EOY 2022 Reflections

"How could I not be grateful? How could I not give thanks? How could I not appreciate all these blessings I have?"

I was recently sitting on my porch listening to Greatfull by Agent Sasco and the words to his song really filled me.

This year was a wild ride full of joy and pain. . .sunshine and rain. And the beautiful part is that I'm grateful for it all. Yes, even the pain and rain. Because just as diamonds must go through the refining process and grapevines and all kinds of plants must be pruned. In the end. . .there is beauty and abundance.

Abide went through a season of tremendous growth this year. We've not only grown financially, but our staff has grown both in number and in wisdom. We have executive level leadership now, we've expanded programming and we have grown in our capacity to support our community first by creating an environment of collective care.

I have no doubt where Abide is going. As a visionary leader, for me it's always been a matter of how and with whom to get there. And each time we have gone through a transitional season of growth, it has all been a stepping stone to get Abide to the next level.

Here is some feedback we have received from non-profit consultant Tracy Clark:

Out of the 4,000+ nonprofits she's worked with who are within years 1-5 of being operational, Abide has some of the most impressive traction for funding she has ever seen. After reviewing all the information on our documents and our marketing and our financials, we are one of the most dynamic nonprofits she's worked with. She gave us an "A-" nonprofit score.

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"How could I not be grateful?
How could I not give thanks?
How could I not appreciate all these blessings I have?"

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I sit in gratitude for the tremendous growth of my team and the remarkable support from each individual, organization and foundation that has sowed a seed into this work. Thank you.

I want to thank the board members and former board members who see the beauty in this wonderful organization and believe in my leadership.

Savohna Brown, Smitha Caroline Dante, Trissi Gray, Quantrilla Ard and last but certainly not least our former board President Yenny James.

Thank you for your service and for putting in so much hard work behind the scenes during a pivotal time in Abide's history. So much unseen labor happens when leading an organization. I want to publicly acknowledge and thank you for your service.

As we move into 2023 I am proud to announce that Trissi Gray has stepped into the position of Board President and to say that I am excited would be a tremendous understatement.

Please read about Trissi below.

Trissi Gray serves as the Senior Director for Healthcare Compliance Operations for one of the largest gastrointestinal practices with over 250 locations and across 12 states. Trissi has a deep-rooted passion for reducing health disparities within the BIPOC community and is a doctoral student at the University of Southern California where her research focuses on Health Equity and Care Access. Over the past 16 years, she has served in senior leadership roles for large academic medical centers, and Accountable Care Organizations (ACO). Most recently, Trissi was inducted into 2022 Class VI, of the Alabama State University, outgoing alumni class of 50 under 50. In addition, she serves as an active healthcare industry speaker on topics such as the importance of Executive Presence, Compliance Risk and Monitoring, and Communicating Compliance Risk with Executives. Trissi has dedicated her life’s work to the health care profession and believes that together we can reduce the burden of healthcare diseases, through active prevention, awareness, and equity access - one momma, one patient, one provider, one family at a time.

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The Abide team is ready to step into 2023. Are you?

Buckle up because the future's SO bright. I have never been more confident in the direction Abide is headed than I am now. And I have my mentors, coaches, executive leadership, staff, board, volunteers, donors and funders to thank for being a part of catapulting Abide to where it is today.

Thank you from the depths of my heart and may your 2023 bring you more reasons to be grateful.

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Peace to you,

Cessilye R. Smith

Founder & CEO

"To get rid of the weed we must pull it up by the root. Lets uproot the system and plant seeds that bear fruit"

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