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You are missing an incredible woman if you don't know Almeta Keys. She amazes me. Almeta is one of 13 children.  Her dad was a sharecropper who went to school for just two weeks, yet he learned to read and write and became a Deacon in his church. Her mom was a housewife, who only finished the 6th grade, yet she went on to become a community leader.
Almeta says, "When you heard the names William and Almeta Richard, you were talking about somebody. They were married for 63 years and were the envy of everyone in the community."
"Daddy at one time made less than $10 a week," Almeta told me. She remembers seeing a pay check for two weeks for $27.
Almeta has a Master's degree, sent her 5 kids to college and graduate school, has a good husband and grandchildren, and has saved more needy children and families than you can imagine.
Almeta helped spearhead the hurricane relief effort for the state of Louisiana following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. She's executive director of St Mary & Vermilion Community Action Agency Head Start. She operates16 centers, supports 167 employees, and serves 664 children and their families.
Take a look at Almeta's photo on her profile. Isn't she gorgeous? The only "naughty" thing Almeta ever did that I know about was when she told people who asked for a baby picture that her little niece's photo was hers. The fact is, there are no photos of Almeta as a child because her family couldn't afford any. Now there are hundreds of photos of Almeta. She is a Head Start leader. Google her if you don't believe me!
I wish you knew Almeta the way I do. She is my hero. Maybe part of her success is because she had such great parenting. "What a life they gave us!" she told me. "I don't know how they did it. We never knew we were poor."
Note Head Start is the federal program for preschoolers that LBJ started in 1965 when he declared War on Poverty. To enroll a child annual income must be below the poverty level . For a family of 3, that's $15,670 a year. There are one million kids this year, but 40%get turned away because of a lack of funding.
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