Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Chris Kelker-Newlan. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Chris, thanks for joining us today. Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?

After a 27-year career at Wells Fargo in IT Services, I wanted to do something different and work toward doing more good in the world. Talking through this career change with my family and having their support and blessings I turned in my resignation and began the search for my new job. Almost a week later my wife and I are at a dinner party celebrating the 25th wedding anniversary of some dear friends and we sat next to a gentleman who in our conversation spoke about the non-profit he served with and how it began. He also shared that the organization was looking to hire their first full time employee. My wife and I laugh about it now because she was sitting right next to him and as he was speaking about the position with Hometown Missions, I eagerly reached across her with my hand and introduced myself saying, “Hello, my name is Chris Kelker-Newlan, and I am looking for a job.”
In the following weeks after the lovely dinner party, I was researching Hometown Missions and finding that I knew several individuals on the board and was recognizing volunteers in the photos on their website. Talking through this opportunity with my family again, I decided to apply for the position of Operations Manager for Hometown Missions. After interviews with several board members and discussions on how to learn and grow with the organization I was offered the position and I accepted. I am coming up on my 1-year anniversary and work is picking steadily up.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Ater a long successful career with a large financial corporation I was ready for change. I wanted to work in an industry that works toward the benefit of my fellow humans, or the environment, and could affect profound changes. I was looking at nonprofits or B-corps and thinking of using my technical skills in support of an organization’s mission. Amazingly an opportunity presented itself to manage and run a nonprofit here in Dripping Springs. Hometown Missions is a community of individuals, churches, and businesses who are dedicated to ensuring all Dripping Springs residents live in safe, healthy housing inspiring hope. Hometown Missions serves homeowners in need of home repairs, home maintenance, ADA access both inside and outside, and who are unable to resolve these issues themselves. Hometown Missions relies on donations and volunteers to serve these requests for help from neighbors in need in the Dripping Springs community. As Hometown Missions has grown from its founding back in 2010 we have been able to serve more neighbors in need small projects to our first Home in Month project in 2021. This wonderful community event where neighbors helped neighbors tear down an unsafe and unhealthy home and construct a new home from the ground up really opened eyes to the needs of some of our neighbors in Dripping Springs. I am very proud to share that we are helping two families this year with replacement homes. The first one will be in March 2023 and the second will be in June 2023. Both families have children in the school district and the community is rallying behind our efforts and are excited to serve and help these neighbors.

Where do you think you get most of your clients from?

Since accepting the position of Operations Manager for Hometown Missions, I have been working with the board to strengthen our community outreach for neighbors in need. Our social media presence is growing with the hiring of a local marketing firm. We have redesigned our website to simplify signing up to volunteer, donate, and submissions of requests for help. Hometown worked with a partner church’s video team to produce a quality video that since being placed on our website and social media and has really helped the community spread the word about who we help and what we do.

Any thoughts, advice, or strategies you can share for fostering brand loyalty?

Hometown Missions understands that many of the neighbors we help have other needs in their lives besides safe and healthy housing. The inspiring hope component of our mission statement is the most important part. This means true and genuine relationships with these neighbors. Years of isolation and staying hidden in a community are not going to be fixed with new toilet, roof, or new home. Hometown Missions works very hard to walk beside these families and neighbors so that they know they are loved and feel included in the community that we all live in.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.hometownmissions.org
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/drippingspringshometownmission/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DrippingSpringsCommunityMissionPartnership
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/HometownMission

Image Credits
Dave Wilson Photography