Dear Colleagues and Supporters:
Lifeline is a special place, and it has been my pleasure and honor to serve as our leader for 16 years. It went by in a minute for me. I started here with brown hair, one chin, 20 pounds lighter, and my kids were in middle school. A lot has changed since 2007.
Fast forward.
The 2023 world is a very different place, in a phase of great change right now, and I feel strongly that it is time to step aside and make room for the next hungry, thoughtful, innovative leader to support this work in this next era.
One of the complications of executive leadership is you must take responsibility for everything challenging that happens to the organization, no matter what. It is on your watch. However, you are also given the credit for everything good that happens as well. And I know in my heart that all of Lifeline’s successes and accomplishments are ours, not mine, though I am frequently the guy requested to be at the podium, the awards ceremony, or on TV. I hope you all as donors, colleagues, collaborators and staff know and feel my gratitude to you for all our successes.
So in reflection, here are some quick numbers:
– I’ve had 38 years in nonprofits, 35 years in San Diego, 16 years at Lifeline. As my wife would say, “Honey, that’s a lot. It might be enough.”
– I’ve driven more than 400,000 miles for this work at Lifeline, from my home in Coronado to my office in Vista, and many other stops in between. I have had two cars in the past 16 years and put 175,000 miles on the first and gave it to my son Andrew and 225,000 miles on the second. That’s about 25,000 a year. I ask the environmental gods to forgive me for that. My record is still 257 miles in one day without leaving the county.
– We’ve lived through two economic crises – the 2009 housing recession and the pandemic. I am not going to say more because we survived, we learned, we moved on, and I am sure neither are the last we will see.
– We’ve grown Lifeline from $5.4 million in 2007 to $16 million in 2023. 60 employees to 150. Touching the lives of 25,000 people last year. Our dedicated staff who fully buy into the Lifeline culture of authenticity, care, excellence, and collaboration. It has been a great run!
So I’m retiring. I found a vision on my sabbatical in 2017 to imagine what it would be like to be retired – and then figured out how I could get there. Well, here I am. A bit of luck, some planning, and saving, some sacrifice… What I just said is also how I led us to do what we all did here at Lifeline. Some visions. Some luck. Some strategic planning, and focus. And a lot of amazing partners and relationships. Thank you all again! I am tingling with excitement for that part of this change. I am also grieving. I will truly miss the day-to-day creativity, energy and enthusiasm. I will remember forever the clients I have met, the countless lives changed because we all chose to work to make our community better, stronger, safer, and more self-reliant.
And I wish you all the very best in what is to become and what you are to become.
Best regards,
Don Stump, CEO
