Glenn A. Blumhorst Says Goodby To The NPCA
I've known Glenn for over 45 years personally and would consider him the brother I never had. I lived with…
My Dear Friends,
I’m writing to let you know that, after prayerful consideration, yesterday I reached a separation agreement with NPCA in order to bring closure to this matter.
I owe my utmost gratitude to you – the Peace Corps family that has stood up, spoken up, and supported me now and throughout my tenure at NPCA. My family and I were both uplifted and humbled by your overwhelming kindness, care, and concern. We are especially grateful to NPCA board chair emeritus Tony Barclay, who organized and led a campaign on my behalf, and to all 160+ of you who signed on to his letter (and many more who voiced support) calling for either my reinstatement or an honorable parting of ways.
Serving the Peace Corps community as NPCA President and CEO was my dream job and one of life’s greatest privileges. Cathy and I will forever hold fond memories of joining RPCVs across the country at conferences, reunions, and potluck dinners, meeting and working with some amazing people, and hearing your inspiring Peace Corps stories. I will miss NPCA, but am confident that I will continue my lifelong service in other ways. Stay tuned, and stay in touch!
Gratefully and sincerely,
Glenn
—
Glenn A. Blumhorst
GLENN ON BEHALF OF ALL THE MEMBERS OF THE FIRST COAST RETURNED PEACE CORPS VOLUNTEERS, inc. WE THANK YOU FOR YOU 9+ Years OF TERRIFIC SERVICE TO NPCA. YOU WERE WITH US AT EVENTS IN DUVAL AND ST. JOHN’s COUNTIES, IN FLORIDA, SO MANY TIMES. WE THRIVED BECAUSE OF YOUR LEADERSHIP AND YOU WILL ALWAYS BE WELCOMED TO OUR HOMES.
BE WELL AND SALUDOS TO YOUR FAMILY.
Glen, We will miss you enormously. Thank you, not only for your service to the NPCA, but also for your dedication to the migrants at the border, and for coordinating a program through which returned volunteers could serve there, Thank you for setting the example by volunteering yourself.
( With a renewed influx of migrants, the Catholic Diocese of El Paso is again welcoming returned volunteers. )
Patricia Taylor Edmisten
Peru, 1962-64
Your attention to individual requests (like a blurb for my book) and your participation at Rotary-RPCV events is greatly appreciated. I assume you are on to bigger and better endeavors where your generosity, initiative, and skills will be much appreciated. Thank You!!!
You are the best fund raiser I have ever known. Always a cheerful personal phone call of thanks. I hope that tradition will continue. Thanks for all you have done for the organization! Charlie Baker
Deeply saddened that Glenn’s departure has come to this. Given what was reported to have happened, and what is happening in too many places across the country, from nonprofits, government and civic groups to corporate board rooms, attacks on peoples’ character and reputation without adequate due process is becoming a frequent occurrence. Even when accusations are investigated by outside, objective parties, as took place in this case, too often these clashes end up with the truth a victim. Now we will never have an objective record of what happened here and we will not have a just reckoning. I am glad that Glenn has gotten some kind of compensation for the shabby treatment he endured. By all accounts, he strengthen the NPCA. But I remain very concerned that the NPCA board handled this issue ineptly, undoubtedly costing the organization in reputation and treasure.
Glenn, I’m proud to be one of the 160+ as well as helping you and the board develop the fundraising campaign to take NPCA from a membership driven organization to a more inclusive group focused on mobilizing RPCVs and tapping into their considerable talents and resources to grapple with some of the needs and opportunities facing those of us promoting the Peace Corps core values.
Like all the members of Partners for Peace board, we appreciated your involvement to strengthen the partnership between Rotary and RPCVs.
Finally, I still use your comment that Different Latitudes was the best RPCV memoir, “and I have gone through quite a few”–I’m sure you have and each author has appreciated that I’m sure.
You and Cathy will always have a place to stay in Phoenix–as you know.
All the Best Going forward.
Mark
PEACE IS A PLACE IN EVERY BREATH
We didn’t invent ourselves nor get it off the grass
way back down that long winding longing line.
We have been seeking to be a people from the
beginning of our supposed origins. Will we end
before we have exploded and regrouping merged?
Staying home doesn’t mean some kind of surrender.
New definitions for older versions are bound in blood
Toil can re-make the rainbow to re-arc the bridge hope.
© copyright Edward Mycue
Though I may not be up to date on all visitors to the So. California RPCVs it seems to me that Glenn is one of the few NPCA leaders to join one of our past meetings. For your attention and efforts to make the Returned Volunteers a truly national organization I thank you. We need more of this type of leadership.
With best wishes, Glenn, for your future endeavors on behalf of Peace Corps values.
Vic Cox
Thanks for your service snd friendship. The RPCV community is stronger for your leadership
Best of luck
Helene
Glenn,
Thank you for your service from your days as a Peace Corps Volunteer through your tenure at NPCA. We will miss your leadership, commitment, and dedication. I will always remember the Sunday you called to thank me for becoming a Shriver Circle Member. It was so thoughtful of you and as I learned over the years typical Glenn. Glenn, I know you will be ok. If you get to the Atlanta area, please let me, we will have a cup of coffee or a glass of wine. Your friend and fellow Peace Corps Volunteer,
Vince Radke
Ethiopia, 1970-1974
Glenn: To one of the most honorable human beings I have known, I wish you all the best. Hope
Glenn- you handled a difficult situation with characteristic grace and humility. As far as Judith and I are concerned, this settlement is an essential first step for the Board to recapture the support of some of the most robust supporters of the NPCA, but we will continue to withhold our financial support until the Board members who voted for your dismissal resign their positions. I am confident that you will find a new position in the not-for-profit world where your energy and talent will be put to good use. It’s been a pleasure knowing and working with you these past 9 years.
Glenn, You lifted the NPCA , a struggling organization, and created an organization that we could be proud of. I am grateful for your 9+ service to the organization. Thank you for inviting me to join the Shriver Circle. With your abrupt dismissal by a dysfunctional NPCA board, I will be withholding my Shriver Circle contributions for the time being. I’ll be happy to resume contributions when new, trustworthy leadership has been installed. I am deeply saddened by the current status of the organization. Nevertheless, there is support among our membership for carrying forward the NPCA mission with the necessary changes.
We’ve know each other for several years. We both served in Guatemala and we met in Bolivia when you were my ACDI/VOCA contact when I was on a volunteer assignments there in the late ‘90’s and early 2000’s. I was so delighted when you took over the leadership of the NPCA. I knew that you had the experience, skills and personal warmth to move the organization toward it’s full potential. You were successful in that effort and you deserve the credit. I am certain that you and your family will get beyond this. II want you to know that you will always be welcome should you make it back to Santa Barbara.
Michael Marzolla
SBPCA member
Shriver Circle member
RPCV Guatemala ‘73-‘77
Peace Corps staff ‘78-‘80
PC Trainer ‘81-‘82
Simply, we will miss you, Glenn. Our Gulf Coast Florida group treasures memories of your visits. I personally appreciated your presence in Atlanta when I received the Lillian Carter award. We all wish you a bright future, happiness and success, fulfillment of all your inestimable talents.
Love, Leita
Glen,
I was very much impressed by your success in taking NPCA from a shoestring organization to a powerful voice for Peace Corps and a second home for a returned Volunteers. Jeannie and I wish you all the best going forward, and as Clancy so eloquently put it Jim Craig in “The Man From Snowy River”, if you ever make it out to western Montana, there will always be a place for you by our campfire.
Chris and Jeannie Siegler
Glen, We stand behind you and believe in you. I, personally, am sorry for what happened. I hope that you, the NPCA and all of us as individuals can survive this.
Frances Holliday Alford
S. Korea 78-80
RPCVs Mark Zober and Marilyn Farber acknowledge that CEO Glenn Blumhorst has done an outstanding job as the National Peace corps Association President and CEO for over nine years.
We recommend him very highly for any job he applies for and for which he is eligible. LOW RISK – HIGH GAIN PROSPECT.
Glenn, Thank you for your service. Often the hardest task for returned PCVs is fulfilling the third goal of PC. You laid a path for many and we shall be ever grateful for your leadership. I watched NPCA, not only exist but thrive with you at the helm. For your next chapter I wish you the best and know that those you serve will be ever enriched. May the wind always be at your back.
Carolyn Waterman, CD Fiji and Romania, PCMO Kenya
Glenn,
Thank you for your outstanding service and unwavering commitment to Peace Corps. It was a privilege to see you in action at NPCA during my board service. Your leadership was outstanding. No doubt the future is bright for you. I certainly hope that we can stay in touch. Perhaps if circumstances permit you can visit with Beatriz and I in Colombia. We are now spending 1/2 the year there and have plenty of room for guests.
All the best,
Tom Potter
RPCV Philippines 1975-77
VSPP Philippines 2021-22
NPCA Board 2017-2020.
Dear Glenn,
I hope the four other presidents and chief executive officers I worked for preceding your arrival will forgive me if I say your nine-year tenure was not only the longest but clearly one of the best for our greater Peace Corps community.
Thank you.
The reasons for the decision by the National Peace Corps Association’s board of directors to abruptly cut short your successful leadership remain an undisclosed mystery, but Courtney and I know you will rise above their unfortunate decision.
Warm regards and best wishes,
David & Courtney Arnold, Ethiopia 1964-66
I am both shocked and deeply discouraged by this action of the NPCA Board. Under your leadership I only felt an energetic, positive, and vigilant leadership. I could see you worked incredibly hard, and led from the front. And I will always remember your personal letters of appreciation for my contribution. This motivated me to invest as much energy in giving as you did in thanking.
Best wishes for your next success.
Mary Kelahan Ternoey, Kenya 1968
Greetings Glen,
On a number of occasions I had the opportunity to participate with you in various Peace Corps related events. I always found you authentic, professional, and truly dedicated to the mission of Peace Corps.
Let me echo the sentiments of others and say that you will be missed and very, very hard to replace. I also join you in being confident that you will find your new way and continue your life of service.
All the best always,
Joe Zucchini
Glen, Thank you for your service to the returned Peace Corps Volunteer community. I am sorry to see you go under such circumstances and wish you well in your next endeavors.
To the Board of the NPCA: I suggest that you consult an organization called https://boardsource.org for help in re-defining the role of the board and in selecting new leadership. I don’t pretend to understand either the charges laid against Glen or the actions taken by the board, but I value the organization as a whole and cherish, among other benefits, World View Magazine.
I was on the first board of what was then the National Council of Returned Peace Corps Volunteers (NCRPCV). I was both naive and well-intentioned but learned that my job was more than representing the affiliated group that elected me and reporting back to the group. I believe that Board Source can provide some very important structure and guidance for the days ahead for the NPCA and I also believe such guidance is critical for the survival of the organization.
https://boardsource.org
Miriam Aiken
Philippines 1965-1967
Formerly a member of RPCV/Washington, DC
Miriam,
I would lke to recommend to you and everyone, the article which Glenn cited at the end of his Farewell letter and gave the link. It is called the “Elephant in the Zoom: Meltdowns Have Brought Progressive Advocacy Groups to a Standstill at a Critical Moment in World History
https://theintercept.com/2022/06/13/progressive-organizing-infighting-callout-culture/
I would really appreciate your take on the article.
GLENN, I remember your beginning at NPCA and appreciate all the strides and hard work to make it a wonderful organization that has motivated me and others to maintain connections and motivation to support Peace Corps. You will find that your dedication and relationships are not forgotten and will light your path forward. Good luck to you and you will be always be appreciated and sorely missed.
Sally Johnson Rowley
Colombia 1967-1969
Glenn – Where to start but with thanks. You transformed the NPCA, and you mobilized us. You reminded us when it was time to be active (on the Hill, on the phones, online, with letters) and time to donate, and you brought us together with informative and empowering Connects. You initiated how-to seminars for the evacuated Volunteers that gave them grounding and support. You spearheaded Peace Corps Day at the Kennedy Center, made us in attendance proud to be Returned Volunteers, and you introduced the public to “A Towering Task,” and then you took it on the road with the message “Come join us.” You transitioned WorldView from the pioneering hands of Dave Arnold to the creative Steven Saum, and it’s as award-winning as ever. WorldView owes you a cover story highlighting your achievements.
You knew us by name (an amazing achievement) and by Peace Corps and professional and personal backgrounds, and you called upon us when needed, and we came. I recall two “I need yous.” You and Jonathan Pearson and Nancy Tongue worked for years with the Agency and the Department of Labor to get returned Volunteers ongoing health care benefits, a remarkable accomplishment. I helped on strategy and policy-drafting, and you were always in attendance, long into many nights, and you supplied the snacks to keep us going. I also remember a 6:30am phone call. “The government’s reopening, and the staff are returning this morning. We’re handing out donuts.” Glenn knew I lived down the street. “Can you be there at 7.” How could one not respond in any way but yes to a man who gave of himself so much more than he asked of others.
You have many hundreds, thousands, of friends here for you to deviate far. As you stated in your letter, “Stay tuned and stay in touch.” Best wishes, and thanks.
Dear Glenn,
Our connection to the beautiful people and culture of Bolivia means that we communicate without having to speak or write words. The Peace Corps made this possible and our lives have been enriched beyond words. Your contribution over the years to enabling others to have such experiences enriched you as well as countless others. I am confident that you will find other adventures to produce such personal satisfaction. What we learned from all of what happened to you is that bureaucracies can cause implosions from within and those of us on the outside of those bureaucracies must step up and call things for what they are. I promise that I will continue to make my voice heard, as will countless others. Be well, stay safe, and stay in touch. Abrazos virtuales, Alan (Bolivia 1969-1971)
Glenn
I will miss you. You are kind, clever, smart, knowledgeable, and professional. Of course I will miss you. Let me take that back, WE WILL ALL miss you, I hope you come back to San Diego. My door is always open.
Kathleen Harnig
Bulgaria 1998-2000
Liberia 2013-2014 Peace Corps Respomse
Whoever cooked up the charges against Glenn could not have known all the service he has provided to build up the NPCA do you what it has become; the main support vehicle for Peace Corp/Rotary international partnership! Thank you, Glenn, for all your great work. Harlan green, turkey V.
I’ve known Glenn for over 45 years personally and would consider him the brother I never had. I lived with Glenn and family in Sacramento California for a short time when he was just starting his career in ACDIVOCA. Glenn hired me to work with him in Bolivia on a project for ACDIVOCA as a photographer and we spent time in the Yungas working side by side. Glenn has always been there for me and I trust his judgements. I hope the best for him as he moves away from this unjust firing.