For Immediate Release

Date: October 7, 2005
Media contact: Gail King, Chairman, The Hitchcock Foundation
Phone: 803-648-9184

HITCHCOCK FOUNDATION HIRES FIRST EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

The Hitchcock Foundation is pleased to announce that it has hired Aiken resident Doug Rabold as the organization’s first executive director. The full time position becomes effective October 17.

The executive director position was established to strengthen and diversify the organization’s development initiatives and to support the board of trustees in implementing an endowment campaign. The executive director also will be responsible for daily operations of the organization.

“The growth patterns of this community and the rising costs of maintaining the Woods have made it imperative to prepare for future challenges in preserving and protecting Hitchcock Woods,” said Gail King, chairman of the Hitchcock Foundation. “The Foundation has hired an executive director and will be developing a strategic plan to help the organization meet these challenges,” she added.

The Hitchcock Foundation was established in 1939 with the donation of almost 1,200 acres of land by Thomas Hitchcock and his daughter Helen Clark. The Hitchcock Foundation has acquired several additional parcels of land over the years and today the organization owns over 2,000 acres, making Hitchcock Woods among the largest urban forests in the country.

The Foundation is responsible for protecting and maintaining the woods for the passive recreational use and enjoyment of the people of Aiken. The Foundation depends upon the private support of those who value this unique resource and the responsible use of those who visit the Woods.

“It is to the credit of so many hard working and generous trustees over the years that the Hitchcock Foundation has functioned so well without the benefit of an executive director,” said Doug Rabold. “I am honored to accept this new position and I look forward to working with the board of trustees in sustaining the legacy of the Hitchcock family and upholding the tradition of the Hitchcock Foundation.”

The board decided in May to create the executive director position and charged a search committee with evaluating all candidates. The search was initiated in June and the position notice was advertised in newspapers in South Carolina, North Carolina, and Georgia, as well as on two websites frequented by nonprofit professionals nationally. There were 35 applicants locally and from across the country.

Doug Rabold has lived in Aiken since 1990. He held several positions with Westinghouse Savannah River Company and once served as executive director at Aiken Center for the Arts. In 2003, he established Articulate, Ltd., which has been doing business as Rabold Gallery, a fine art gallery, and Strategic Communications, a communications consulting company. He is the founder of Art After Hours and Aiken After Hours. He serves as Chairman of the Aiken Arts Commission and as a member of the board of directors of Leadership Aiken County.

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