Goodwill Central Texas Celebrates 60th Anniversary and 20-Year CEO Jerry Davis to Step Down in 2019
Goodwill Central Texas (GCT) has been serving the Central Texas community for 60 years and has experienced phenomenal growth over the last two decades in no small measure thanks to the innovative leadership of CEO Jerry Davis, who just this week announced his intent to move forward in the next chapter of his career.
AUSTIN, Texas, Oct. 26, 2018 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Goodwill Central Texas (GCT) has been serving the Central Texas community for 60 years and has experienced phenomenal growth over the last two decades in no small measure thanks to the innovative leadership of CEO Jerry Davis, who just this week announced his intent to move forward in the next chapter of his career. Mr. Davis ably led GCT for almost 21 years and in 2012, won Goodwill International's highest honor, the King Award, for outstanding service and achievement. He was named CEO of the year in 2016 by the Austin Business Journal.
Commenting on Mr. Davis' departure, Board Chair Jamie Lagarde said, "Jerry Davis has continually brought incredible passion, energy, and generative thinking that has grown Goodwill Central Texas into one of largest, most innovative, and most respected non-profits in Texas. The Goodwill Central Texas family will greatly miss Jerry's leadership and dedication to our community and we wish him the very best."
Mr. Davis added, "It has been an incredible honor to serve as the CEO of Goodwill Central Texas for over 20 years. I'm excited for the future and I'm very much looking forward to using my skills in a broader scope, including building on my lifetime passion for leadership and serving people with disabilities or who are marginalized in different ways. I'm so proud that I've led this organization, now over 1,600 strong, with a devotion to assisting those who have obstacles to employment. I leave my tenure here knowing that our accomplishments were always a team effort, bolstered by dedicated staff and volunteers who believe in our mission."
Under his leadership, the organization has grown from $16M in annual revenue to $100M with 30 retail stores, three boutiques, two outlets/distribution centers and one computer store. And last year alone, Goodwill Central Texas assisted over 10,000 people in a variety of career-related services.
Davis was at the forefront of Goodwill recycling initiatives, and in partnership with Dell, launched the Dell Reconnect computer recycling program amongst Goodwill organizations nationwide. GCT is also known for its standout staffing agency, mailroom processing, deconstruction, sub-manufacturing, fulfillment and custodial services.
In 2014, Goodwill Central Texas opened The Excel Center of Austin, the first free public charter high school in Texas that provides adults ages 17-50 the opportunity to earn their high school diploma, complete a professional certification, and begin post-secondary education. Since that time, the school known as The Goodwill Excel Center has graduated more than 500 students and expanded to other locations including Lockhart Women's Correctional Facility.
In 2018, GCT launched its 60th Anniversary Capital Campaign to build a new Goodwill Career & Technical Academy, a free post-secondary training facility specializing in high-demand occupations aligned with the Austin Metro Area Master Community Master Workforce Plan, that will serve thousands of Central Texans per year. To date GCT has raised $3.4M of its $5.9M goal.
Davis drove the vision of "Empowering 100,000 Central Texas to transform their lives through work." Since 2013, GCT has empowered almost 35,000 people in our community, and in 2017 generated a local economic impact of $200M through wages and business operations.
SOURCE Goodwill Central Texas
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