Representatives from nonprofits from 10 counties in the Hill Country gathered for a full day of in-depth business presentations presented by The Community Foundation of the Texas Hill Country on Tuesday, Sept. 22, at the Bevy Hotel in Boerne.
Summit 2026: Deep in the Heart opened with a welcome from Austin Dickson, CEO of the Community Foundation, who introduced Marketing Director Jayne Zirkel, organizer of the event, to give an overview of the day.
Dickson welcomed attendees by reviewing the many disasters the foundation has worked through in the past several years and how resilience, commitment and strength have brought each community together to meet the challenges of recovery, and how the foundation has made significant progress by working with strategic partnerships and alliances all aimed at rebound and recovery.
The summit’s keynote speaker was Andy Keller, president and CEO of the Dallas-based Meadows Institute, an independent, nonpartisan policy and program research organization. His presentation, Leadership as a Mental Health Intervention, covered the phases people go through following any disaster: immediate response, short-term recovery, mid-term recovery and the preparation for long term recovery.
Referencing the Kerr County floods and the exemplary manner the community and The Community Foundation of the Texas Hill Country responded, he stressed the importance of recognizing that mental health issues are ongoing and that research indicates that about half of Americans will have a mental health issue during their lifetime.
Morning and afternoon breakout sessions ranged from one focused on educating nonprofit leaders on how to attract more corporate partners to sessions on marketing, public relations and technology for nonprofits, targeting and soliciting donors and financial management strategies.
Attracting many attendees was the session on Crisis Communications for Nonprofits, designed to provide a strategic step-by-step plan that should be put in place for any crisis.
“Have a crisis plan in place before you need it,” said Lia Truitt, senior vice president of ECPR Texas.
Steps included appointing a crisis lead, informing all staff who that person is, assigning teams to specific duties, preparing your contact list, engaging your board of directors and have a clear and factual message to be delivered by the media point person.
The summit concluded with a panel discussion between Dickson; Elena White, CEO of Connective; and Kristin Marcum, owner and CEO of ECPR Texas.
Of the more than 100 nonprofit representatives in attendance were staff and volunteers from Kerr County nonprofits, including the Dietert Center, Heart of the Hills Heritage Center, Water Street Festival, Mo-Ranch and Glory Community Gardens.
Karen Guerriero, executive director of Kerrville Pets Alive! said she thought the day was very beneficial.
“I gained a wealth of knowledge about the framework and essentials needed for handling communications in the event of an internal or external nonprofit crises,” Guerriero said.
Darrell Beauchamp, executive director of the Museum of Western Art, welcomed the return of summit.
“The flood caused summit to be canceled last year. Its return marks another needed step in our recovery,” he said.
Incoming executive director of Playhouse 2000 Amy Goodyear also attended and summed up her experience this way:
“It’s been great to be with other area nonprofits and to realize we all face the same challenges and struggles in our role as sources of good in our community. This was definitely worthwhile,” Goodyear said.
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