This month we bid a fond farewell to Ben LeFort, who served as SHARE’s communications manager for the past seven years. Ben is taking his many skills out into the “real world” of for-profit business. We will miss his expertise and leadership ability.
I knew Ben was a leader right from the start when I saw him walk across the warehouse and bend down to pick up a piece of paper that had been dropped on the floor. He kept on moving, tossed the paper into the trash can, and went on with his work. You might wonder what picking up trash has to do with leadership. I believe this simple act is symbolic of not walking past a problem or leaving it for someone else to resolve. Leaders take action on problems whenever they can. Best of all, Ben was not even aware that I was watching. He did the right thing, just because it needed to be done.
SHARE is a great environment for leadership development. Think about the hundreds of volunteers that take action every month to make SHARE possible! Most of these people are self-selected to fulfill a need they see in their community. Ben took pride in responding to the requests of our volunteers and helping our host site leaders tell SHARE’s story. They are our best spokespeople and he made sure they had the tools needed to do a great job.
Ben handled so many tasks at SHARE with skill and a commitment to excellence, including editing the SHARE Times, handling Spanish language phone calls and print materials, managing our website and creating our online presence through Facebook and Twitter. But most of all we will miss his clarity of vision and dedication to mission. It was a true joy to work with him. Please join me in wishing him the very best as he takes on his next leadership challenge.