by PegNews wire

This new direction falls on the heels of a recent string of grants and by contributions made by local business leaders and corporations.

WHITE ROCK HILLS — The Ferguson Road Initiative (FRI) announced today the search for its first paid executive director. This new direction falls on the heels of a recent string of grants and by contributions made by local business leaders and corporations.

Since 1998, the restoration and redevelopment of the lower Ferguson Road corridor has been a dream of the people that make up the community of FRI. The group is currently working with the City of Dallas, after 10 years of united effort, to build the White Rock Hills Library and the White Rock Hills Community Recreation Center and mixed-use retail development on Ferguson Road. FRI attracts developers that want to be a part of building its vision. FRI helps them work with the community to build consensus on how to best serve the residents and stakeholders of the White Rock Hills community, and the appointment of a paid executive director will help accelerate this process.

FRI continues to dedicate resources to reducing crime, reporting a more than 25% decrease in overall crime in the area. It also provides safety and education programs and social services that create a better quality of life for residents in its diverse community.

“We stay focused on our shared vision of ‘the complete revitalization of the White Rock Hills Community’ and true to our mission ‘to transform White Rock Hills into a safe, beautiful, prosperous, and proud community by inspiring hope and working together to achieve a shared vision’ in everything that we do,” says Vikki J. Martin, FRI’s acting pro-bono executive director. “We operate with the highest integrity and transparency guided by our core values -- leadership, integrity, community, respect, and stewardship, and we look forward to our new executive director carrying out this vision and mission.”

“Hiring an executive director will enable us to build on the progress we've made over the last 10 years by finally having an individual whose sole focus is to transform our community in fulfillment of FRI’s mission,” adds FRI Board president, Bill Coleman. “Our new executive director will be dedicated to helping us acquire the resources to perform our mission by applying for grants and working with organizations that support nonprofits like ours in our efforts to improve the quality of life in our neighborhoods.”

The group currently has a call for applications out and aspires to have the position filled by October 2009.

Source: FRI

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