President of NOAH's Board of Directors

Edna McClendon's Thanksgiving was just another large family gathering in the Glades, but the celebration highlighted her passion for what NOAH does for the community.

About 40 people joined her gathering, and the place was full of success. When McClendon's mother used a settlement from her husband's death to buy a house, it cocooned her family's future. Once McClendon's mother died while all the children were still young, the house provided security and shelter.

"That was the stabilizing piece that kept us together as a family," she said. Other family members were willing to take in some children, but none wanted to take in all six. So they all stayed together in the house their mother bought, and they all found success as business owners, professionals or skilled workers.

"It's amazing that my mother had the wherewithal to say ‘I'm going to buy me a house,'" said McClendon, and that has been a guiding influence in her activism ever since.

After getting her degrees in education from NOVA Southeastern University, McClendon started her teaching career in Pahokee, but she did as much teaching and organizing out of the classroom as she did in it.

She was founding president of the Concerned Citizens for Community Improvement in Pahokee which took on housing, recreation, education and politics.

She was active in getting Pahokee City officials in 1989 to agree to name the park known as Pelican Park or 14-acre Park to Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Park.

In the 1970s, McClendon was the campaign manager for Roy Singletary's successful bid to become Pahokee's first black commissioner. He held the position for 13 years until he vacated it to become Pahokee's first and only black mayor.

As his campaign manager, McClendon helped change the political landscape in Pahokee. The campaign helped generate more votes than any election in the city's history.

"We were the first organized group in Pahokee to endorse candidates," she said, which helped to combat the long-established "Good ol' Boy network."

"People were using handmade signs for their campaigns," she said. "We changed that. It was such a devaluing of the vote. You won't find the hand made signs anymore. You have an educated group of people who said ‘We are going to have a part in this process.' People want to vote but they need a way to have a voice. We came with an approach that was purely professional."

Her political involvement led to an appointment on Pahokee's Code Enforcement Board which attracted the attention of NOAH leaders who sought her participation. McClendon was already familiar NOAH. Members of her sorority, Zeta Phi Beta, mentored the teenage Moms who were served by NOAH's Building Blocks center. As a licensed cosmetologist, she also taught the women how to apply make up.

"My organization was the very first organization to award NOAH for the work they were doing in the Glades," she said proudly.

Reflection on the mistreatment of her parents inspires her activism. Her father was hit by a furniture truck and then thrown in jail for jaywalking. He suffered silently from injuries resulting from the incident because complaining could have made matters worse for him. She also recalls her mother being denied help from her insurance company.