Board Feature: Tony Butler

As we begin the new year, we're reviving our blog features! First up is our Board President, Tony Butler, who took his new position back in September. I had the opportunity to talk to Tony about his connections to the community, his plans as Board President, and what JOURNEYS | Lives Here means to him.









​"Much earlier in my career I was working as a firefighter paramedic in Hoffman Estates, and I went to a medical call in a motel. When we went inside there was a family of four and two dogs living in this small motel room. The two kids were at the little table doing their homework, and they had all their personal belongings stacked up to the ceiling, and a little cooktop apparatus on the counter to cook their food. I just thought, 'We've got to do better with this. I know we can do better than this and help people in these situations.' 

So, when Beth, our Executive Director, asked me to be on the Board in 2019, remembering that experience years ago, I didn’t hesitate. For the last two years we've had to be focused on COVID and the construction of the new building and raising the necessary funds. As Board President, I really want the Board to start thinking more strategically and taking a longer view of things now that the new building is up and that we're back to normal operations since the interruptions at start of the pandemic.

I’m going to start thinking about how we structure our board by forming smaller committees focused on specific issues. This will allow the Board to focus hard on these key areas, and move our mission forward! 

As we look toward the next three to five years, we want to make sure we’re maximizing our operations, using our facility to its full benefit and maximizing its impact. Our service area stretches from Streamwood all the way to Lake Michigan. That’s a lot of people within a large area where JOURNEYS makes a footprint.

​When I think of where JOURNEYS lives, it really lives everywhere. We have the opportunity before us to improve a lot of lives. "

Transcribed and arranged by Roxanne Gentry, Marketing Associate

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