It takes a village to care for our children in crisis, and a huge part of the CES village includes our board of directors. They volunteer their time, talents and heart to guide our organization and care for the CES and the Arkansas foster care children we serve.

Our village grew tremendously in 2006. Bikers Against Child Abuse (BACA) has had a presence at the Children’s Emergency Shelter for many years. Chuck Stanick was introduced to CES as a member of BACA, participating in various events including weekly outings at the shelter and BACA’s annual toy run. Chuck joined the CES Board of Directors in 2006 and became president of the board the following year. On June 28, 2018, he presided over his last board meeting as president, leading our village as president for nearly 11 years.

As board president, Chuck has demonstrated exceptional leadership. He has an uncanny ability to keep board meetings on track, and they rarely exceed the allotted time. Sometimes board members see things differently. Chuck meets tough decisions head on and handles conflict diplomatically. He is a natural-born leader. Chuck will continue to serve on the board as a general member.

In addition to his service to the board, Chuck and his wife, Julie, have spent countless hours at the shelter, the majority of which not in the board room, but on evening visits to the shelter to play basketball with the kids, eat a snack, and share lots of laughs (and a few tears, too). Their investment in volunteer hours at CES is unequaled.

A simple plaque at a closed board meeting would not be sufficient to recognize Chuck’s contribution to this organization. We were thrilled to surprise him (and his inner pilot) at this year’s Havana Nights with a custom-made propeller thanking him for his service.

Thank you, Chuck, for your time and dedication to serving the Children’s Emergency Shelter!