When you start closing in on the final lap of your career, it prompts reflection
upon the most important aspects of the journey. Have you served a cause greater than yourself? Have you cared for and nurtured those you worked with and served? Have you invested your time and resources into worthwhile initiatives that changed lives? Will you leave your community better than you found it? You also pray the footsteps you have left behind will honor those you love, enhance the values you have believed in and most of all, inspire those who follow you to pick up where you have left off. I am a blessed man who has had the privilege of using my gifts and talents to positively impact the community that so graciously adopted me. Over 51 years ago I was a young vagabond Marine Corps brat who came to High Point to play for a great soccer team at High Point College and went on to fall in love with a remarkable community and by the grace of God, found the home I had always wanted.
At the end of December, I will officially retire after 28 years at the High Point Community Foundation and have recently been informed that I am currently the longest serving President of a Community Foundation in America (i.e., a relic!). I am leaving with a deep sense of gratefulness, excitement for my next chapter, and the very highest expectations for the future of our Community Foundation. As you might expect, I desperately wanted to pass the torch to someone who is not just professionally capable, but also passionate about our community and willing to love and serve her as I have tried to do.
We have spent the last 15 months searching for my successor and we have found a remarkable woman, Christine Byrd, who has worked in the nonprofit arena for 18 years and has a sterling reputation as a leader of character, judgement, and commitment. She brings a proven track record as a gifted fundraiser and it is important for all of us to remember that while our Foundation is 28 years old and has assets exceeding $145 million, we are still a relatively young organization compared to other Community Foundations around the state and country.
We will continue to grow and to do this we need a development driven President who has a strong financial acumen and a growth mindset. Christine has an MBA, accounting certifications, and extensive experience leading and growing nonprofit organizations. She will be a process driven, very structured, servant leader who has a sincere heart for the economically challenged. I have the utmost confidence in Christine, she is younger, smarter, and gifted in ways that will take us into our next generation of growth and service. We have worked hard to build a solid reputation as a dependable community leader that has always placed a premium upon transparency, knowledge of and commitment to our community, and a fierce determination to meet the unmet needs of High Point.
I am proud of and grateful for what we have accomplished in these last 28 years, I know there is so much more that needs to be done and I look forward to watching Christine guide us to our next level of growth and service. Paul Lessard, HPCF President
For Good, For High Point, Forever.
