Pat Lile received not one, but two standing ovations when she took the podium at the 13th annual Leadership and Awards Event. The affair took place Sept. 7 at the Clinton Presidential Center under the direction of the Arkansas Nonprofit Alliance, which Lile co-founded.
She received the 2016 James E. Harris Nonprofit Leadership Award, which is named for another of the alliance's co-founders.
"Leadership ... it's my bag, if you will," she said. One speaker lauded her as, among other things, a leader, mentor, disrupter and friend. Her professional career culminated as president and chief executive officer of Arkansas Community Foundation Inc., a position she held from 1996-2007.
Lile gave much credit to the late Harris, who was instrumental in creating the Arkansas Diamond Standards, a set of best practices for nonprofit organizations in Arkansas. It has been said that Harris, a lawyer, often preached that one should strive to complement one's professional career with public service. This tradition is being carried out at his former law firm -- now Friday, Eldredge & Clark. Several Friday lawyers attended the Sept. 7 event.
A slew of other awards were given out during the three-hour luncheon. Riverview Hope Campus, Emerging Nonprofit of the Year; Ronald McDonald House, High-Impact Nonprofit of the Year; Catherine Hughes, Arkansas Repertory Theatre, Outstanding Nonprofit Board Member of the Year; Leandro Braslavsky, Hispanic Community Services, Young Nonprofit Professional of the Year; Thea Foundation, Mission Marketing Award.
The luncheon concluded with an engaging speech by Hilary Haddigan, chief of mission effectiveness for Heifer International, a group that perhaps knows the most about transforming communities.
High Profile on 09/18/2016