The beginning of the end of an era...

Today was a pretty big day...we began the long, sweaty, emotional process of moving out of our home for the past 3+ years, 2113 Pass Rd. I never imagined when I arrived here in March of 2007 that I would be the one person out of that team left here leading this project. And although when I arrived the walls were already covered with remembrances of volunteers come and gone, and this building has never been my actual home (although I think I've logged enough hours to claim residency at this point) I have to say this is probably one of the hardest things I've had to do since I got here. Most of what we did today involved sorting things, cleaning out rooms, and throwing away more pillows than I thought even existed, and I took on the task of taking pictures of everything on the walls. All day I thought about each piece, when it went up, and how many times I had actually sat down and looked at it over the course of the last year and a half. I started to take down some of the overflow t-shirts and posters that have been recently added on the first floor, and had to run back for the camera at least 3 or 4 times to capture more of this space before taking it down. I know it's just stuff, and I'm excited about moving to a new place, but I know I'm closing this chapter of HOGC's history.
I am pretty excited, however, that we now have a final destination for the infamous retired jerseys...they, and most of the memorabilia from the thousands of volunteers who have been here, will be preserved by the Katrina Research Center at University of Southern Mississippi. I am so glad to know that anyone who has been here on this journey with HOGC can come back to the Gulf Coast and feel like they're coming home (sorry, I know that was cheesy but I had to rep Mississippi for a minute).

Departure

It is difficult for me to make this posting. I have decided to step down as Director and leave Hands On Gulf Coast, effective May 16, 2008.

I started with Hands On USA, arriving just days before they handed over the operation to Hands On Gulf Coast. I was there at the transition when Dave Campbell said, “Do you want a job? I just set you up for an interview in 20 minutes.” From day one with Hands On Gulf Coast, I have helped manage the organization, taking over as Director in January 2007.

Still, I came down like everyone else, a volunteer. Hurricane Katrina directly impacted my family – my grandmother and one of my uncles lost their homes in the New Orleans region. I knew I would be down. I thought it was just for three weeks.

Many of you have never met me because I prefer to work quietly behind the scenes. I enjoy the world of spreadsheets, budgets, computers, and yes, people. I worked with a great team of people to make your experience at Hands On Gulf Coast as rewarding as possible.

The opportunity that I was given to help manage, then lead Hands On has been one of the most rewarding experiences I’ve had.

I also have to announce that another pillar of Hands On Gulf Coast will leave on May 2. Sara Hamilton, now the Associate Director, came from Chicago Cares, the Hands On Network affiliate in, you guessed it, Chicago. She arrived in June 2006, after a week-long volunteer experience in April 2006.

She came back and immediately jumped in to manage our volunteer programs. After six months, the massive AmeriCorps program was handed to her with the simple directive “make it happen”. She developed, implemented, and managed one of the most effective AmeriCorps programs in Mississippi. Did I mention that she had no prior AmeriCorps experience and she had six weeks to recruit and enroll the first round of members?

Yes, Sara has been one of the other quiet presences at Hands On Gulf Coast that has kept the organization moving ahead despite transition and tumult.

Caitlin Brooking, currently the AmeriCorps Program Manager, will step into the role of Acting Director after I leave. She will hold that post until we hire an Interim Executive Director.

To ensure the delivery of quality volunteer service, we will be hiring an AmeriCorps Program Coordinator and additional administrative support, in addition to the Development Specialist who will focus on fund raising for us.

It is only appropriate that as Hands On Gulf Coast the organization transitions, so to does the leadership. It’s the next step in the evolution of what started as an idea in Thailand after the tsunami.

Thank you to each of you for your support of Hands On, the Gulf Coast, and this leadership team. The Gulf Coast and Hands On will continue to need your support in the months and years to come.

Chris de Veer
Director