medicine and UNMC Unsung Hero Award recipients also were named. They are:

  • Andrea Gonzalez Saavedra, occupational therapist with Nebraska Medicine’s cardiovascular ICU
  • Anthony Marx, phlebotomist with the Nebraska Medicine phlebotomy laboratory
  • Valentina Orduña, bilingual medical case manager with UNMC infectious diseases
  • Sidni Trotter, outpatient speech-language pathologist with the UNMC Munroe-Meyer Institute

Look for profiles of these award winners in UNMC Today and Nebraska Medicine NOW.

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