A Letter From Our President/CEO
Well, I made it a month.
As I prepared to make the move to the Food Bank, I was discussing the magnitude of the change I had before me with a friend who recommended I read the Book, “The First 90 Days” by Michael Watkins. While I do not want to use this space as a book report, I do want to talk about one of the strategies it suggests: Within the first 30 days get a win. Looking back on the month, I guess our win was to increase our intake nearly 15% year over year while we increased our distribution nearly 25% for the same period. Both of these totals reflected record highs for January.
On a more personal level, I have accomplished my goal of learning something new about the Food Bank or Food Banking business every day. I am the beneficiary of Marge’s efforts to build a great staff, all of whom have answered my daily questions and worked diligently trying to get me up to speed. In addition to trying visit with agencies when they come to the bank to pick up, I have been able to get out and begin meeting some of our agency clients to see our mission played out in real life. Words cannot express my appreciation to our agencies for what they do every day. I’ve been out with Marvin and other members of the team and worked a day with the Senior Mobile Pantry. I’ve seen first- hand the appreciation and gratitude of our senior clients. On the other end of the spectrum, I’ve worked with elementary schools who at such an early age have recognized the need and have worked to address that need. I’ve also been able to sit down and discuss the future with some of our business partners learning what their motivation is for being involved with the hunger initiative.
To say I have spent the last thirty days drinking from a firehose would be an understatement. But, I’m still breathing, still swallowing and I have survived. In future months, look to this space as I share my goals for growth, how we intend to build on successes we have had in the past and how we intend to bring all of our stakeholders needs together to attack hunger.
Thank you all for what you do. Please feel free to call or email me at any time with questions or suggestions. My cell is 479-640-0559 and my email is kent@nwafoodbank.org.
K