Ninth District Opportunity, Inc. is a private, non-profit corporation founded in 1967 to carry out the mandate of the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964.  NDO's primary purpose is to work in partnership with low-income people promoting access to opportunities leading toward Self-Development, Self-Reliance & Self-Determination.

From December 1964 until NDO's legal incorporation, local OEO (Office of Economic Opportunity) funded community action activities were operated under the aegis of the Area Wide Human Resources Committee, a Subcommittee of the Georgia Mountains Area Planning and Development Commission.  Mr. Frank Moore directed these activities.

However, the federal government was serious about this nation's "War on Poverty" and required a Board structure and other legal requirements which led to the emergence of a separate organization which opened its doors at 123 North Main Street on May 31, 1967 under the leadership of James "Jim" Redmond, NDO's first Executive Director.  Father Frank Ruff served as the agency's first Board Chairman.

NDO has experienced a tremendous amount of change since those early days when board meetings were held in the Chairman's  home in Cleveland, Georgia.  Our funding which initially supported only a Program Developer and a Secretary has expanded to a staff of over 600 persons.

Leadership has been described as "the art of changing a group from what it is to what it ought to be".  NDO has, by this standard, certainly had its share of competent leadership under these chairpersons: Father Frank Ruff, Clarence N Lambert, Schley H Burrell, J. Marlin Smith, Mary Waldrip, Dr. Hugh I. Shott, II, William E. Patterson, Fay J. Kight, Cullen C. Larson, Sam Sosebee and Garrison Baker.

Tantamount to the contributions by staff, local officials, volunteers and coordinating agencies, the consistency in NDO's administrative leadership has been an important factor to the Directors in two decades! Janice A. Riley, current Executive Director, succeeded Jim Redmond in June, 1981.

Even though the Agency has undergone a variety of changes over the years, our stated goal of providing opportunities for low-income families to work and live in decency and dignity has remained unchanged.  Throughout its existence, the agency has served continuously as a catalyst to and an advocate for the low-income residents of the NDO service area.