One person can really make a difference!  It sounds quite plain and for some people kind of cheesy but if you come to think of it, this is the most frequently asked social question and there are many examples to support the notion.

Jeff Huff went to a Kiwanis Club meeting one day back in 1984 and heard the speaker talk about drug use and its impact on children and their families. He was so moved by the information that he stayed around to ask the speaker how he could help. The speaker was June Milam, DREAM’s CEO for 23 years. Before he knew it, Jeff was a DREAM board member—for over 20 years!

You could say that Jeff held on to DREAM’s mission and never let it go. Many organizations that I work with lament about the challenges of finding board members who are more than just a warm body and a pulse. Jeff was so much more. He had all the qualities that board members should have--integrity, diplomacy, insight, dedication and extremely good listening skills. Because of those qualities, Jeff served in several leadership roles including treasurer, audit committee chair and Board of Directors chair.

On February 6th, 2010, Jeff was called to a greater service and left this earth having made it a much better place and DREAM an even better organization. His untimely death was shocking and devastating. He was our beloved board chair, navigator, cheerleader and friend who called board meetings to order with a prayer, donated his personal finances, advised on sensitive matters and just called or came by to ask, “How are things going?”  We hardly made a move without him and would never hear of him not renewing his term. The other board members saw him as the anchor, the wise counselor and the stabilizer. He once said that if he ever left the board, he would always support us. We feel that support and it has inspired us to continue to work to exceed Jeff’s high expectations of us.

To DREAM, one man made a big difference.