It was 20 years ago that I completed my first year as Executive Director of
Family and Community Services after many years of being a clinician and supervisor for the agency. I remember at the time a great deal of ambivalence about taking on this position. There has certainly been a great deal of challenges during this period but also a great deal of rewards.

It is only fitting that the past year (my 20^th) can be described very similarly to my description of the total time period. Times for small non-profits have been very difficult and our agency, like others, has had to confront many obstacles recently. However, due to a team of very dedicated and skilled staff and Board members, we continue to make adjustments and accomplish some ambitious goals.

The highlights of the past year include:

• Program outcomes and client feedback was better than ever
• We hired several new part-time fee for service staff as well as two other part-time staff members who have made key contributions to the agency’s growth in the past year.
• We began to recruit some new valuable Board members as well as volunteers.
• We were actually able to increase the levels of service in our professional counseling services despite continued economically driven funding decreases. We increased our client fee revenues very significantly.
• We began to implement changes that resulted from our Mental Health and Addictions Program Licensure reviews.
• We increased our fundraising activities and fundraising event revenues.

I feel especially grateful to Howard Hessel who has been a tremendous President of the Board over the past few years. He has done so much to contribute to the agency’s success, to support my efforts as well as the staff, to motivate the Board. I am also extremely appreciative of my Staff Administrative team who remain so dedicated, effective and who continue to help create a very positive work environment which is one of the strengths of the agency. I am also so thankful to our great team of staff, Board Members, and volunteers who are being asked regularly to do more with less, yet who remain so committed to our critical cause.

Eric Harris LCSW
Executive Director