It's called Our House, a beacon of light in Little Rock that has proven a place of renewal and restoration for thousands of families in Arkansas who were among the least of these--just one step away from wandering the streets. Thanks to Georgia Mjartan, it proved a step up to renewal and self-respect rather than down into the gutter.
Mrs. Mjartan and her husband Dominik, with their three children, are getting ready to leave next month for Columbia, S.C., where Mr. Mjartan is to become the chief executive officer of a community development bank. What can those of us who have long respected them and their work say except goodbye, good luck, and thank you for a job well done?
Yet it was Georgia Mjartan who thanked us here in the Wonder State for letting her serve us and become part of our lives. "As I think about leaving Our House," she said, eloquent as ever, "and leaving this state--my home and my community--the feelings that keep welling up in me are those of deep gratitude. Gratitude to each of you, who over the last 12 years have given of yourself to help be the fabric of support that lifts homeless and near-homeless families and individuals out of poverty."
Perhaps the best test of a leader is whether he or she has left an able successor behind to carry on the good work that's already been so well done, and Georgia Mjartan has done just that. Our House's board of directors voted without a single dissent to name Ben Goodwin the organization's next director, and he sounds like just the right pick. He's a Rhodes Scholar with degrees from Hendrix College and Oxford across the pond. And he's served as assistant director of Our House for the past eight years.
Drew Weber, president of Our House's board, noted that Ben Goodwin had worked at Georgia Mjartan's side in making Our House a model for self-help organizations like it throughout the country. There was a time when folks in Arkansas thanked God for Mississippi, lest Arkansas have to bottom out the national rankings in per-capita income. But those days have come and are well gone.
At a time when so much in government deserves to be exposed and criticized, it is wholly a pleasure to praise an outfit not connected to government or subsidized by it. Since Our House started, it's been a prize jewel in the Diamond State's crown. Since it began operations, it has helped thousands of folks. And donations to the shelter from generous contributors have steadily increased. (Last year they amounted to more than $3.3 million.) Its work has proven its best advertisement.
Talk about mixed emotions: Bill Dillard III, senior vice president of Dillard's Inc., and a member of Our House's board, puts it this way: "I'm frankly heartbroken to see [Georgia Mjartan] leaving Our House and Little Rock. She was such an incredible asset to Arkansas. She was just such an effective advocate on behalf of the down and out, the marginalized, the least of these. She has such a big heart, but also has a real head for how to help people help themselves. She gave them a hand up instead of a hand-out."
And Dominik Mjartan told the paper: "It was an incredibly difficult decision given [his wife's] impact in the community. Both of our jobs are so enriching to our lives and the lives of others. We received tremendous value by doing the work we both do. We weighed that against the potential impact we can have in this new venture. It is perfectly aligned with our family values."
How refreshing it was to hear the phrase Family Values used at its face value instead of as a politically charged slogan. It truly is more blessed to give than receive, as both the Mjartans now have demonstrated and no doubt will continue to demonstrate. Godspeed.
Editorial on 08/23/2017