UPARC Foundation Announces Executive Director’s Retirement
Karen Crown After seven and half very successful and challenging years, Karen Crown, UPARC Foundation’s Executive Director, is retiring. “I’ve decided that I need to spend more time with my family, especially my grandchildren,” said Mrs. Crown. “I wouldn’t want them to look back on their youth and feel like I wasn’t there enough. I want to enjoy time with them and spend more time travelling as well. I still have quite a few items on my “To Do” list, places I’ve always wanted to visit. Now is the time for me to pursue those goals.” Karen became the Executive Director of UPARC Foundation in February 2001 with ambitions of helping the Foundation to grow and to increase its ability to support the people with developmental disabilities served by UPARC. However, her passion for the mission of UPARC Foundation goes back much further. In the 1980’s, Karen served as Trustee on the Foundation’s Board and she remembers the impact of her very first tour of UPARC in 1969 as a volunteer with the Junior League of Clearwater-Dunedin. “I’ve always seen UPARC as a place where people are loved and valued, even on that first tour when I left with tears in my eyes,” Crown reminisced. “I remember being so emotional seeing the challenges that the children were facing. I have seen many of those children grow up to become such loving and fun people. One of the things that I most cherish about working at UPARC Foundation is the opportunity to meet and develop relationships with the clients. It is such a happy and loving place. Almost every day, I have at least one person hug me and tell me how much they appreciate me. What other job could give me that?” During Karen’s tenure as Executive Director, the Foundation faced the decline of fundraising following both 9-11 and Hurricane Katrina when emergency relief efforts diverted charitable giving. “Those were difficult times to raise money because you knew that the money was going to help such a monumental need. However, the Foundation’s donors continued to be amazingly generous even while giving to those other efforts. During those difficult times, the Foundation staff persevered and managed to create one success after another. I have been blessed to have the support of really talented staff members over the years and truly outstanding volunteers who serve on our Board and help us with our events. Any accomplishments that people might attribute to me are truly a group effort.” Accomplishments have been plentiful in the past seven years. The Foundation completed a $1 million endowment match and helped to pay off mortgages on UPARC’s group homes after State budget cuts put the homes in jeopardy in 2003. “UPARC Foundation has been fortunate to have Karen Crown’s service over the past seven and half years,” remarked Jeff Joyner, UPARC Foundation’s Board President. “Under her leadership, the Foundation has increased its total net assets from $4 million, in 2001 when Karen first took over, to over $10 million this year. During her years as Executive Director, the Foundation has generated more than 15,000 donations totaling over $12 million for UPARC’s programs, services and endowment. We have been fortunate during her tenure that the Foundation has been able each year to increase our annual support of UPARC’s clients. I know that I speak for everyone at UPARC and UPARC Foundation that we wish her well and we thank her for all of her years of service and dedication to our mission. We will all miss her but we take comfort in the knowledge that Karen remains committed to the mission of UPARC Foundation.”
|