Director of U.S. Field Operations on road trip to visit 13 covenant partners

Director of U.S. Field Operations Kirk Lyman-Barner is hitting the road, a long road that will take him to see 13 Fuller Center for Housing covenant partners from Georgia to Texas.

Lyman-Barner will hop in the Fuller Center’s Chevy Cobalt on Friday morning and set out for Southwest Quarter in Lumpkin, Ga., before traveling to see partners based in the cities of Hammond, La.; New Iberia, La., Prairie View, Texas; San Antonio, Texas; Waxahachie, Texas; Shreveport, La.; Minden, La.; Homer, La.; Greenwood, Miss.; Water Valley, Miss.; Tupelo, Miss.; and, finally, Lanett, Ala., hometown of Fuller Center founder Millard Fuller and the Chattahoochee Fuller Center Project that serves Lanett and West Point, Ga.

Lyman-Barner said of his trip, “It’s sort of a listening tour to get to know what current issues are out in the field and what we can be doing to help, and to learn stories from the groups so we can share them. It’s a great opportunity for information exchange."

“That’s where the work’s really done,” he added of seeing so many partners in the field. “It’s real easy and time-consuming to sit in front of the computer and respond to the many emails that come through every single day, but there’s nothing like having face-to-face time and seeing the dedicated volunteers and families.”

In addition to collecting stories from the field, Lyman-Barner plans to blog from the road and take plenty of pictures.

While many people might dread being behind the wheel for so many hours, Lyman-Barner said the timing is perfect after having planned and chaired the Clarence Jordan Symposium that drew hundreds to Americus, Ga., to learn about the Koinonia Farm founder who planted the seeds for the affordable housing movement.

“I’ll get lots of windshield time, and after the Clarence Jordan Symposium, I am so ready for some quiet down time,” he said. “My only regret is that little car doesn’t have cruise control.”

Be sure to check out the Fuller Center’s Facebook page regularly in the next couple of weeks for Kirk’s dispatches from the road. Note: You do not have to be a member of Facebook to see the posts.