It is typical this time of year to reflect on one’s past and be grateful for the many people who have impacted them throughout the years. As I, myself, do that, I find it very difficult to express what this community has meant to Fara and me over our seventeen years of calling Dublin home. When we arrived in May of 2008, you welcomed us with open arms. Over the years we have celebrated milestones together and have felt your support during our most difficult times. How does one adequately say thank you for sharing your love of this community with us that ultimately taught us to love Dublin and the people who live here? Well, quite frankly, I can’t. It has been so simple and, yet, so overwhelming. You have made us feel like we are home and, in fact, Dublin is now home, and you are our family of friends and neighbors. So, thank you from the depths of my heart for, well, everything!

It is also typical to look forward to what the New Year will bring, with excitement for changes that may lie ahead, which is the reason for my writing today. Perhaps the most difficult decision I have ever had to make, yet in some ways the easiest, is to announce my retirement from Fairview Park Hospital. I have decided to step down from the most amazing job anyone could ever hope to have, being the leader of a group of people that have become my family. My Fairview Family. Those who work here today, as well as those who worked here over the past seventeen years, will always be a part of my heart, my life and, yes, my family.

In some ways I’m not ready to leave, even after seventeen years in Dublin and thirty-eight years in the industry. I know there’s more to accomplish at Fairview Park, and selfishly I want to be a part of that growth. I still love the work, and most of all, I love the people with whom I get to do that work. Yet, at the same time, I am ready for what lies ahead. Fara and I are looking forward to traveling and spending more time with our grandkids while they still think we’re cool! I am also looking forward to teaching, acting, volunteering, and remaining involved in our community.

My last official day as the CEO of Fairview Park Hospital will be July 3, 2025, my daughter Amelia’s birthday. Our plans are to remain in Dublin for the foreseeable future. We will continue our involvement in church and civic affairs. In fact, I hope to become even more involved as opportunities present themselves.

HCA will likely begin their search for my replacement after the holidays, using these six months to find someone who will lead Fairview Park Hospital to even greater heights. I am very confident Fairview will continue to prosper, providing exceptional healthcare, job opportunities and community support to all of middle Georgia. My time at Fairview is not yet over, and I plan to spend these last six months with the same passion and energy as the day I began this job. I also look forward to working through the transition with the person who will fill the role of CEO.

Once again, thank you for always making us feel welcome and special here. I am indebted to HCA for allowing me the privilege of serving Dublin-Laurens County for so many years. While it may take a few months before my car doesn’t automatically drive toward the hospital, I think I hear the golf course and pickleball courts calling my name! God’s blessings to you all, my Dublin family!