Fall 2008 issue of Horizons

GUEST ARTICLE Dan Buck, St. Patrick Center (cont.)

Describe some of the strong leadership examples you have seen lately from St. Patrick Center supporters in the community. The best leadership examples have come from our incredible board members. They unselfishly give of their time and resources on a regular basis. They are in their neighborhoods and workplaces, asking their friends for support and often hosting fundraisers in their homes. It’s wonderful to see this group of often wealthy, influential individuals attending our events and pitching in so tirelessly. Their resources could be going toward their families or professions, but they choose to invest them with us. Any great leader is aware of his/her succession plan. The CEO before me had operations down to a science but realized that a new visionary was needed. When I took the helm, the center didn’t need a new captain, just someone to put a bright light on the ship. Coming from a long background in television and radio communication, I was well-equipped to make strides in gaining recognition on the center’s efforts and successes. We established a communications center that produces media updates, webcasts and performance videos for our funders. The communications team also enables us to give better visual presentations at events and meetings. Thanks to these efforts, we have seen an increase in Since taking on your role as CEO, what major changes have you implemented within the organization?

community awareness and contributions. We are now a center with the capacity to track visual outcomes and provide meaningful results for our donors. We are constantly putting out the message of our economic impact on downtown St. Louis. Through our employment rehabilitation services, we are moving people from tax burdens to tax payers. We create economic stimulus through job training and housing placements and by reducing crime, while ending homelessness for hundreds each year in our community. The Irish Open golf tournament raises more than $330,000 each year and receives a lot of participation and support from our corporate community. Our Sports Trivia Championship, presented by Budweiser, is entering its sixth year, draws more than 1,200 contestants and is televised in four prime-time episodes on Fox Sports Midwest. We also do our Pot of Gold Drive each year during St. Patrick’s Day weekend and have seen a lot of positive feedback from the 400 volunteers who make that event happen. One of our corporate sponsors, Wells Fargo, puts on an independent third-party golf tournament each year, which generates more than $200,000. Most recently, we saw great success in the first year of the Key Player Initiative. There are tremendous growth opportunities with all of these events, as well as several smaller events that we have throughout the year. What are some of the center’s largest fundraising initiatives in terms of participation and success?

25 ◆ fall 2008 issue