The Brackett Foundation
enote 29 August 26, 2006
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Succession Issues:
It
is probably not news to most of you, that we, Tom and Liz Brackett, are in
our seventies. And although we are not ready to give up our tasks soon, we
must consider the long-term future of our organization. The refugees from
Burma clearly continue to need our help, and at the rate the political
situation is changing, they will continue to need that help for some time to
come. Furthermore we believe our work for the refugee from Burma can serve
as a good model for refugees in many places in the world, and we expect our
Foundation will continue to find new areas in the world where it may serve.
We have taken the several steps to help a transition along. We have
recruited volunteers to join us to help us in our work in Asia.. We have
started an endowment fund to help provide financial stability to our
organization. We have consulted with several parties about ways to make our
transition easier. And just this past week we had our second meeting with
our own children about succession issues.
Right now it is us and our son Christopher who represent the faces and the
voices of the Brackett Foundation to people in Asia, and the United States.
If the Foundation is to survive us, that must change. You need to hear new
voices, and see faces involved with our work.
theater group The Paper Bag Players in New York; Russ, a business consultant,
and recent participant in a meeting discussing succession issues; Phil, the
manager of our endowment; and Chris, our representative in Thailand.
Penelope, Ted's wife, is in front of Ted, and to Russ' right while Cristy,
Russ' wife, is to Russ' left, and Catherine, between Ted and Phil, is Phil's
wife. It has been a great pleasure for Liz and I to see the enthusiasm and
willingness of our children to accept the responsibility for the activities
of the Foundation when ever it becomes necessary. Cristy and Phil are already
Trustees of the Foundation, Ted has agreed to look into planned giving, Sally
has taken over the task of creating and delivering these enotes to you, Chris
has been working for us in Thailand for several years, and others have
welcomed us into their communities to give talks to their friends about our
work. All agreed to accept additional tasks in fund raising, management, and
communications. It is our intention that you will be hearing a lot more about
and from them in the future.