Ninth District Opportunity, Inc. is a private Non-Profit corporation founded in 1967 to carry out the mandate of the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964. NDO's primary purpose is to work in partnership with low-income people, promoting access to opportunities leading toward Self-Development, Self-Reliance, and Self-Determination. From December of 1964 until NDO's legal incorporation, OEO (Office of Economic Opportunity) funded community action activities were operated under the aegis of the Area Wide Human Resources Committee, a subcommittee of the Georgia Mountains Area Planning and Development Commission. Mr. Frank Moore directed these activities. However, the Federal government was serious about the nation's "War on Poverty" and required a board structure and other legal requirements which led to the emergence of a separate organization which opened its doors at 123 North Main Street on May 31, 1967 under the leadership of James "Jim" Redmond, NDO's first Executive Director. NDO has experienced a tremendous amount of change since those early days when board meetings were held in the chairman's home in Cleveland, Georgia. Our funding, which initially supported only a program developer and a secretary, has expanded to a staff of over 600 persons. Leadership has been described as "the art of changing a group from what is to what ought to be". NDO has, by this standard, certainly had its share of competent leadership under these chairpersons: Father Frank Ruff, Clarence N. Lambert, Schley H. Burrell, J. Marlin Smith, Mary Waldrip, Dr. Hugh I. Shott, II, William E Patterson, Fay J. Kight, Cullen C. Larson, Sam Sosebee, and Judge Garrison Baker. Even though the agency has undergone a variety of changes over the years, our stated goal of providing opportunities for low-income families to work and live in decency and dignity has remained unchanged. Throughout its existence, the agency has served continuously as a catalyst to, and an advocate for, the low-income residents of the NDO service area. NDO is currently under the leadership of Ms. Patsy Thomas, the organization's Executive Director, and Mr. Garrison Baker, Board Chairman.