About a month ago, I announced to the Beacon Board of Directors that I will be retiring later in 2025. I reached one of those significant milestone ages that start with a 6 and my wife is already retired, so it is time to make this next life transition and spend more time with family and long-time friends.
I have been the CEO at Beacon for over 11 years and have seen it grow and prosper. When I joined Beacon, then Tri-County Mental Health, in January 2014, it had 95 staff on payroll and a $14 million annual budget. Now, we have over 210 people on payroll and an annual budget exceeding $28 million. That growth was fueled by state and local investments in mental health and substance use treatment for the citizens of the Northland. It has been my privilege to nurture and grow those “investments” and see more access, more services, and more lives transformed.
I have also been very lucky to have a very supportive Board that has kept me grounded and on track while Beacon went through its growth spurts. Also, I can’t say enough about the staff members who have supported me and the mission of Beacon to serve the mental health needs of the people north of the river. I stand on the shoulders of all these good people who have helped me, and Beacon, grow and better serve its local communities.
I should be at Beacon for another 4 to 5 months, and the Beacon Board has hired a national recruiting firm to find an excellent new CEO. As I get closer to the actual retirement date, I hope to check in personally with many of you – the many long-time supporters and partners of Beacon Mental Health. Until then, onward and upward!
