NEWS & NOTES

“I am honored and excited to be joining Bert Nash on June 5 and its staff of highly dedicated, talented and professional team members. I look forward to getting to know all of you, working alongside of you and helping continue the legacy and reputation of high-quality, effective services to the citizens of Douglas County. I am impressed with the breadth and depth of excellent services you have all developed over the years and I hope and plan to provide the support, knowledge

If he could, David Johnson, retiring CEO of the Bert Nash Community Mental Health Center, would see to it that everyone in Douglas County received training in Mental Health First Aid. While that scenario may seem improbable, Johnson would like nothing better as he departs from the job he’s held for the past 16 years than to see that Mental Health First Aid training is made available to the community in perpetuity. That’s the goal of a fundraising campaign called Dave’s Dream.

When asked about the best job he ever had, David Johnson didn’t hesitate. “This job,” Johnson said. “Absolutely, this job.” This job may well be the last one he will ever have. After 17 years as CEO of the Bert Nash Community Mental Health Center, Johnson, 65, will retire around the first of July. His successor, Patrick Schmitz, will start the first of June. There were many reasons why this was the best job Johnson ever had, he said. For one, the people and the organization.

Note: Bert Nash Community Mental Health Center will observe Mental Health Awareness Month in May with stories of hope and recovery. It used to be, Matt and Kathy Brown didn’t talk about mental illness and how it impacted their children. “We hid it from everybody at first, because of the stigma,” Matt said. Eventually, they opened up about things with Matt’s mom. “She is the only one who knew about it for a long time,” Matt said. Today, the Browns talk openly about the mental

Note: Bert Nash Community Mental Health Center will observe Mental Health Awareness Month in May with stories of hope and recovery. LaRisa Chambers understands the importance of planned giving. She does it for a living. She also practices what she preaches. Chambers is a senior development director for KU Endowment, the fundraising organization for the University of Kansas. She handles major gifts and planned gifts for the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and its 54 depar