Message from the CEO – Jan Kral

We are especially lucky to have a strong, talented base of direct-care staff and strong, experienced managers in most of our locations throughout 9 Oregon Counties. We are also very fortunate to have deeply-committed, well-trained staff at all of our sites. As we have grown larger, we continue to ask ourselves how to better support these fine teams with the leadership that will help bring the Mission, Principles and Intentions of the organization alive - and make it easier for managers and staff to support the individuals we all work for - no matter what job we have in the organization.

With the core leadership made up of 7 Directors and 9 Program Managers, we will bring the mission, leadership support and training to the service delivery locations on a much more frequent basis. In addition to increased effort on the part of this group, all Shangri-La staff will be receiving more training and increased opportunity to “get the word out” about the wonderful work that is accomplished each day. Today’s economy does not provide the best opportunity for us to raise large sums of money, no matter how compelling our stories.

We all know that we are in the midst of a recession and that jobs are being lost, lives disrupted and hopes shattered for millions of Americans. Because of the type of funding we receive most of our positions are not yet at risk. This does not mean we will not face cuts or that we are not suffering with other Americans as we experience increased prices, fewer options, reductions in sales and services and see friends and families that are struggling even more than we are. But we can keep hope. We can create hope. And we will now and in the future benefit from hope.

Changes in leadership structure, leveraging our geography and increasing and strengthening staff training and development will result in more opportunities to tell our story and more people who are willing and able to tell the thousands of Shangri-La stories that contribute to our message of Homes, Jobs and Supports. Over the next months we will be providing toolboxes to motivated staff and other stakeholders to help them tell others how Shangri-La has made a difference in their lives. We will have gatherings that bring people together, materials that provide new information and also share the history of our great organization. You will be able to share stories electronically in a variety of venues. We will celebrate the Shangri-La news daily, remembering that the work we do changes lives, that we have fun and that each of us makes a difference every day. - JK