Atlanta foundation attracts senior Secret Service executive as CEO

The Atlanta Police Foundation, dedicated to advancing Atlanta's goal to become the safest major city in America, has just hired David Wilkinson as its President & CEO. BoardWalk Consulting is pleased to have conducted the search on behalf of the APF board.

A 22-year veteran of the U. S. Secret Service, Dave is now Special Agent in Charge of the Atlanta Field Office and the youngest SAC in the country. Over the years, Dave has served with distinction in both the protective and investigative divisions of the Secret Service. Of particular note, he was the Principal Federal Officer in charge of security for last year's G-8 Summit held in Sea Island, Georgia, for which he coordinated a security force of over 20,000 law enforcement officers. Previously, Dave had been deputy head of the protective detail for both Presidents Bush & Clinton.

Dave's appointment as CEO comes at a critical time for the capital of the New South. Violent crime has declined substantially under the leadership of Atlanta's Chief of Police Richard Pennington since August 2002, reversing a stubborn trend of prior years.

Until the rampage at the Fulton County Court House last week, Atlanta's murders were fully 60% below year-ago figures. Nevertheless, as Friday's eruption made clear, much work remains before Atlanta can achieve its goal of being "the safest major city in America."

The Atlanta Police Foundation was created by a diverse group of business and community leaders in 2003 to be an advocate for the Atlanta Police Department and a champion for the community on public safety issues. "We are thrilled to have a leader of Dave Wilkinson's stature lead the Foundation," noted board chair Cal Darden, recently retired head of UPS North America. "That Dave and his family would choose to serve the public interest in Atlanta rather than succumb to private-sector offers elsewhere in the country is a real testament to our city."

Dave Wilkinson will be introduced to the Atlanta community at the second annual "Crime is Toast" breakfast on Friday, April 1, 2005, as will winners of such awards as Citizen of the Year.

The Triangle Community Foundation, one of North Carolina's most dynamic philanthropies, is in transition. Shannon St. John, the foundation's head since its inception in 1983, announced her retirement last month, and the Foundation's board has asked BoardWalk Consulting to assist in the search for her successor.

The Triangle Community Foundation is committed to expanding private philanthropy in its region of North Carolina (Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill and the communities of Wake, Durham, Orange, and Chatham counties), and its successes are legion. In just 21 years, under St. John's leadership, the Foundation's assets grew from barely $3000 to over $100 million. The board is committed to the heritage of the Foundation's first two decades even as it looks for ways to expand its philanthropic relevance and its community impact in the years to come.

The BoardWalk search team is currently meeting with Foundation trustees and other stakeholders in the area to establish the search's strategy and the criteria for selection. We will include the approved position specification in the next issue of smorgasBoard^SM.

"Trust is the issue."

In the US, the trust ranking of NGOs has grown by more than 50% since the survey's inception. By contrast, ranking of trust in the business sector has grown by barely four percentage points in the same period.

Among other findings,

• Employees and "an average person like me" are more credible than the CEO.
• Partnerships between public-interest groups and business can make for a clear advantage.
• The most trusted media is local or national, not global.

The business of trust: Marketing integrity and value

The business of trust is the theme for this year's annual conference on nonprofit marketing. The conference lineup includes distinguished speakers, presenters and panelists ranging from the CEO of a global marketing concern to the head of an emerging nonprofit--all with direct personal experience with the fragile nature of trust.

The conference has nearly doubled in size each of the last three years, a real testament to its usefulness to board members and senior managers of nonprofit organizations. We invite you to take a look at this dynamic event.

BoardWalk's Sam Pettway is pleased once again to be a member of the conference planning committee.