March 2019- The Best “No” Ever

In 23 years, it’s one of the best affirmations a donor-partner has ever shared with me.  “Sorry Sam, we aren’t going to be able to help support the YEM (year-end match) this year.”  That’s not a typo.  It was a flat “no.”  I will confess there was a time when that...

January 2019-Isaac’s Story

I remember the meeting in Clark Williams’ law office downtown. My friend and SLF board member Rex Robertson had invited me to meet with his dear friends Mark and Tiffany Bulgin.  They were looking to strengthen the organizational structure and expand the board of...

November 2018 – Kinda Coming Full Circle

It was a bleak day in a bleak neighborhood 15 years ago.  Tim France and I were standing in Salem Alliance’s south parking lot, surveying the Broadway strip.  Boarded-up buildings.  Used car lots.  One of those payday-loan storefronts.  Tons of litter and graffiti....