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|  | Local News Beyer Resigns Center Chad Beyer stepped down Nov. 23 as executive director of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender Community Center of Utah after just four months at the helm. He is the second director to leave this year, after Paula Wolfe announced the end of her four and a half year tenure in March.
“It was an honor to serve a brief term as executive director of the Center. The Center is a critical organization to so many people in the state and I am glad to have brought my skills to its mission,” said Beyer. “I will miss daily interactions with the fine members of the board and the staff who put their whole selves into the work at hand. I wish the Center well as I move on to other challenges and am thankful for their dedication to the GLBT community.”
The Center’s board of directors accepted the resignation and immediately named Valarie Larabee to take the reins Dec. 6 amid promises to solve some of the problems facing the organization.
“There’s a revitalization among the members of the board,” Larabee said. “It’s culminated in a new energy and it’s time to capitalize on that.”
Evelyn Garlington, vice chair of the Center board of directors, says the Center—with its new director—is ready to move into the future riding a wave of change that will transform the face of its facilities and programs.
“We would like to assure you that the strategic program and financial plans have been implemented that will insure the GLBT Community Center’s operations as long as our supporters remain as dedicated as they have in the past. We have already made substantive changes in the way we operate and communicate and have instituted professional polices and procedures that will strengthen our organization now and in the future,” she said in a press release.
Board members say Beyer’s resignation and a new strategic plan for the Center are all part of the natural evolution of a non-profit organization.
“At the first of October we came up with a strategic plan,” said Maryann Martindale, Board President. “It’s a three-part plan with immediate goals, one-year goals and three-year goals. We’re focused on the things we do right and the things we need to change.”
“We’re re-working ourselves,” added Garlington. “It’s very seldom that an organization has a chance to start over.”
Plans include weekly Bingo games to help raise money and bring a new sense of community to the Center. There will also be space available to rent for everything from meetings to commitment ceremonies, and live entertainment in the coffee shop.
She said changes include re-arranging the Center, new leadership, a beefier website and “better service to the community we serve.”
All of this has to be done without losing sight of the more serious programs the Center offers, board members said. Helping people come out, offering referrals and support for them and their families, dealing with health issues and youth programs are the “bread and butter” of a gay and lesbian community center.
“There is a little bit of confusion that the coffee shop is the Center,” said board member Brett Vuksinick. “We have to make sure people know about everything else the Center has to offer.”
None of that can happen without money, and board members seem to be putting a particular emphasis on maintaining the cash flow. Board member Charles Milne said the Center needs the more social aspects of its mission to help support the vital role of supporting members of the gay and lesbian community who need it.
“We are constantly looking for balance and ways to get people involved with the Center,” he said. “Without those resources, we can’t provide the services we do.”
Larabee is no stranger to the world of non-profit organizations. She’s spent time working with United Way, The Salvation Army and Mark Eaton’s Foundation for Kids. She’ll need those skills to keep the money coming in. The focus will be on finding serious donors who are not afraid to support an organization like the Center.
“The very first thing I am going to do is find the people who have supported us in the past and thank them for everything they have done for us,” she said. “Relationship, relationship, relationship is what it is all about.” | | |
