Skyland Trail Board of Directors Passes Leadership Torch

Skyland Trail, a nonprofit treatment facility for adults with mental illness, announced that after 25 years of service, board member Mark West has ended his tenure as the organization’s board chair. John C. Gordon, who has been a member of the Skyland Trail leadership team for more than 20 years, has been elected board chair as the nonprofit enters a new phase of development and expansion.

A native of Atlanta, West is chairman and chief executive officer of First Beacon Investments and also serves on the advisory board of the University of Miami’s School of Medicine Department of Psychiatry.

“A source of great satisfaction to me has been being a part of the growth and development of Skyland Trail,” West said in a statement. “This organization started in 1982 with my father’s vision of providing innovative treatments to adults with mental illness so they could reintegrate back into the community. Today, Skyland Trail has a dedicated leadership team and a strong fiscal outlook. I felt the board of directors was in a position to carry on our track record and made the bittersweet decision to pass the torch.”

West, who served as board president before becoming chair, will now serve on the Skyland Trail National Advisory Board where he will continue to assist with planned giving efforts, allowing the nonprofit to maintain strong fiscal health.

Effective as of Dec. 6, Gordon assumed the chair position of the Skyland Trail board of directors. Gordon is president of Gordon Document Products Inc. and managing partner of its sister company, Perfect Circle Renewable Energy. He also serves as president of the Mt. Paran-Northside Neighborhood Association, is the founder and chairman of Friends of English Avenue and just completed his second term as a member of the Ohio Wesleyan University board of trustees. Gordon attended Stratford Academy in Macon, Ohio Wesleyan University and Mercer Law School. He is married to Helen Milner Gordon and they have three adult sons.

“I’ve been a member of the Skyland Trail family and a friend of Mark for more than 20 years,” said Gordon. “In that time, I’ve been amazed by the talented staff and heartened by the success stories of the thousands of individuals who have found recovery. It’s an honor and a challenge to lead this board as we strive to give hope and independence to people with mental illness.”

This article was provided by Skyland Trail.