Washington, DC
March 26, 2004

Down in Macon, Georgia, the home of Little Richard, Otis Redding and the Allman Brothers, it's Cherry Blossom time. Most people don't know about the cherry blossoms in Macon, Georgia; they think of the ones in Washington, D.C. There are 275,000 trees in Macon, as compared to the 3,750 trees in D.C. And when it's Cherry Blossom time in Macon, Georgia! ... it's really cherry blossom time. Nature hits 275,000 trees and every tree does its number, creating a wondrous natural phenomenon to behold.

Since the first trees were planted in 1949, started by a businessman and philanthropist, Mr. William Fickling, the Macon Cherry Blossom Festival has been a signal to thousands in the area that spring is here and they flock to this site where DeSota visited in 1564 via the Ocmulgee River.

This year the Macon Cherry Blossom Festival was different because of one man, Macon Mayor Jack Ellis. Instead of one big party to end the festival, he opted for an event to raise money to help beautiful innocent little babies from the pain and suffering caused by the pandemic of HIV/AIDS in a city in Africa — Jinja, Uganda.

Mayor Ellis' effort comes as a follow-up to The United States Conference of Mayors four-nation mission to South Africa, Swaziland, Namibia and Uganda led by Conference President Hempstead Mayor James A. Garner last September.

Mayor Ellis' personal contribution and hard work proves that when mayors represent this nation in discovery and listening missions abroad, they follow up and then do something about it. Mayor Ellis- action proves that our organization is not so much a "think tank" organization which issues long reports; it is instead a "do-tank" where mayors like Jack Ellis see and feel and come home to do something in their hometown about the pain and suffering they have seen and felt.

At the Macon event, I received an award in the name of your organization, especially Mayor Garner, the mayors and the Conference staff, who worked hard to make the four-nation USCM African Mission a success. It was special for me because I had been there to the Cherry Blossom Festival as a child and young boy, having grown up in a small town of 2,500 people, as Mayor Ellis said "two counties over" (sometimes in Georgia people don't refer to the city you're from; they say, "He's from Taylor County"). It was okay if he didn't say I was from Butler, Georgia. After all, I named my dog "Butler" after my hometown and that's about the highest compliment a man can do for his little hometown when you consider how I feel about my dog. (Enough of the personal stuff!)

The seriousness of the Macon event on a spring evening ending the Festival came when Mayor David Wakudumira of Jinja, Uganda rose to do his power point presentation celebrating his city, as well as presenting pictures and statistics to show what they are doing to help two million orphans. We also heard from a local Macon AIDS medical doctor, Dr. Harold P. Katner, who has spent decades in Macon treating AIDS patients. He presented alarming statistics showing unusually high numbers of AIDS patients especially among African American women.

The Ugandan Mayor David Wakudumira had with him a pioneer member of the Ugandan Parliament, Mr. Manuel Pinto, who had raised the AIDS concern to the Ugandan federal government over 20 years ago. The member did not speak that evening but in conversations with him you could feel his passion as he spoke with eloquence in his appreciation for Mayor Jack Ellis- contribution to help the children of Jinja. Their travel to Macon was sponsored by the very effective work of AMICALL, the UN organization that partnered with The United States Conference of Mayors and the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta for our mission to the four African nations last September. AMICALL was key to our U.S. Conference of Mayors mission; we couldn't have done it without them. And we continue to work with AMICALL as we warn the world and ask for help to quell the devastation the pandemic ravages with a daily rate of 8,000 people dying from HIV/AIDS.

In December Mayor Garner joined HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson as they represented our government with a very powerful group of bipartisan Americans from all sectors to bring American and global money and medical treatment to assist in the USA effort.

President Bush has proposed $15 billion for assistance in this effort and we praise him for his actions and words which mean so much.

USA mayors do what we can in our own meager and individual ways to help in the effort. But we do need more Macon, Georgias. We do need more mayors like Jack Ellis. We need more people like the people of Macon, Georgia. They have put their money where their hearts are and their hearts show true compassion for innocent little babies and children left because their entire families are gone. To those persons who wonder why, I say ask Jack Ellis. And he will tell you to go to Uganda, go to South Africa, go to Namibia, go to Swaziland. Visit the orphanages, talk to the dedicated people who are spending their lives on earth to help the children. Walk into the orphanages. See the little babies and toddlers walking around barefoot, sitting, playing, laughing. Go see them and you will never forget it. Jesus said, "Suffer the little children to come unto me." We thank Jesus for Macon Mayor Jack Ellis. Mayor Ellis is an example of a trait that is so special about USA mayors. They see, they feel and they do something. We salute you, Mayor Ellis. You make us proud.