Please read Ken’s response to the application. Please vote yes or no for inclusion to the board as a follow up to this post. If you have additional comments or concerns, please do not use this platform, but rather use email or face to face for those thoughts.
Name: Ken Pleasants
Mailing Address: 930 Goldpan Rd. Fairbanks, Alaska 99712
Email Address: ken@doorofhopechurch.org, akflyfisher@gci.net
Smartphone: 907-799-4334
Please answer all questions and email to info@fairbanksyouthadvocates.org
1. We use email or our board website for most of our business. Will accessibility or
technological ability be a problem for you? No
2. Have you read and can you agree with the Bylaws as written? as well as our Board
Member Responsibilities, Code of Ethics, and Job Descriptions? Yes
3. Why are you interested in serving on the board of Fairbanks Youth Advocates?
As you aware, I am currently managing a difficult situation with my daughter. It is not a stretch of the imagination to think that she could one day find herself on the street. In my past, I went from couch to couch and was so thankful for people that took me in, provided good food and warmth not only physically but for my soul. I see hurting, broken and desperate people often and I want to be able to tangibly help them not just provide a bandaid. I believe what is being established here will have lasting effective change in people’s lives.
4. What is your professional experience with leadership and/or your accomplishments in
business, government, philanthropy, or the nonprofit sector: My professional experience
varies. Most recently I am a pastor at Door of Hope Church. While not only providing
leadership to the overall body, I help lead various classes and initiatives that all feed into what the core of Door of Hope is all about. Throughout the majority of my adult life I have found myself in management roles at my jobs. I have good listening skills and tend to think outside of the box.
I worked for a civilian contractor on Eielson AFB for 13 years and had to deal constantly with a sector of government that was constraining. We had to come up with ways to not only get the services we needed for our organization to run, but that also proved mutually beneficial to the government. I took pride in my work and many of the systems I helped develop are still in practice.
Honestly I do not have much experience in philanthropy other than networking around the community during my two tenures at Love INC. I have no problem asking for help from those that are able to give when I believe in the cause. I have attended quite a bit of training over the years from various sources on fundraising and building relationships. The key is time. The best gifts usually come from the most time spent on building quality relationships. Cold calls work, but mostly are a shot in the dark
5. Briefly outline your volunteer service for other organizations:
I have given/give time to the Boy Scouts, Love INC, Door of Hope, IHOP, Chinook Charter School, and Pure Heart to name a few of the most recent. I love to serve.
6. What are some specific skills and strengths that you can bring to the Board? I am
a problem solver. I pride myself as a person that hears of a situation that needs “fixing” and can usually come up with a solution in short order. I also listen well. I am a team player. I am NOT a yes person. I am passionate. My yes is yes and my no is no. I have skill in accounting, human/resource management, and as stated above, thinking outside of the box for creative solutions to problems. I lean more toward the youth and the ways they interact and engage with their surroundings than with archaic systems and doing things “because that is the way it has always been done”.
Whether you ask me to participate on your board or not, my heart is absolutely with you in this endeavor and I look forward to helping out however I am able!
Blessings, Peace and JOY!!
Ken Pleasants