Pastor, Community Ambassador Jay Offer Recognized At AACC’s Annual MLK Breakfast

Jay Offer

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Cassandra Moore

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Cassandra Moore Earns Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Zeitgeist Award

Cassandra Moore, an assistant director of enrollment, development and admissions at Anne Arundel Community College who serves on Northeast High School’s Signature Program’s Integrated Community Stakeholders Team, earned the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Zeitgeist Award.

Moore said that as a black woman who grew up in the south, she was influenced by King. One such way was through a discussion he had about faith, requiring “you to take the first step when you don’t know what the whole staircase will look like.”

“For me, that summed up the work we do at AACC. We ask students to take their first step with us, and we get them to the top of their staircase,” Moore said. “To me, that ties into the work I do on equity, inclusion and diversity. I’m very proud to receive that award.”

At Northeast, Moore has done “very nontraditional things,” and she is proud of her work at the high school.

“The people at that school are always looking for ways to improve the success of their students, and I’m privileged that they have included me in those conversations,” Moore said. “It’s helped me grow as a professional, and hopefully we’ve helped students, as well.”

Moore has dedicated her career toward helping first-generation college students succeed.

“I’m most proud of the fact that I can help first generation college students be hopeful and give them the guidance so they will know what they need to do to not only enroll in college but to graduate from college,” Moore said.

By Maya Pottiger

Jay Offer received the Leon H. White Clergy Memorial Award at this year’s annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Breakfast at La Fontaine Bleue in Glen Burnie on January 21. The breakfast is sponsored by Anne Arundel Community College.

“That’s still sinking in. I’m blown away,” Offer said. “What it’s saying is, in my work as a pastor, I’ve made a difference in Anne Arundel County while embodying the principles and the legacy of Dr. King.”

Offer works in many roles across Anne Arundel County: community ambassador at Chesapeake High School, pastor at Harvest Crusade Ministries, general secretary of Empowering Believers Apostolic International Network, president of the Black Officers’ Association of Maryland Natural Resources Police, and as a member of the county executive’s transition team. In addition to his work in the county, Offer is also a U.S. Army veteran and NAACP subscribing life member.

Recently, Offer organized Souls to the Polls, which transported voters to the polls on Election Day. This school year, he helped establish a food pantry at Chesapeake High School through Caring Cupboard LLC.

“My most proud achievement is just being able to come to the table where issues for Anne Arundel County are being discussed, to be a voice for people that don’t know how to get to the table or otherwise feel like they have no voice,” Offer said.

The Leon H. White Clergy Memorial Award is decided by the United Black Clergy of Anne Arundel County. Apostle Larry Thomas Sr., a mentor to Offer and president of UBC, called to give Offer the news.

The two partnered to build an organization called Empowering Believers Apostolic International Network. The organization now reaches the United States, Tanzania, Kenya and Ghana.

“I’ve told people that I mentor and I’m training, I tell them, ‘When you want to make a difference, you’ve got to put on your servant hat, and don’t look for a reward. Just get up every morning, start your day with a purpose, and your purpose should impact somebody’s life. If you do that, one day, that which you have sown is going to come back to you,’” Offer said.

Offer attended the memorial breakfast with his wife and daughter. “I consider it an honor and a privilege to serve anywhere and anyway I can,” Offer said.

READ MORE ABOUT THE ANNUAL MLK BREAKFAST:

Megan Paulis Receives Scholarship For Entry In MLK Visionary Kids Contest
AACC’s Annual Dr. King Memorial Breakfast Honors Six Community Members
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Breakfast Honors Deserving Community Activists

READ MORE ABOUT JAY OFFER:

Diversity Day Was An Eye-Opening Experience For Chesapeake
Chesapeake Hopes To Build Relationships With Community Ambassador Position
Library Branches Are Leading Dialogue About Diversity