After 17 years in Advancement Services at Columbus State University, I am leaving higher education and advancement services behind. I have an opportunity to work with a family member as his business is growing exponentially and he needs someone he can trust at his side.
The wealth of knowledge of this "collective" as I call you is truly incredible. I have often said that Advancement Services in a lot of ways is not an exact science, there really are just best practices, with a few hard and fast rules from the IRS and CASE thrown in. Many, many times I have had to rely on this collective and you never disappoint. You have
empowered me most of all, to stand up and fight for our rules/guidelines. I have laughed at our stories, been heartbroken for what some others have had to deal with, and then sometimes just laughed because that's all we can do sometimes. We are some of the hardest working people I know who deal with countless things thrown at us at a time all while adjusting to changes in the economy, the environment, politics, workforce changes, and heaven forbid we have a family life.
To say just thank you will never be enough to express my gratitude to all of you. Even if there were times I didn't comment, just reading all of these posts helped me do my job better. And just knowing you were there if I needed you, gave me the confidence to keep on going.
Thank you, and best wishes to you all!!!
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Cindy Hicks
Director of Advancement Services
Columbus State University Foundation
hicks_cindy@columbusstate.edu------------------------------