Marge Thomas, President & CEO of Goodwill Industries of the Chesapeake, Inc. to Retire in December

BALTIMORE, May 5, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- For 18 years, Marge Thomas has been the President and CEO at Goodwill Industries of the Chesapeake, Inc. and in that time she has transformed the agency to become one of the largest non-profit organizations in the Baltimore metropolitan area.  At the end of 2011, she will be stepping down from her position and retiring.

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In her tenure, she has expanded the services provided by the organization to meet a variety of training and employment needs for individuals who have mental and physical disabilities, those leaving public assistance, and those who have criminal backgrounds or face other employment challenges.  Prior to Ms. Thomas joining the Goodwill in Baltimore in 1994, the organization served 453 people, had 17 stores, and store revenues of less than $4 million. Today's Goodwill serves over 17,000 people, and the organization has expanded to include 9 training sites, 26 retail stores, and government contracts throughout the greater Baltimore region as well as the eastern shore. Under Ms. Thomas' leadership, the organization has grown from total revenues of $8 million per year to over $40 million, with nearly $30 million generated through Goodwill's retail operations. She also spearheaded the move of Goodwill's central offices and primary career center to downtown Baltimore to better serve clients and help revitalize downtown Baltimore.

Ms. Thomas began her Goodwill career in 1974 in Milwaukee where she completed the Goodwill's Executive Training Program.  Since then, she has successfully served as CEO of four Goodwills, Hagerstown, MD, Lancaster, PA, and Mobile, AL.  Ms. Thomas was the first woman executive to win one of the national Goodwill Industries leadership awards, having been selected by her peers to win the P.J. Trevethan in 1987.  She also received the 1999 Kenneth K. King Outstanding Management Award, and in 2004 won the Distinguished Career Award.  She has twice been selected as a Finalist for Ernst and Young's Entrepreneur of the Year and has been chosen as one of Maryland's Top 100 Women three times making her a member of their Circle of Excellence.  In 2005, she was also inducted into the Maryland Chamber of Commerce Business Hall of Fame and in 2008 was named as one of the Influential Marylanders by the Daily Record.

She serves on the Maryland Chamber of Commerce Board, Business Volunteers Unlimited Board and the Baltimore City Workforce Investment Board and is a member of the Governor's Workforce Investment Board Executive Committee.  She has also served as an officer on the board of the Maryland Association of Non-Profits Organizations.

Her retirement brings with it sadness at every level of the organization from the board and staff who have come to know her, respect her, and have felt her encouragement and support.

As for Ms.Thomas, she looks forward to enjoying the next stage of her life and all the challenges and rewards that it will yield.  She will continue to reside in Annapolis and will serve as President Emeritus for our Goodwill.

SOURCE Goodwill Industries of the Chesapeake, Inc.