Gee, it seems all the cute nonprofit top gals are retiring. First, there was TACA’s President/Executive Director Becky Young. Then earlier this week, Trinity Trust’s President/CEO Gail Thomas announced her retirement. Now, word comes that North Texas Food Bank President/CEO Jan Pruitt is “stepping down effective today.”
According to the official press release, “Rather than continue with her medical treatment and in consultation with her doctors, she has chosen to spend time with family and friends in the comfort of her home.”
Knowing Jan, after spending over a year battling cancer, she wants to focus on spending the holiday with her family and let her North Texas Food Bank family focus on providing for the thousands in need of food during the neediest time of year.
Luckily, Jan is such a smart cookie. Her vision for NTFB is in place and she has an all-star team in place to see that plan through.
So, if you want the ultimate perfect holiday gift, why not drop Jan a note and make a donation to her baby — North Texas Food Bank. And how about making it the price of a la-di-da dinner at some swanky Dallas restaurant? That suggestion also goes to area restaurateurs and nonprofits, who have long respected Jan’s 20 years at NTFB.
Remember, hunger is the first step in providing people with the ability to be educated, to create, to survive the next day and to even provide for their children and animals. North Texas Food Bank has been the oasis for so many, including your neighbors and strangers.
For the full announcement, follow the jump, but don’t forget to send Jan a note and make that donation.
A Statement from Tom Black, North Texas Food Bank Board Chair
December 15, 2016
The North Texas Food Bank Board of Directors announced that Jan Pruitt, our President and CEO for the past 20 years, is stepping down effective today. As many are aware, for more than a year Jan has undergone treatment at MDAnderson. Rather than continue with her medical treatment and in consultation with her doctors, she has chosen to spend time with family and friends in the comfort of her home.
Jan’s passion for serving her community began when she received a call from her priest that led to her work at a small nonprofit in Lancaster. For this former stay-at-home mother, that opportunity was the spark for her life work, and ultimately to leadership of the North Texas Food Bank and her election to board chair for Feeding America. Jan has played an important role in hunger relief in North Texas and throughout the United States, and has left an indelible mark on the mission of both organizations.
Above all else, Jan is a big thinker, innovator and risk-taker. In collaboration with the board of directors, Jan and her team launched a bold ten-year plan last year to close the current hunger gap and provide 92 million meals annually for hungry North Texans by 2025. Though Jan won’t be at the helm, the Board and staff will continue to honor her and her vision by working diligently to put food on the table for our hungry neighbors.
Simon Powell, the Food Bank’s Chief Operating Officer, who has led NTFB in Jan’s absence, will continue to serve as interim CEO until the board communicates next steps on a permanent successor.
To the community that Jan has served passionately: Thank you for all of your prayers for her and her family during this difficult time, and thank you for standing with her in believing that no one should be hungry in North Texas.
For those wishing to send Jan their well wishes please visit ntfb.org/janpruitt