Today we’d like to introduce you to Jon M. Lattimore.
Jon, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?This organization, which was co-founded by four young men on the lovely campus of Savannah State University, on November 13th, 2001, was at first an open mic program for the residents of the residence halls of the university, then through the consistency of the program occurring at least every two weeks, the program flourished. I started the event during my sophomore year. I was given the name of the organization from a guy that I ran into, who was at the time enrolled in the local art college in Savannah, GA; Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD). The logo was also made by a SCAD student about six (6) years later, in which she was one of the participants in the contest for creating a logo for W.O.R.D.
However, within one (1) year after the open mic program was founded in 2001, W.O.R.D became an official university-recognized student organization, with all the rights and privileges given by the university. Those early years had us stepping off campus into the city of Savannah, and collaborating with other poetry based organizations such as AWOL (All Walks Of Life), Spitfire Poetry Group, just to name a few; had us traveling to other cities and states in the Southeast to perform; we hosted professional spoken word artists that touched Russell Simmons’s Def Poetry stages such as Tommy Bottoms, Abyss, and Georgia Me; other artists such as the internationally known spoken word artist, Queen Sheba.
We were hosting freestyle battles that brought in talent from other colleges such as Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD), the former Armstrong State University (now Georgia Southern-Savannah campus), the Georgia Southern University campus in Statesboro, GA, the city of Savannah, GA and beyond. For one particular open mic, on their expense and promotional purposes, we brought in an Atlanta, GA based record label by the name of Raw Deal Records which featured female rap artist Ms B’Havin’, former spoken word artist and now rap artist, Pledger, who is the
son of the record label owner, and the rap artist now know as Yung Joc, who was a hype man during his tenure with that label.
We became so popular on campus to the point in which the students of the university would at times, forgo the university’s basketball game and come to our event because we had it going on; the thrills, the liveliness and excitement. And many of them would always ask “When is the next WORD?!” They were so ecstatic to be in the next event, either as an audience member and/or open mic participant. Furthermore, our consistency enhanced our popularity in which artists from other colleges, cities, and states came to our own campus open mic event such as Tavis Brunson, Omari Fox, and King Shakur, to name a few. I went by the name stage JLat (which is my nickname I picked up in college), then eventually added to it to complete it as JLat tha M.O.O.R, the other three co-founders, Reginald E. Smith, II (W.E.R.D.S.M.I.P.H), Corey Huckabee (Quotable Phoenix), and Jarnard Johnson went by his government name.
We had support from my residential hall director and supervisor, in which he has been a great friend of mine for the past twenty (20) years, Nakeith C. Phillips, who was the organization’s advisor for some time, and he became a spoken word artist, going by the stage name, Moses Brown, performing at our events. He eventually joined A.W.O.L when they became a poetry troupe based in the city of Savannah, GA. Many artists that came through W.O.R.D eventually developed a stage name that reflected their persona such as Benjamin James ( Benny J ), Shantel Dean (Shant), Evelyn Boykin (Lynn Wit Two N’s) Daniel Coleman (Young Child), Christopher Kirkland (Phocus), Michael Green (Mike G), just to name a few. And some just used their own government (birth) name.
When I graduated in May of 2005, I went into the real world, faced the shock of learning that I wasn’t so special because I had a college degree; so therefore, I went back into college in 2006 at Savannah State University to get a master’s degree, W.O.R.D was still continuing in the hands of those I left it in, however after I graduated from the master’s program in 2009, the organization collapsed in 2010 due to unwanted circumstances beyond my control. The other three founders moved on with life, because life happens, even though I met with them and a few other organizational veterans and supporters to brainstorm ideas on how to continue the organization BEYOND college, however, people just moved on due to having other ambitions, goals, starting a family, etc. I couldn’t take it personally. A small voice told me to reinvigorate and reinvent the organization. I received advice from a great friend of mine for the past twenty (20) years, one of the founders of A.W.O.L (All Walks Of Life), Tony “Polo” Jordan, in which that organization took a new path to work with at
risk youth in the Savannah, GA community; and he told me to find a niche for the organization to involve itself in, and I also attended a nonprofit development workshop hosted by him and his wife, DaVena Sanders-Jordan.
I garnered support and assistance from faculty and staff members of the university that saw my vision to take it to higher heights, along with the few on campus W.O.R.D members at the time such as Napoleon Marcel Martin (NEPO), Maurice Brooks, Sharamie Ware and Desmond Jackson (D. Ciano), encouraging them to keep the fire going. I decided to re-create the organization centered on the “student-artist”. We all should be aware of what a student-athlete is, so I decided to forge a new term with a past term to suit those with artistic talent and/or aspirations, desire to be part of an organization that will nurture those talents, gain confidence and stamina in their arts, while they serve the campus and the community, and prepare them for their careers after college. The organization became an official 501 (c) 3 nonprofit organization as of August 2014, and we are still here maintaining our stake in continuing to be an influential organization in the Southeastern United States and beyond.
Within the past year, we have given out scholarships to those that have met the criteria in our organization through our very first Mr. and Miss Way Of Real Discovery (W.O.R.D), INC pageant; those titles are held by Quadasia Mitchell as Miss W.O.R.D, INC and Destin Howard as Mr. W.O.R.D, INC 2020-2021, which they are both $500 scholarship recipients; the subsequent attendants (did not receive scholarship monies along with title, just name and title recognition), Kennedy Vaughn as Miss 2001, and Imani Swanson as Miss Black & Silver, and we will continue to do that event again and others like it during subsequent years; because the ultimate goal is to fund an eligible “student-artist’s” entire undergraduate years, just as long as they continue to uphold the standards and criteria established by the organization, just as student-athletes are.
From doing literacy volunteer work at the local West Broad Street YMCA and Frank Callen Boys and Girls Club, and select local middle/high schools; participating in the annual Savannah Spoken Word Festival since its early years; cohosting a screening of a documentary that covered a historical tragedy entitled “Wilmington On Fire”, for the 28th Savannah Black Heritage Festival in 2017, to have a throwback 80’s and 90’s Hip Hop & R&B talent and fashion show in the fall of that same year, to doing community based open mics featuring local community artists that have been successfully attended, Way Of Real Discovery (W.O.R.D), INC, continues to make an impact. A few of the most notable past “student-artists” of ours include Miranda Nicole Fenderson (Miranda Nicole), in which she is now a professional singer/songwriter traveling and performing nationally and internationally for the past 15 years or so; Durrell Lyons, spoken word artist and actor, in which he was featured in movies such as 2017’s Tupac biopic “All Eyez On Me”, and Tyler Perry’s television show “The Haves and Have Nots”; Saad Morrell (Suave Calione), a gospel rap artist-songwriter that has recently released an album entitled “It Takes A Village”, Sean Edwards, (Wes Lee the Wordsmith), in which was one of the best presidents of the on campus organization that came through its ranks, and he is working a white collared job in upper middle management while pursuing his musical ambitions, releasing a recent album called COPE Deluxe (Sean Edwards has been very pertinent assisting me in giving back to the organization with moral and advisory support and I appreciate him more than he knows), or Asia Almeda, (Asia Adisa), a recent graduate of Savannah State University, (she majored in performing arts), who is working her way up as an influential singer in the music industry, in which she has just released an album entitled “INMATE #5683”, another notable recent graduate of the organization, Christopher Smith (2 Benjii), who now rising in his musical and networking ambitions, by creating 2Benjii ENT LLC, which is to give artists the platform and training hubs they deserve; and India Cade (Indigo), a recent graduate in political science, in which she is now a motivational speaker and business owner.
I don’t expect everyone that joins this organization to pursue music, performing arts, or an acting career, and even the students that wish to join the organization are not required to pursue a performing arts major (many of us in the past had various majors and didn’t pursue a performing arts degree) however, I do my best to ensure that each individual that joins this organization becomes the best he or she can be just as long as they apply themselves, develop their talents, and be prepared to face the real world. Each individual can take what has been learned in the classes of their major and apply it to the organization. If one is pursuing a business degree, apply those business organizational skills to benefit the organization. If one is majoring in marketing, apply those marketing skills to benefit the organization. Because everything you do in life is a performance and how well you do that performance will determine the end results. Last but not least, this organization is for those that want to find their voice, find their path, and find their purpose/meaning in life, and those that want to seek therapy to channel and ease their pain through the arts.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle-free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
Oh heck no! The road to success is never smooth. When we first started, we dealt with rowdy crowds that didn’t respect those that performed on the microphone, there were organizational members that did not execute their duties in a timely fashion, and therefore the work had to be picked up by others such as myself to complete the task, organizational members that had their own personal ambitions contrary to what the organization stood for with the potential to derail the organization, or when I had to go through red tape from authority figures to implement an event, and they were giving me a hard time in the process of doing so, the challenges of being able to effectively fundraise by convincing would-be donors about the mission and vision of the organization and how it will benefit them or a particular segment of society, or when members of the organization had dissension within its ranks, and there was an imminent threat of a split to form another group, so there had to be change and compromise to keep everyone together under the same umbrella. The list goes on.
The on-campus organization today has its own challenges in this social media world, no different from 20 years ago, and as executive director, I am glad to offer wisdom and insight to aid them in solving their problems, along with their on campus organization advisors. Furthermore, as a nonprofit organization, it’s a challenge to maintain a full board because many people are looking to get paid vs. being passionate about the vision and mission of the organization. However, through it all, W.O.R.D, INC will continue to trek on through the ups and downs.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I consider myself an entrepreneur, having my hands in creating a few streams of income. And one of them I want to highlight is that I am now a life and health insurance advisor, and this is due to having a personal passion to help others secure their family’s financial future during their incapacitation and/or passing; all the while being the director of this nonprofit organization, Way Of Real Discovery (W.O.R.D), INC, where there is not much money in it, but I am consistently working to secure funding for this organization so that we can do more for our “student-artists” and the communities they serve.
Even though I have an undergraduate degree and a master’s degree, having something to create and own has been in my blood for the longest. I NOW realize that W.O.R.D was an entrepreneurial endeavor back in my college days because I recognized a need on campus, which was to host a quality “edu”tainment (educational and entertaining) event for all of my fellow college classmates to participate in, boost school spirit, and contribute to the retention rate of the enrollment at the university; I brought the idea of it to three other young gentlemen such as myself, and here we are. I love having the attitude of creating my own schedule, my own goals, and mapping out my own future, which all require discipline, focus, and consistency.
Before we go, is there anything else you can share with us?
We are always looking for passionate and motivated volunteers to contribute to the success of the organization, such as those that want to assist in fundraising, website development, community event organizing, donors, grant writers, marketing, and more.
Also, if you want a member of W.O.R.D, INC to perform at your event or function, please email [email protected]. You can view our members’ video performances on our website or social media pages. And if you are wondering, yes, we do perform at events with community friendly language and expression if we are required to do so.
Pricing:
- $100-$500 (depending on the type of event)
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: www.word-inc.org
- Instagram: @wordinc_2001 and @word_ssu
- Facebook: @wayofrealdiscoveryinc
- Twitter: @wordinc_2001
- Youtube: WayOfRealDiscovery
- Other: Tik-Tok (@wordinc_2001)
Image Credits
Kevin Rose
