When I retired and returned home in 2018, I never imagined I would be involved with a project of this
magnitude and complexity. But deep inside me was a desire to help my community revive itself and I
felt the presence of the ancestors before me as my guide and azimuth. This has been a rewarding and
very fulfilling five years since we restarted The Trust in order to purchase and now to develop the
property. I mostly appreciate all the new friends, donors, supporters, and organizations that have been
with us, and continue with us, on our journey. From my lens, I am confident that we as a community
made a historical change and we demonstrated that we can come together to achieve a significant goal
when asked.
Since the purchase of the campus, we have experienced a number of milestones: we hired an executive
director who is tasked with making the property what we have envisioned; we witnessed the retirement
of my friend, Fenton Wilkinson, who needed time to spend with family and to write a book; we
successfully orchestrated an extraordinary fundraiser sponsored by the Van Camps; and, we mourned
the untimely loss of one of our board members, Allisha Watts.
We cannot name all those who have supported us along the way but thank you; we are now in the long
game. To my friends, the citizens of West Southern Pines, thank you for believing in me and trusting me
enough to fulfill your vision.

Vincent Gordon
Board Chair