Winkie retired at the end of 2016 as President of Leadership Triangle. That was a fourteen year run. Before that, she was a female pioneer in the sports world. She worked for the '87 Olympic Festival here, then ran the State Games of NC, worked for the '96 Atlanta Olympics, followed by the '99 Special Olympics World Summer Games in RDU, and she helmed the Triangle's bid for the Pan Am Games in the late '90s.
The bid fizzled, but it was a meaningful lesson in Triangle-wide community engagement and regionalism. Winkie did an exemplary job of bringing everyone to the table. Biz-nonprofit-gov't leaders, the universities...everyone from medical to transit to law enforcement. Inclusive. Diverse. I remember how she enrolled the Latino community, a very progressive thing to do twenty years ago.
I tend to think of regionalism in terms of municipal entities and political boundaries. Winkie's great strength: she sees PEOPLE...and she inspires them to work across those boundaries for the community's betterment. She's a collaborator, a convener, and yes, a task master (or task mistress.) True to her name she has been a force!
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A word on the Power of Sharing. What a great event! First class! Inspiring! And the credit goes to a corporate leader, Coastal Credit Union and its foundation. They organized this gala to celebrate the work of numerous non-profits, collaboration and corporate support totaling $400K.
