20 Thursday, October 3, 2024 BATTLE CREEK SHOPPER NEWS http://www.thebattlecreekshopper.com
plus about
100 vol-
unteers- “and the
fact that...
their big-
gest ser-
vice area/
program
here at
CityLinC
is youth
guidance,
foster care,
and adop-
tion ser-
vices.”
She said
foster care
is “near and dear to my heart,” as she
was involved with it in Arizona for
about seven years.
“I got lucky,” said DeBree. “I land-
ed a job that I’m really happy with.”
She is taking over from Dale
Boyer, who served as CityLinC’s
Executive Director for 16 years.
She said Boyer “did an amazing
job at bringing CityLinC to where
they are today, laid the groundwork,
built it up from... a smaller organiza-
tion to what it is today.”
Boyer joined the organization in
2008, at first, as a consultant to the
Board of Directors, who were in
the process of searching for a new
executive director, but at their first
meeting, he said, they offered him
the position, and he accepted.
In his time at the helm, he said
the organization has grown from
a staff of three social workers to
10 and added or expanded quite
a few services, including the Red
Wagon Community Partnership, the
Second Wind Mentor Department,
the Second Wind Handymen min-
istry, and a partnership with Prison
Fellowship’s Angel Tree, which all
started under his leadership.
He said they also purchased and
remodeled two buildings on Calhoun
Street, one of which was a former
drug house, to be used for their offic-
es and ministry activities, adding:
See CITYLINC on 21Call: 269-963-1911 ext 2589
visit: http://www.Yourmusiccenter.org
Email: [email protected]ready
to sing
or play?
Find the
artist in
you at
cms!
in-person AND online one-on-one lessons
and group classes for all ages and skill
levels—from infants to adults!LEILA WOOD
Shopper News Contributor
CityLinC, a local faith-based orga-
nization, founded in 1968 that pro-
vides support for struggling children,
youth, adults, and families through
an array of programs, recently wel-
comed Cheri DeBree as their new
executive director.
DeBree grew up in Battle Creek,
but after graduating from Western
with a masters degree in counsel-
ing psychology, she moved away
to Arizona, where she lived for 28
years.
She said she moved home to the
Battle Creek area to be closer to fam-
ily.
“I felt the need to come home, so I
worked remotely for a federally qual-
ified health center out in Arizona for
the first year and a half, and then...
I started hearing about this opportu-
nity, and it was kind of exactly what
I wanted to end my career with, a
smaller nonprofit in my hometown,
so I could have a chance to give back
to the community and have some...
impact, I guess, on the community,”
she said.
After she he had heard through
the grapevine about the opening and
then seen it advertised, she said she
jumped at the opportunity.
“I probably was the first resume
that got in. I was really excited about
it,” she said.
The interview process took a cou-
ple of months, and then she started
in her new role in August, which she
said “feels like a long time ago, but I
know it wasn’t.”
She said it is going well, and she is
learning a lot - networking, meeting
with staff and board members, and
familiarizing herself with the busi-
ness side of running the organization.
“I’ve been in executive manage-
ment before, out in Arizona, for
mental health and federally qualified
health centers, but I’ve never been at
an executive director role, so it just
felt like it’s where I wanted to go in
my career,” she said.
DeBree said a large part of the
appeal of working with CityLinC, for
her, was “the size of the organiza-
tion” - 18 staff members currently,New executive director joins
CityLinC Ministries in Battle Creek
New CityLinC Executive
Director Cheri DeBree