Eric Scharf, the new Chief Executive Officer of Wendell Foster’s Campus, has now been a part of the Owensboro culture for nearly 60 days. Just two months, and he’s already in love with the Barbecue Capital of the World.
Any day now, his wife Stacy, daughter Lexi, and sons Brandon and Jacob will be joining him in their new life here in Owensboro. With children in elementary, middle, and high school, Eric and Stacy are excited to get involved in all that Owensboro has to offer. Eric gushed that “this is a great community…I couldn’t have asked for a better place to raise my family.” He said that accepting the position at Wendell Foster and moving to Owensboro was probably the best decision he’s ever made. Born in New Jersey and a longtime resident of suburban Boston, Eric is thrilled to settle down in a calm and uniquely-personalized smaller-city setting. “This community is family-centric,” said Eric. “I have just been amazed by the kindness and personalized feeling here. People just strike up a conversation and get to know you. It’s great!”
With 28 years of experience in the human services field, Eric has worked in both small and large agencies spanning four states, including multi-million-dollar organizations. But when Wendell Foster popped up on his radar, Eric knew it was a unique opportunity that he wanted to join. Specifically, he loves the supportive community-living model that Wendell Foster exhibits, and the hands-on role that he’s able to take. “As a medium-sized agency, I am able to be involved with all services, and still get to know all of the employees and people that we support.”
Eric loves that in Owensboro, Wendell Foster’s Campus residents are uniquely engaged with and integrated into the community, because the community genuinely wants to help. “I get calls from churches all the time, noticing that people from Wendell Foster are attending, and they want to know how they can help.” This flows from one of the stated goals of Wendell Foster: “Our goal is for the people we serve to become a meaningful part of the fabric of everyday community life.”
Eager to get to know more people and build relationships with those in the community, Eric said that he looks forward to collaborating with local organizations and businesses. “Owensboro has all the opportunities of a city, with a small-town feel,” he said, which makes it the perfect place to do business, and to raise a family.
