Hi: My name is Larry C. Smith and I am the founder and president of Look Forward My Brother (LFMB), LLC. LFMB is an educational, for profit organization established in 2010. The reason LFMB has not, to date, applied for non-profit status is because of the many limitations imposed by that status. I have determined that those limitations would greatly limit LFMB’s effectiveness as a vehicle for change. And that we cannot have because of the monumental challenges we as a people face.
LFMB’s primary focus is the African American community with special emphasis on the African American male population. In order to be as effective as possible and to reach as many audiences as possible, my business model calls for:
- public appearances to engage legislators, community leaders, the church, non-profit/for profit organizations, sororities/fraternities and the “movers and shakers” with the goal of obtaining their help and/or pledges of support,
- dialog on social media in support of LFMB’s goals and objectives and to further explain LFMB’s position on the issues,
- written communication with the highest levels of local, state, and Federal government as well as civil rights groups and Black Caucuses to express the views of LFMB and to obtain position statements from those entities and seek their help and/or pledges of support,
- documented procedures which can be used as a guideline to address issues within the community, and
- a website presence.
The problems our community faces are huge. Let’s understand that. But they are not insurmountable. Just a little bit of faith, a lot of hard work and the willingness to open our minds to doing and thinking differently is all we need.
“Together we stand as one united people of African ancestry”
Larry C. Smith, President
Look Forward My Brother, LLC
National Association of Distinguished Professionals Selects Larry C. Smith as an Executive Member of the Executive and Professional Online Registry
The selection recognizes Larry C. Smith’s commitment to excellence in Community.
GWYNN OAK, MD, December 21, 2014 /24-7PressRelease/ — Larry C. Smith, President of Look Forward My Brother, has been selected as an Executive of the Year Member of the National Association of Distinguished Professionals. The selection recognizes Larry C. Smith’s commitment to excellence in Community.
Larry C. Smith grew up in Baltimore, Maryland where he watched his beloved city slip into chaos because of broken families, drugs, and violence. Wanting to make a difference, he worked with the US 7th District Congressman Parren J. Mitchell in his effort to stop the killing. This amazing experience furthered Mr. Smith’s desire to make a difference in his city and across the nation. In April 2010, he wrote his first commentary, titled ‘The Page Has Been Turned’ under his new company name, Look Forward My Brother’, of which he is the sole member for his LLC.
“Since that first commentary, I have learned a lot based upon the analytical work I had to do and feedback from my readership,” Mr. Smith said. “Needless to say, we, as African Americans, have many obstacles to overcome. One of the biggest challenges is the lack of interest and involvement in African American affairs, which affect us. To address this I have come up with a 3-phase approach to my program. Phase 1 is commentaries addressing issues of importance to our community, phase 2 is the establishment of roundtables to address specific needs, and phase 3 is the rollout of my roundtable process to the nation.”
This past April 2014 represented four years and 48 commentaries for Look Forward My Brother. The commentaries have covered issues ranging from politics and daily events to Thomas Friedman’s book on ‘The World is Flat’. They have been very successful in raising awareness within the African American community. Phase 2 is intended to get people involved at the grass roots level to effectuate change within their community, which will be accomplished by the establishment of roundtables with set goals and objectives. The objective of the first roundtable, named Saddle Up, was met on June 28, 2014. The goal was twofold. First, they wanted to introduce 40 underprivileged young men to horses, their care, and the art of horseback riding. Secondly, and most importantly, they wanted them to hear from successful African American males whose message to them was “America is a great country and it is your country. It is up to you to take advantage of what your country has to offer.” The event was held in Baltimore, Maryland USA and was very successful. Phase 3 represents the rollout of the roundtable concept to the nation along with documented procedures developed in phase 2.
In addition, Mr. Smith was a part of the management team of the Social Security Administration in Woodlawn, Maryland for 13 years. As a section chief/team leader, he was responsible for all programmatic security and internal control for their Title II, XVI, Black Lung, and support systems.
Mr. Smith has extensive training in project management and completed the Management Skills for Team Leaders at the Office of Personnel’s Western Management Development Center in Denver, Colorado and has extensive training and experience in community organizing and was trained at the Gamaliel Foundation National Leadership Training Center in Techny, Illinois. He holds a BS in Business Management and Marketing from the University of Maryland University College and served two years in the US Army with a tour of duty in the Republic of Vietnam. He’s also been awarded the Government Reinvention Hammer Award and the Associate Commissioner, Deputy Commission, and Director awards for outstanding leadership in his area of expertise. Mr. Smith was also the first recipient of the Bridge the Gap Award given by the Baltimore Regional Initiative Developing Genuine Equality for his community organizing activities in the State of Maryland.
Mr. Smith sits on the board of directors of the WBC Community Development Corporation, Inc. in Baltimore, Maryland, a non-profit organization dedicated to improving the lives of those living in the northwest section of Baltimore City by addressing affordable housing, economic, education, youth enrichment, and community/public safety issues. He is also a member of the Baltimore Council on Foreign Affairs, a non-partisan, non-profit organization dedicated to community education in foreign affairs