1955 Nickerson Gardens is built in Los Angeles-

1989 - Ms. Nora King incorporates the Nickerson Gardens Resident Management Corporation as a 501c. She had a vision for a Construction Company, Transportation Company, Food Bank (Luceillia Hooper had been volunteering a long time and coordinated it), Laundromat, and that NG would beautify and remodel so residents would want to purchase homes there and it would be a bright spot in Watts. Several apartment units in NG were remodeled for the NGRMC offices to begin.

1990 Nora King enlists one of my former UCLA MBA students to write a grant for $400,000 to HHS/HUD. It is for economci self-sufficiency and resident management. They want to go outside the HUD/HACLA bureaucracy and involve Business knowledge to do small business start up. They want to have a real corporation with a mission, strategy, companies, staff, computers, copiers, phone banks. They want the whole works. So Nora and Lauren dream big.

 Summer 1991 - Bertha Gilkey, a consultant hired by HACLA/HUD grant completes phase One training for Nickerson Gardens (hereafter NG) and Estrada Court (Hereafter EC) housing develops See photos of graduates of NG (Nora King is at back on the stage, Pam Griffin is at front of this photo jumping for joy) and of EC (Center of front row is Bertha Gilkey, source of photos is HACLA 1991: 8 Annual Report. Please note that Pam Griffin and Nora King both are in the cap and gown photo at NG. Nora King is already President-elect of NG Resident Management Corporation (hereafter NGRMC). Completing the Gilkey training by HACLA/HUD gives official recognition by city and federal government of NGRMC as a residents' corporation now officially trained. Ms. Claudia Moore, a NG resident is elected to HALAC Board of Commissioners. She is now (1999) employed full time at HACLA.

October 1991 Contacted by Lauren to go to NG to interview the RMC board. I stumbled my way through the interview. Told story of growing up on welfare. Lady [welfare caseworker] looking through drawers story. Was asked by Vincent "what is your program?" Did not have a program so I said I did not work from any program, but if they wanted one I would design one after finding out what the needs were. At the end, I begin a working with Nora King, volunteering more time than I can tell you, to get empowered resident management partners with my University, etc. Until a contract could be gotten, I began volunteering with the rest of the RMC staff. Photo of Nora, me, Vincent Woods, Operations Director, and Lisa Sprinkles, Administrative Program Analyst for the Transportation Company of NGRMC). [Source of last photo iw LMU Vistas Magazine Summer 1992 edition]. I start the research and grant work in their consultant's room

November 1991 I did a session at Lauren [Frelix's] on the by-laws. Nora wanted to avoid having an election that was being forced by Pam Griffin and company. Suggested they form a grievance committee. Pointed out that as a corporation they did not have to be so subservient to HACLA.

December 1991 Anuual Report of HACLA says there is waiting list of 19,614 families wanting public housing by end of December 1991. There is an average of 1,037 families applying each month. There is a photo taken to show how desperate families are to get into public housing in Los Angeles (HACLA Annual report).

December 1991 Was asked to put together a contract based on the contract that Lauren had with them [HACLA and NGRMC]. My contract was rejected or put into the eternal spin by HACLA. Nora and Lauren took this as a sign that HACLA did not want them to have a non-HACLA consultant. So I began my consulting with NGRMC. Nora wanted University students to start coming to the RMC to tutor kids and work with the computer learning center at the RMC. I began inviting my students (classes and fraternities) to begin service learning projects (some with the community others just planting trees) and just toy drives, so they would begin to visit the community and see for themselves what could be. Professor Judith White and I dressed for Halloween and got our classes and other students to go to NG to do a parade. Our students did face painting with the little girls. The kids are so beautiful. All good partnerships begin with festival.

January 1991 I started researching Resident Initiative, interviewing staff (informally). Nora resisted my attempts to put her on tape, but did not mind that I taped Joe Shuldiner [CEO, HACLA]. Attended meeting with Joe, Ed Moses, Nora, Vincent Woods, Lauren Frelix, and one Hispanic Board member. What chaos. Lauren attacked and attacked, interrupted Nora [King], spoke over everyone [at the staff and board meetings]. Joe kept spouting lawyer talk and Vincent tried to mediate. I introduced myself as a citizen since I had no contract and was not getting paid anyway. RMC dug my citizen rap.

February 1991 About this time I [Boje] went to Boston to deliver a paper. I rented a car and found my way to Bromley Heath Housing Development. I heard that they had done resident management. Met and taped two guys, one a CPA and one the operations director. These guys were funning the operation. They hired, fired, brokered contracts, supervised, and it appeared to work. The residents were self-managing.

March 18, 1992 After many attempts to get a consulting contract from HUD/HACLA to work with NGRMC, NGRMC gives up on that initiative and hires me (David Boje) to work for NGRMC as a strategic planning consultant. Tasks are to (1) get tutors from LMU campus to volunteering in NGRMC Tutoring, (2) Initiate Dual Management training and negotiate contract for DM with HACLA, and (3) Get A Peace Corps Grant (see details below).

April 29^th, 1992 Rodney King Verdict is announced. Many communities riot around LA, but NOT AT NICKERSON GARDENS (See Boje speech to Loyola Marymount University for statistics on this). There are good reasons why not. First, the gang truce was in effect, with a comparative mural at the NG gym. The poetics and art of the public housing developments was part of this story. Second, youth across the developments were playing Soccer instead of just warring on one another as the media tells it (press for photo of Jordan Downs and NG soccer game). There is also art commemorating gang truce in other public housing developments. Third, the HA had its own community police on bikes and residents blocked LAPD from entering the developments during the post-Rodney King verdict days. Fourth, the South Central Panthers, actually joined with the Fire Department to fight the fires happening outside, not in NG.

May 1992 Loyola Marymount University (Hereafter LMU) students do a sit in to block campus entrance. Action is to force LMU to donate money and support to the communities most affected by the "riot" (riot is a problematic term, some call it revolution or rebellion). Somewhere about this time, I buy a Harley (traded in the Honda cycle). It lets me drive about faster and get between the community and LMU with no parking hassles.

May 15, 1992 LMU Press Release of an LA News article of LMU students collecting truck loads of donations from residents and business owners around Westchester campus, even going door to door. University is promising $50,000 check to communities affected, but students want the money now, not years from now.

Mid-May 1992 At NG, a meeting with Jack Kemp, Mayor Tom Bradley, and Congresswoman Maxine Waters at the community Youth Conference. I photo the congresswoman behind the gym passing out protest signs to several vans of Jordan Downs development residents to do a protest during Jack Kemp's and Ms. Nora King's speech. Sings say that Nora and each of her Board members are making big $$$ and they want the NG residents to call a special election and remove them from office. I sit with Football star Jim Brown and watch the action.

April, 1992 The 1992 Annual Report of HACLA says "Boje was awarded the Samual Moore Walton Free Enterprise Fellowship, Educator's Award for his work in Free Enterprise, Inc. "(April, 1992 HACLA Annual Report). The ides was to use University resources to start small business development and to convert Housing Authority jobs through subcontract into NGRMC employment jobs. It is called the Daul Management Program (Dual Management by NGRMC and HACLA of NG). It is part of the Jack Kemp resident empowerment economic demonstration initiative from HUD, under President George Bush's administration.

July 14, 1992 LA Times publishes several page article with interview quotes from Nora King about building resident empowerment by developing small businesses, tutoring, and taking over the management and ownership of NG from the City and letting the NGRMC run things [Note: City is losing $1 million a year, so why not]. Interview with Pam Griffin is "My American dream is not to own…" a unit in public housing. Her method of empowerment is to move residents into job/resume training and get them out of NG into more friendly suburbs throughout LA. .

October 1992 Submit Grant proposal to Peace Corps/HUD, Washington D.C. Grant leads to LMU signing as Peace Corps site. Nora King first received a 1-page fax, and asked me to write the grant with resident input from the NGRMC.

November 1992 George Bush looses presidential election. This means Kemp will step down and Cisneros is his successor. When he visits LA he walks through the developments with the HACLA Commissioners and HACLA executives. Raymond, my son and I visit regularly. He rides on the back of the Harley and plays with the kids at the tutoring, NGRMC is organizing.

November 18, 1992 The LMU Loyola Newspaper runs two stories on page 4. One is by Professor Judith White about our Halloween service learning event, the Halloween parade at NG to get LMU students to sign up for the Nickerson Gardens RMC Tutoring program (as it is called). There is a photo of one of my management class students dressed as a cow. Call Dr. Herbert Medina of the Math Department, who with me and Judith and a bunch of students have been carrying the ball. Beneath this story is the official first photo of Sursum Corda service fraternity. They are brand new. I ran with the two photos and talked to the first president of SC and asked if they would like to adopt Nickerson Tutoring as a service project, as the embelm activity of their new fraternity. She said, "great," and I went to a meeting to make an appeal. Several of the Sursum Corda had been going with Judith, Herbert and I to do the tutoring anyway.

Early December 1992 -We (NGRMC) got our formal Dual Management contract between NGRMC and HACLA signed, and even a ceremonial signing at the Commissoners downtown took place. We put out notices to the community and 40 people applied for basically minimum wage trainee spots. I asked Nora for a screening committee. She hesitated, I thought she would put RMC staff on the committee, but she kept delaying. I pushed her on it and right down to the wire, I had no committee. Finally, just before the workshop was to begin, Gloria from HA, Reuben from REEP, myself, and Lisa Sprinkles were constituted as the committee. Nora wanted all non-residents on the committee. I had not thought of this angle.

December 10 to 12 1992 First Dual Management Workshop - The workshop went very well. I contributed the basic materials from my management course at LMU, based in my Healthy Happy Terrific, positive mental attitude style. Nora would presented the opening founding sotries and philosophy of NGRMC. Alex and I put key points on flip charts. I then adapted the Management materials to fit the themes Nora introduced. For example, one was the importance of stories and the famous teaching a man to fish proverb. I involved most of the RMC staff doing various modules. I did the kickoff and the MC stuff. I enlisted Brenda to co-coordinate. Nora kept interrupting the workshop when she overheard Lisa, myself, Brenda, Alex Hartley say something she wanted said differently. Like when Lisa went over the personnel policies, Nore called Lisa out, actually stopping the workshop, after a few minutes Lisa returned to say that Mrs King wanted it clear that Mrs King did not need to consult with the RMC-board before dismissing anyone. The idea is to enlist residents and NGRMC staff members to do the training with me, so they learn it and can do it unassisted in the future. Nora calls it "empowerment training." I work with Georgina (runs math lab), Brenda (works with all phases of the workshop), Rueben (a volunteer from REAP), and Lucillia (runs the NGRMC foodbank) on sessions they will conduct (Press here for photo). Janetta Harvey and I print up the workshop materials (she is NGRMC secretary). Ms. Beech, who does the accounting for NGRMC is also part of this workshop. Julio Morales of HACLA also did a spot in the training and was the HACLA representative for the graduation (shown in photo getting HACLA award). Mr Harlen Brooks, who Brenda, Nora and I met with these past months to hammer out an agreement, was also part of the workshop, since NGRMC would be subcontracting functions he had formally managed all on his own (press for photo). Doing the training with both HACLA and NGRMC staff involved allowed us to get over some reluctance on the part of the "Authority."

Late December 1992 Nora wins re-election to NGRMC, but so do Pam Griffin and five other board members. Vincent, Brenda, Ms. Beech do not even run for re-election. The first action of the board is to elect Pam president and demote Nora to board secretary. One of the biggest major corporate takeovers in public housing history is unfolding. It is pure chaos. Nora King had won re-election to the board, but her other board members lost. The new board members were Pam Griffin and company. Pam is Maxine Water's candidate. Nora said: "it took a congress woman to beat me." Nora took very ill and after a few days had to go to the hospital.

Dec 21^st 1992 a Friday. On the 21st, the new board met at the RMC to speak to the staff. They wanted copies of all contracts, job descriptions, etc. The board, even though not installed until mid-January, voted to give Miss King the recorder spot. One RMC staff person said: "they knew Nora hates to write down anything and would probably resign rather than take this insult." Nora's plan is to consolidate most of the staff under the EEDP program, name herself as director and keep the new RMC board at bay. The RMC staff is under deep uncertainty. What will the new board do? Will everyone be fired? Who will stay? Who will go? I am not sure of my own currency? I spent the day of the 21st designing an org. chart that put the RMC on the right side of a black line and the EEDP staff on the left side. I went to every staff member to get their input on the chart (I kept the copy I worked so hard to get agreement on).

• Today is the 21st. As I write these notes, my prediction is as follows: Nora and Pam will tangle. Vincent was on the phone saying "get the lawyer, they had no right to meet and the even brought in a Project Build person." "that is political and the by-laws say no politics in the RMC." (Project build is Maxine's). "A letter needs to go to Housing Authority, we asked them to do the election, not get involved in the transition." "They are trying to divide and conquer. (Lady on Commission) said to put it in the meeting that she did not agree that Housing Authority was doing anything to divide the community." (Above comments by Vincent to Nora on the phone).
• Nora, I now can see, had been planning for this even before the election. She had arranged to move the EEDP copier and fax to a separate office away from the RMC action.

January 8 1993 Pam changes locks four times. Maxine Water's lawyer takes a seat with the board at board meetings. This is highly irregular procedure. Nora King has been forced to resign from the Board, for refusing to take notes of the meetings. It is a sad day for the RMC staff and a victory for the new RMC Board. The new board begins to dismantle Nora's programs, one by one. Only Dual Management and Transportation survive. There is a video of me and Maxine's lawyer going toe to toe. I decide to tough it out and keep working the programs Nora King had initiated, and just keep coming back each day as a volunteer.

February 1993 Learning Resource Lab is closed down. Richard Riodan has been doing photo shoots listing the lab as his initiative (see photo of RR with Arnold Schwartzenager taken at HACLA event).

October 1993 I am watching LA television news cast. Mayoral candidate Richard Riodan does photo op shot at the computer lab, but does not know it was closed. He is chased from the community by Pam and her board. Part of his election campaign was to convince voters of his computer training and tree planting initiatives in public housing (press for HACLA Annual report photo).

November 1993 - Renegotiation of Dual Management with new Housing Authority Director. New position added and plans made for second Dual Management training. Pam and I are working well together. This is photo of her and her board members at LMU to recruit students as tutors.

December 1993 NGRMC wins Peace Corps Grant with Knight Foundation. I got the call from Henry Fernandez in Washington D.C. Peace Corps Fellows Program Office that we had won the grant for $250,000 from Knight Ridder Foundation to bring Peace Corps workers to live and work in NG. There is a photo shoot and Pam Griffin and I are photoed by the LMU photographer, standing in front of the famous NG Mural. Nora King is not pleased with me for staying to work with Pam. I figure I work for the community, no matter who is in charge.

May 2^nd, 1994. New board and I negotiate successful contract to renew Dual Management with HACLA

Summer 1994 The first Peace Corps Fellow student enrolls in the summer term at LMU and goes to meet the NGRMC. His name is Darrin Nellis.

June 1, 2 & 3 1994 Second Dual Management Workshop is conducted on the LMU Campus. The theme was "Believing I will Make It" (a biblical reference). The workshop had a day by day schedule with well-prepared sessions, taught jointly with RMC and LMU professors and MBA and Undergraduate students doing sessions (e.g. look at Day 3 schedule). We conducted the sessions in Spanish and English with workshops for both speech communities. Janetta Harvey, now coordinator for the Dual Management program at NGRMC and Lucillia Hooper did sessions (one on procedures for payroll, the second on conflict resolution skills and how to get along with HACLA employees). Volunteer students from my undergraduate and MBA course worked up the workbooks and did the translations. We put it on for no money (the LMU campus graphics donated the printing), the Bookssotre, the notebooks. 50 residents from two developments (NG and MarVista Gardens) attend. There is a strategic plan to link the Peace Corps Fellows initiative to start small businesses at NG and MVG with the Dual Management Training. There are nine phases in this strategic plan to get Loyola Marymount University, Peace Corps, HACLA to partner in Dual Management with NGRMC (these plan documents are copyright to NGRMC and part of Dual Management Workbook given out to all trainees and guests). HACLA was being very supportive of economic empowerment. They funded a $1,500 micro loan program for residents to apply to finance small business startups.

August 1994 The second (Scott) and third (Gene) PC recruits to live and work at NG come to town. The work goes well, but living there is not happening.

Nov 1, 1994 Meeting at HARAC with Don Smith (new CEO HACLA after Shuldiner). Renegotiating renewal of Dual Management Contract.

May, 1996 - I leave Loyola Marymount and Los Angeles, and NGRMC to become department head of Management at New Mexico State University. A photo is taken with the faculty and peace corps fellows who will take on this program. Dr. Susan Lesser (left) who did a lot of work on about six grants put forward on behalf of NGRMC is also in this photo. Center is Nora King.

August 16, 1999 Phone call to Nora King. She has been re-elected. The Transportation Company and most of RMC resident empowerment initiatives have been dismantled by previous board. We discuss a plan to get NMSU involved; to help create a web site, to continue her attempts to contact Microsoft and Bill Gates -- put a computer with web hook up in every NG residence.