Leadership Change at Hinds’ Feet Farm

 

I am writing to you today to let you know that effective November 10, I will be officially stepping aside and retiring as the Executive Director of Hinds’ Feet Farm and that Beth Callahan, our Director of Member Services will be taking on that role. This upcoming transition has been years in the planning and I can think of no one more capable and creative than Beth to lead the company forward in the coming years. Beth came to Hinds’ Feet Farm with over 35 years of experience and an unbridled passion to serve the brain injury community. Beth and I have been working closely together on this transition for the past year and a half and I am certain that Hinds’ Feet Farm will continue to grow and do amazing things under her care and guidance! In my retirement I will remain involved with the life of the Farm through my role as Chairman of the Board of Directors and will also continue to drop in as needed to handle any necessary financial matters as the Volunteer Financial Officer.

 

Leading Hinds’ Feet Farm for the past 23 years has been one of the greatest challenges and rewarding experiences of my life. When Mom and Dad urged me to take on this project in November of 1999, we never could have imagined the growth in the size, breadth and scope of our programs. We have grown from a single employee in a construction trailer to a company with over 40 employees and multiple programs across the state. Most importantly, the impact Hinds’ Feet Farm has had on members, their families, the community and survivors around the region and the world simply cannot be measured. We should all feel a deep sense of pride at what we’ve accomplished together.

 

Many years ago as a small boy, Philip (a chronic sleepwalker) woke Mom and Dad up to declare that he was not Philip, but rather John the Baptist and he would one day be a fisher of men. My startled parents had no idea at the time how prophetic those words would become. After Phil’s injury in 1984 our family began the journey that so many others have, and continue to take. 16 years after his accident, Hinds’ Feet Farm was born with the simple goal to care for Phil, 5 others and perhaps a few survivors from within the community.

 

That simple and small mission was soon to be eclipsed by Philip’s prophetic words from so long ago. Since our inception, Hinds’ Feet Farm has grown to include 3 residential homes and 2 day programs and has been blessed to serve hundreds of survivors and their families across the state and indeed many from outside North Carolina. Moreover, Hinds’ Feet Farm has always been very active in local, regional and national advocacy efforts – from fundraisers and conferences to state legislative and national congressional meetings and events. We’ve also been involved in local brain injury prevention efforts – speaking to thousands of elementary school kids about the importance of wearing helmets and bike safety and giving away hundreds of bike helmets in the process.

 

In early 2015, Phil’s net grew even larger when Hinds’ Feet Farm members and staff began the Unmasking Brain Injury Project. That simple idea, with only 20 masks at the time, has grown in time to encircle the globe with partners across America, Canada, Puerto Rico, Costa Rica, Argentina, the U.K., Australia and Malaysia. Through Unmasking Brain Injury, Hinds’ Feet Farm has touched and impacted countless lives. The knowledge that a small service provider like Hinds’ Feet Farm is known and respected around the world because of this project is truly awe inspiring and humbling. Philip was called home to the Lord in 2018, 34 years after his accident. But the impact his life had on so many will endure.

 

Non-profits depend heavily on the generosity of others to accomplish their goals. Hinds’ Feet Farm is no exception and it would be an understatement of the highest order to say that the we owe much of our success to the tremendous generosity, volunteerism and good will from individuals, corporations and foundations in the communities we serve. I want to take this moment to thank each of you for your support of our mission, no matter what form that benevolence took. We have truly been blessed these many years and I pray that you continue to support the farm in the years to come!

 

The farm has a bright future ahead and I depart my role as Executive Director secure in my belief that Phil’s legacy will continue on for years to come.

Respectfully Yours in the Service of Others

 

Martin B. Foil III

Chairman of the Board, Hinds’ Feet Farm