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 It’s a privilege to return to Cunningham Children’s Home as President and CEO and it’s great to be back in East Central Illinois with my family. As my 8-year-old son was getting ready for his first day at his new school he said, “Dad, I am HUGE excited.” I know the feeling.
I am HUGE excited to be here at Cunningham. I’m excited to be back and to lead such a strong staff. From Pat, Dan and Cloydia to each and every one of our dedicated childcare workers and support staff, this is a team I am HUGE excited to lead.
I remember that when I was a Cunningham Cottage Director in the 1990’s there were some tough days. The hardest thing about working with the kids back then was the facilities. The old cottages weren’t built for young people with serious emotional problems, and as a staff we were constantly dealing with safety and facility issues instead of giving the kids our full attention.
How exciting to see that Cunningham has stepped up to build new facilities that support the staff's ability to focus their attention on meeting kids' therapeutic needs. While we’ve made great progress in our Residential Treatment program, facilities continue to be the area where we have more work to do. We need to step up once again and improve the physical environment of our two schools and of our special therapies department.
There’s more to do, but I’m HUGE excited. Because, there are two things that motivate me: kids, and the commitment of our staff and supporters. It’s a great feeling to be back at Cunningham and see how the agency has continued to put kids’ needs first in all that we do.
As one of Illinois' premiere child welfare agencies, we have all the ingredients needed to further our daily priority of putting Kids’ Needs First. The excitement is HUGE. Thank you for the part you play here at Cunningham.
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