Goodwill Industries of Northwest North Carolina (Goodwill) President & CEO Art Gibel has been honored with the 2016 Kenneth K. King Outstanding Management Award for Executive Excellence, the most prestigious executive award presented by Goodwill Industries International (GII).
Since the “great recession” of 2009, Gibel has led a restructuring of the organization’s mission services portfolio. Gibel has focused the organization’s mission on two key areas: assisting those disrupted by the economy learn skills and training to compete for available jobs, and preparing youth with the education and life skills needed to effectively enter the modern workforce.
Additionally, in 2013, Goodwill piloted a deeper impact model to measure how it serves participants, which measures quality over quantity. Measurements include skills completions, credentialing, employment retention, compensation increases and credit score increases. Numbers in these categories have grown steadily since the pilot’s inception.
“Art is a leader among leaders at Goodwill. He recognized that a community is stronger when Goodwill works hand in hand with a diverse set of partners and organizations,” said Jim Gibbons, president and CEO of Goodwill Industries International. “Thousands of people have education and are working as a result of Art’s forward-thinking leadership and the great work of Goodwill Industries of Northwest North Carolina.”
Goodwill offers 65 skills training classes and partners with 11 community colleges in its territory. In partnership with Forsyth Technical Community College, Goodwill developed the Access Center Adult High School which gives adults the opportunity to earn their high school diploma at no cost with personalized coaching, credentialed skills training and job placement assistance. Goodwill and the Crosby Scholars Community Partnership, a college access program and affiliate organization of Goodwill, awarded more than $500,000 in grants to graduating seniors in four school districts. In Western North Carolina, Goodwill partners with Buncombe County Schools and Buncombe County Health and Human Services to offer youth programs, including ECHO program for foster youth, OneLife, which provides mentoring and internship opportunities, and Teen Leadership Academy, an intensive training in leadership and acting as positive role models for one’s peers.
In 2015, more than 33,000 individuals were served through programs targeting veterans, people with disabilities, youth at risk for delinquency, and people with criminal backgrounds. Among 160 Goodwill organizations, Goodwill Industries of Northwest North Carolina currently ranks 12th in persons served and 16th in persons placed into jobs.
The Kenneth K. King Award for Management Excellence is presented to a Goodwill Industries® executive in recognition of outstanding management abilities and accomplishments. The award recognizes a CEO whose performance consistently demonstrates strong organizational impact related to mission, excellence and sustainability. It is named for the late Kenneth K. King, who endowed the Kenneth K. King Management Award for Executive Excellence Trust. The award is the highest honor a Goodwill president and CEO can receive.