List your education, work experience, personal details: Served in the U.S. Army on active duty for 22 years in a wide variety of assignments, both in the United States and overseas, to include service in Iraq (OIF). Retired at the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in December 2009, at Fort Sill, Okla. Following retirement from active duty, worked as a government contractor for just over five years before leaving starting a new career serving the people who make up Life Styles Inc, in the role of executive director. Have been married for 27 years to Karen. She teaches at Prairie Grove Middle School. We have two boys, David Jr. (age 21 and a senior at Cameron University in Oklahoma) and Christopher (age 14 and an eighth-grader at Prairie Grove.
Tell us about your organization:
GO & DO
Polo in the Ozarks
What: Polo match, tailgating, children’s activities, silent auction, gala dinner and dance
When: 4 p.m. Sept. 12
Where: Buell Farm in Goshen
Tickets: Match only — $25 for adults, $10 per child (7-12 years old); Match and gala — $125 for adults, $25 per child; VIP gala package — $150
Information: (479) 521-3581 or lifestylesinc.org
• Mission: Life Styles enthusiastically supports individuals with disabilities in reaching their full potential as contributing members of the community.
• Services provided: Our services consist of three interconnected core programs that work together to meet the needs of each individual.
-- Our Supported Living program focuses on daily living skills and are customized to the needs of each person. Training includes cooking, apartment maintenance, personal care, laundry, financial management, relationships and a variety of safety skills. Individuals may live on our residential campus, with family, or in an apartment or home in the community, or in a few instances, pursue actual home ownership.
-- Our College for Living program is the educational branch of our organization, with classes are composed of academic, social and recreational offerings. College for Living also encompasses "Launch," set on the campus of the University of Arkansas, offering a college experience to young adults who would not otherwise have this opportunity.
-- The Supported Employment program focuses on placing individuals with disabilities in competitive jobs in the community. Placements include veterinary clinics, book stores, athletic clubs, restaurants as well as numerous retailers.
• Service area: Washington and Benton counties
• Average number of people served annually: Over 160
How is your organization's mission unique? Since 1976, Life Styles has served individuals with disabilities and their families living in Northwest Arkansas. As the area has grown, so has the demand for services provided by Life Styles. We have always believed that with training and support, individuals with developmental disabilities would be fully integrated into our community as contributing citizens. At the outset this was a not a common idea, and only through the untiring effort of both employees and clients spanning almost 40 years, the understanding that individuals with disabilities can act as fully contributing members of the community and society in general has slowly taken hold.
Why do you work for a nonprofit organization? Do you have a personal connection to the mission? If so, what is it? I work for the organization primarily because I have opted to dedicate my life to the service of others. At various times, that has entailed service to my country, to my family, and now to adults with disabilities. I approach each of those with a high degree of passion and caring, as well as an overriding commitment to achieving the highest standards, and encouraging those who we help to do the same and realize their fullest potential as contributing members of society. On a personal level, my youngest son, Christopher, has autism, so I have a little different perspective of just how that can affect individuals and their families on a daily basis.
What part of your job fills the most of your time? I would like to think that interacting, visiting with, mentoring, and encouraging our clients to accomplish their goals and realize their maximum potential occupies most of my time, and quite often it truly does. I would like to have more hours in the day to do exactly that. However, in the role of executive director, simply managing the organization and setting the stage for the success of our outstanding, caring employees also demands a lot of my time. Interacting with the surrounding community is also a top priority, and I am really trying to get out and meet as many stakeholders and community members as possible in an effort to better inform them of the Life Styles mission and support that we need.
What have you learned on the job that you didn't expect? While I was aware that Life Styles was a special organization as soon as I walked through the door, I was not truly aware of the high degree of personal sacrifice, commitment and understanding on the part of each and every staff member on a daily basis. No one here at LS is working to become a millionaire, and generally the pay isn't very high -- we are a non-profit organization after all, and don't have a massive budget -- but I would challenge any organization, regardless of financial status, to have more loyal, dedicated and caring employees that what we have. They, and the great clients that we have the privilege to serve, were truly an eye-opener for me when I first started here.
What challenges face your organization? 1.)Funding the expensive and time consuming level of uncompromising care that we provide on a daily basis; 2.) Operating in an era which is trending toward less government funding and potentially unhelpful oversight, which will make the care we provide much less personal, individual based and effective; 3.) Raising the awareness of what we do and how it affects everyone in the community, regardless of whether a family contains a person with disabilities or not.
Are there volunteer opportunities in your organization? What are they? Many, but in a nutshell we have opportunities in the art program, supporting Polo in the Ozarks (every September), client education and training opportunities, mentoring, etc.
What gets you out of bed to go to work in the morning? The clients and making sure that they have the best chance for success each and every day. If they can get up and perform at the level they do, I certainly can as well.
What do you hope you leave behind as your legacy? An organization with a solid foundation and commitment to excellence, with the same high level of personal care to those with disabilities that has existed since Carol Hart first founded the organization in 1976. I will accept no less, nor will any of the outstanding employees who comprise our staff.
NAN Profiles on 08/23/2015