June 12, 2024

Dear Valued Partner,

There have been lots of happenings around Family Promise of Butler County lately! Last week, months of planning concluded with a beautiful day for our 2024 Dot Dash. We are waiting for final numbers to come in, but it looks like we have hit some new highs both in participation and in fundraising.

The Day Center has been a buzz as well with some renovations to our upstairs apartments. As you know we have been working hard to get those spaces ready to accept families when we don’t have congregations scheduled for housing. This hybrid model will replace our current solution, which is to house our guests in a hotel. As you can imagine, hotels are not ideal for our families or our budget. 

While working on these spaces, Billy, Michelle and our Congregational Engagement Committee have been looking to add congregations to our list of hosts and we already have two new prospects on the horizon!

Though there is much to celebrate at FPBC, we have some disappointing news to share. For a few months now, our Executive Director Billy Bruns has been fighting some chronic health issues. The Board was made aware this spring that Billy was beginning to struggle balancing his health, his treatment and fatigue, his schedule, and his commitment to this organization. This week, the Board and I accepted Billy’s resignation. 

This was not an easy decision for BIlly as he is deeply vested in the mission of Family Promise of Butler County and its families. He plans to remain on staff part time, helping with some administrative duties until a new ED can be found. This was not a decision that was made quickly. Billy was transparent in his concerns that he was not able to do the job as well as he wanted and to the level that it deserves. With patience and flexibility from the Board, it was determined that stepping down was best for both Billy and the organization.

This Board and I are sorry to see a leader such as Billy go, but as we told him, we support his decision 100% to put his health and family first. The staff and Board are ready to stand in the gaps until the next ED is found. Billy was a tremendous asset at a time of much change, but we are all confident knowing that the best is yet ahead at Family Promise of Butler County. 

We look forward to updating you on our next steps and will do so as soon as we know them. Each one of us on staff and on the Board thank you for your continued support and we look forward to serving this community and its families to come!

Sincerely,

Libby Willms, FPBC Board Chair 

and the FPBC Board