Henry Bedford, Southwestern Company Chairman and CEO, was recently honored as the recipient of the Safe Haven Hero Award at the Dancing for Safe Haven Family Shelter inaugural.
Bedford was the key in the development of Saint Patrick’s Family Shelter, which was later re-named Safe Haven Family Shelter. The capital campaign to build Saint Patrick Family Shelter started in 1990. It was Bedford’s drive to help people in bad situations that landed him in the middle of the campaign. Later, after leading the building project for the 3rd Avenue facility, he stayed on and served as board chair of the shelter for another 10 years.
Joyce Lavery, Executive Director has gone on the record as being thankful for everything that he has done for them. It is thanks to his vision and way of helping the homeless in Nashville that the shelter has made it for 25 years. This is quite a milestone for them. Because of this, when they were thinking about who really deserved the award, it was obvious that no one was a better choice than Mr. Bedford
The event, Dancing for Safe Haven, held at the Hutton Hotel in Nashville on Friday, April 9th, was the marker of this 25 year milestone. This means they have been providing the needy with a safe place to sleep, eat and such for a quarter of a century. This wasn’t just a celebration though, it was also a fundraiser and in total, the event earned nearly $88,000 that will go to the shelter and to transitional services for homeless families with children.
Mr. Bedford expressed his gratitude at being honored by a company that is exceptional in the efforts to help so many families rebuild their lives and their spirits.
The Southwestern Company was a starting place for Bedford many years ago, after his junior and senior years at the University of the South. He started there, running his own business selling books door to door in the home learning Bible division. A friend had told him about the Southwestern Company he decided that it would be a great adventure to go out selling books door to door away from home. It also looked like he might be able to get paid more than he was used to for his hard work. The earnings really did pay off and his profits paid for his tuition and allowed him to earn an MBA. Having stayed with the company even after all that, he was named Chairman and CEO in 2006, but never forgets to honor those who aren’t as fortunate as him, and is known for his civic and community involvement.
This inaugural fundraiser was a team effort and Joyce Lavery was a large part of it. Lavery insists that it was a work of love, and it was the love of everyone that helped that made it possible. It exceeded expectations, and they are glad at how the community has come out to support them.
For more information about Safe Haven Family Shelter, please visit www.safehaven.org.
For more information about Southwestern Company, please visit www.southwestern.com.