In December 2002, the president of Spectrum’s board, Dale Randall, called to offer me the executive director position. I thanked him but asked for a few days to decide.

          The greatest misgiving I had about taking the job was that, except for the dozen or so board members and staff I had met during interviews, I didn’t know anyone in Vermont. And I knew that a big part of being an executive director is having contacts in the community, such as police, business owners, foundations, other social service providers and politicians. I had spent 25 years working with at-risk youth in New York and Connecticut. Who did I know in Vermont? I felt ill-prepared for the job.

          During these few days of personal decision-making, I went to bed one night and had the following dream. I am dressed in a suit and tie and driving alone in a car, heading north. After hours and hours of travel, I end up in Vermont. I enter a large ballroom, like in a hotel, with scores of people seated at round tables, dining and chatting with each other. There is a podium at the front of the room, at which stands the mayor of Stamford, Connecticut. (Mayor Dan Malloy, I knew him because I was working in that city.) He says to the crowd, “Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to introduce to you Mark Redmond. He is coming here to Vermont to take on this very difficult job as director of Spectrum, and he doesn’t know anyone, and he is going to need help. So I want to know, who among you is going to help him?” And with that I see hand after hand shoot up into the air, with a chorus of, “I will… I will help him…. Count on me.”

          This is the absolute truth: I woke up that morning, turned to my wife, told her about the dream and said, “I think we should do it. I think we should move to Vermont, and I should take the job as director of Spectrum.” She agreed, and two months later she and I drove up to Burlington with our four-month-old son.

          It is now a little over six years later, and I can tell you that that dream has come true. It has come true in spades. So many people have come out of absolutely everywhere to help me, and to help our organization. It is incredible.

          For example, Rich Tarrant, his wife Deb, and their foundation director Lauren Curry—because of them, our drop-in center, which used to be closed on weekends, is now open every day of the year. And when the federal funding ran out for our mentoring program, Jeff Norris of Dwight Asset Management stepped forward, saving the day for dozens of kids who love having a mentor. Brigitte Ritchie of Citizens Bank—she came forward to help support our outreach team, which has counselors out on the streets every day connecting with homeless and at-risk kids. And Brian Byrnes, when he was head of the Vermont Community Foundation, helped fund many of our programs, most recently supporting our efforts to evaluate the impact of our programs.

          We’ve also been helped tremendously by our congressional delegation in the short time I’ve been here. Former Senator Jeffords helped secure the funds to renovate space over at Spectrum One Stop for a new health clinic in collaboration with the Community Health Center of Burlington. And Bernie Sanders’ and Patrick Leahy’s offices joined forces this year to help secure funding for Spectrum One Stop.

          Mike Garavelli—a former board member who stood up at a Hinesburg town meeting last year and entered a motion that the town put $1,000 into its budget to support the work of Spectrum—and it passed! The CVU student who, unknown to us, put together a concert at Higher Ground on her own, with all proceeds to benefit Spectrum. The young man who came by our drop-in center two weeks ago and left $144 in cash in an envelope, because he used to get help there, is doing better now, and “wants Spectrum to use this money to take the drop-in kids camping this summer.”

          And the help has come from beyond Vermont’s borders. Donors across the country continue to give to Spectrum after seeing an article I wrote in Forbes magazine four years ago. This includes Lori Payne, from Texas, who has become one of our most loyal donors, and who helped us get $15,000 in grant funds from a foundation, which only accepts proposals recommended by employees. And last Christmas, her son spent his college vacation volunteering at our drop-in center.

          I could literally tell dozens more stories like this. Yes, that dream came true—so many people helping us in so many ways, every day. I made the right decision coming to Vermont with my wife and child to become director of Spectrum. It is an incredible place.

With gratitude,