Welcome Back to The Food Bank Amy Beros!

You know I have had a 25 year long relationship with the Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina. It started when my minister Haywood Holderness pointed at me one day and said, “We need you at the Food Bank.” He was on the board and recognized a kindred spirit.

So I did what he said, and got involved. I have had every kind of volunteer job one could have at the Food bank, from mopping the floor of the Durham Branch to being Board Chair.

One of my jobs on the board was in finding a new VP of Development when one of the best people in that job in a long time was leaving us. We did a nationwide search. It took months. I had lived through some terrible development people. I still know their names and their sins. I did not want to go backwards after having a good one.

My dear friend Felicia was also on this committee with me. Between the two of us we were tough on all the candidates. I remember being on a conference call sitting in my sunroom when we rejected all the finalists. “None of these people are good enough.” It had been almost a year of searching.

“These people are not as good as Amy,” who was a junior member of the team who, during the year of our search had grown greatly in her job. “I would rather take a chance on promoting her than restarting a national search and get someone else’s reject.”

Felicia was right on board with that. So the idea took hold of our group and Amy eventually got the big promotion. It was the best thing we had ever done. She turned out to be even better than her predecessor. She created a team of super stars. She was young, bright, hard working and dedicated to our mission and a really great manager.

After a few magical years she needed more to do. She took a big job at Feeding America. She got experience on the national stage.

This year when our President resigned after barely a year Amy was ready to come back. It was clear she was the right person to take the helm. Peter who had been the President for many years and Amy’s boss when he was there was a big cheerleader for her. So was I and Felicia.

So I am happy to announce Amy Beros is Back at the Food bank, now as the President and CEO. Congratulations to Amy! I know our state is in good hands.