Point Hope

Delilah Rene

Founder

Why did I found Point Hope and why is it still my passion? I love children. I love children and I see so many areas where they have no voice. Given that I have been blessed to be the “voice of night time radio”, I thought I would extend that voice to be the voice for forgotten children, both here and in developing countries.

I have believed in and supported World Vision for many years, they are such a wonderful ministry and have impacted the lives of millions and millions of people around the world. I love the fact that most of the monies donated to World Vision go directly to the children and families they support and not to administration fees, a strength I have emulated with Point Hope. I have been sponsoring children thru World Vision for many, many years and as my career took off I supported their many projects as well as individual kids. But because they were not in a position to work specifically with the itinerant people at the refugee camp, they partnered with me, offered me guidance and Point Hope became the vision of hope for West African refugees in Buduburam.

I have also been blessed to be able to support our local Girl Scouting program and now with two young boys at home, our local Boy Scout troops. Debbie Macomber, a fellow Point Hope board member, and I are so proud of our local Girl Scout Council and all the great things they do for the young women in our community. I believe in impacting the lives of children in my local neighborhood-whether that’s the neighborhood in which I live or the neighborhoods I visit daily via radio. If I can inspire someone to live out the words of James, Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you (NLT), I stinkin’ love it!

I realize we are all so blessed to enjoy the many freedoms and resources that are available to us here in America. Even though I can never re-pay the Lord for all the blessings He has entrusted to me, I know I have a huge responsibility to “pay it forward” if you will.

So whether it is a private children’s home for developmentally delayed foster kids in Nashville, public grade schools in depressed communities struggling to survive in this recession, an orphanage in Haiti, an assistance program to poor mothers in White Center, a young artist at an orphanage in Ghana, foster girls and boys across the U.S. from Boston, Chicago, Nashville, Eugene, Vancouver, Portland, Purdy, Seattle, Port Orchard, I want to use the blessings God has given me to bless others until He snatches me away.

If you would like to know more about Delilah, tune into a radio station near you or follow Delilah at delilah.com.

Kraig Kitchin

Board President

For the last 20 years, Kraig T. Kitchin was President/COO of Premiere Radio Networks Inc., the number one radio network in the country that syndicates 90 radio programs and services to more than 4,600 radio affiliates, reaching 190 million listeners weekly. In 2008, he joined the radio production company, Big Shoes Productions, Inc., producer of the DELILAH radio program, and launched Sound Mind, a new company that offers management services to some of the nations’ top radio, television and music personalities.

Kitchin was one of the founders of Premiere Radio that launched in October 1987. He began his career at the company as the executive vice president of sales. In 1998 at the age of 37, he assumed the role of President/COO, one of the youngest in the country to run a $300 multi-million-plus radio company. Taking notice of his quick assent, a leading trade publication named him one of the most powerful men in radio in 1999. He has remained on that prestigious list every year since.

No stranger to talent management, Kitchin directed and oversaw all talk and music programming and services, featuring Rush Limbaugh, Jim Rome, Casey Kasem, Ryan Seacrest, Glenn Beck, Bob (Kevoian) and Tom (Griswold), Delilah, Steve Harvey, Whoopi Goldberg, Blair Garner, George Noory, Maria Bartiromo, Ty Pennington, John Boy and Billy, Matt Drudge, Art Bell, Donald Trump, Big Tigger, Bob Costas and others. In addition, he supervised Premiere Radio’s other properties: Mediabase 24/7, the industry’s leading music monitoring service, MJI Programming and FOX Sports Radio.

Prior to joining Premiere Radio, Kitchin was sales manager of the Katz Radio Group Network in Los Angeles. He also served in station management at WFMK-FM in Lansing, Michigan, and KTYD-FM in Santa Barbara, California.

Kitchin serves on the Board of Directors for The Radio Hall of Fame, Operation Hope and Point Hope.

Fred Myers

Board Treasurer

Fred Myers is a certified public accountant who has been practicing for over 30 years. He graduated from Philadelphia College of Textiles and Sciences and became a CPA in 1979. In 1984 he launched his own firm, Myers & Associates. Fred’s philosophy of providing every client with the highest level of professional and personalized service has resulted in the continued growth of his firm, as well as the respect of his peers. He is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Pennsylvania Institute of Certified Public Accountants.

Fred was born and raised outside of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and now resides in West Chester, Pennsylvania with Debbie his wife of 35 years. He has two grown children and one grandson.

A board member of Point Hope since it’s second year of inception, he is currently serving as the Treasurer.

It is Fred’s belief that we are blessed to be a blessing, and to this end he has long been involved in charitable work. He has traveled to Buduburam, Ghana twice to serve and see first-hand the difference Point Hope has made to the lives of the refugees living there.

Dr. Daniel Gallego

Dr. Daniel Gallego was born in Colombia, where he obtained a medical degree from the University of Antioquia. After a clerkship in medical anthropology and psychiatry at Harvard Medical School in 2004, he worked at the Liberian Refugee Camp Clinic in Ghana for almost five years, where he provided primary health care to the refugee community and coordinated public health activities including a nutrition program. His main area of interest is integrative medicine, in particular the understanding and creation of strategies for the intersection between public health and Complementary and Alternative Medicine. He is currently living and practicing medicine in Colombia but continues to be engaged in different international projects. In addition to being on the Point Hope Board, he is a member of the Critical Medical Anthropology Research Group, affiliated with the Center for Social Studies at the National University, Colombia.

Karla Graul

Karla Graul has a wife-life a bit right now juggling the calendar of husband of 21 years guitarist Barry Graul of Mercy Me. In addition to her work with Point Hope, she serves on an advisory board for New Horizons, an alternative high school in Greenville, TX. With a career in process improvement and public relations, she is a consultant and educator in music, publishing and academic industries. Favorite among her talents is coaching new business starts toward successful, sustainable ventures. She is host to area symposiums and artisan events that showcase new talent.

Phil Herzog

Phil Herzog is the CEO of SmoothStone Partners, a business development consulting firm specializing in sales growth strategies for entertainment, sports and lifestyle brands. Through his combined efforts at SmoothStone and business development roles with several of the largest advertising agencies in the West, Phil’s sales strategies have generated many millions of dollars in revenues with clients such as the 2010 Olympic Games, DirecTV, RealNetworks, Schwinn, World Vision, and Princess Cruises, Lodges and Resorts.

In addition to his sales acumen, Phil is an accomplished direct marketer whose creative campaigns have produced record revenues and awards for a broad range of businesses, from high-tech start-ups to Fortune 1000 conglomerates. He has spoken and written widely on sales and marketing topics and is a passionate fundraiser for special causes. As a CFRE development executive, in his earlier career he served for seven years as VP of International Communications for maritime relief organization Mercy Ships.

He has served as the President of the American Advertising Federation (Texas) and Vice President of the Seattle Direct Marketing Association.

Marc Kaye

Marc Kaye’s radio career began in 1973, after graduating cum laude from Ohio University in Athens, Ohio. Marc joined Susquehanna Broadcasting’s WGBB Long Island, as an account executive. At the same time his sales career was beginning, he held on to his sports broadcaster dreams by working as the radio voice of the St. John’s University Redmen, and worked for the brand new (at the time) cable sports channel, ESPN, where he did play-by-play of college basketball and soccer. Marc was ultimately promoted to general manager.

From 1981 to 1996, Marc continued working in radio news, sports, sales and management, including a 15-year career with Gannett Co. Inc., which included General Sales Manager in Houston at KKBQ, General Manager (GM) of KNUA in Seattle, GM of WUSA Tampa on two separate occasions, and President/GM of KIIS Los Angeles.

Marc teamed up with Sandusky Radio in 1997 to manage Sandusky’s five-station cluster in Seattle. Now Marc is VP/GM of KQMV FM, KIXI AM, KWJZ FM, KKNW AM and KRWM FM. In Marc’s ten years managing the Seattle stations, Sandusky radio properties have seen major ratings and revenue increases.

Marc’s family includes wife Susan, whose butt he has dragged to seven cities in 20 years, daughter Jennifer (who keeps coming back home), cats Spook, Andrew, and newest member, Ally, a golden retriever.

Debbie Macomber

As a young, dyslexic student, Debbie Macomber did not learn to read until she was in the fifth grade. Still, despite teachers’ predictions she would never do well in school, she never abandoned the dream that God placed in her heart to one day become an author.

Today Debbie is a #1 New York Times bestselling author with 130 million copies of her books in print worldwide. But Debbie is defined more by her dedication to helping others discover God’s plan for their lives than she is by her role as a leading voice in women’s fiction. She staunchly believes that God sends special people into our lives to help Him establish His goal for us, a belief that inspired her November 2010 non-fiction book, God’s Guest list.

An avid knitter, Debbie serves on the national board and actively supports Guideposts Knit for Kids, World Vision and Point Hope. She and her husband, Wayne, enjoy their role as members of the Guideposts National Advisory Cabinet.

Parents of four grown children, grandparents to nine, Debbie and Wayne live in Port Orchard, Washington, and spend their winters in their home in Florida.

Susan Polgar

Grandmaster Susan Polgar, the first woman in history to break the gender barrier by qualifying for the 1986 Men’s World Championship and earning the Men’s Grandmaster title in 1991, first won the Budapest Championship for Girls under 11 at the age of 4 with a perfect score of 10-0! She became the #1 ranked woman player in the world at the age of 15 and remained in the top 3 for nearly 23 straight years. Susan went on to win ten Olympic medals (5 Gold, 4 Silver and 1 Bronze), and four Women’s World Championships. Susan holds a record 56 consecutive Olympiad game scoring streak without a loss. She received the Grandmaster of the Year Award in 2003 (the first woman ever) and was crowned Women’s World Chess Champion in 2006. Susan is currently ranked #1 in the United States and also holds four current world records for simultaneous chess exhibitions. Other notable accomplishments include being an award-winning and best-selling chess author in numerous languages, winner of the prestigious Cramer Award for “Best Chess Column of the Year” (2003), 3-time winner of the Chess Journalists of America Award for Best Magazine Column and Best Endgame Analysis, first ever recipient of the “Chess Educator of the Year” award (2003), and first ever recipient of the “US Scholastic Chess Ambassador” award (2006).

Susan is a pioneer in women’s chess, an ambassador to the game and a true role model to millions of young people worldwide. In addition to being on the Board of Directors for Point Hope, she is the founder of the Susan Polgar Foundation, a nonprofit organization to promote chess, the sponsor and organizer of the prestigious annual Susan Polgar National Invitational for Girls Championship, Susan Polgar World Open for Girls and Susan Polgar National Open for Girls. Susan and her husband live in Texas where she is the Director of SPICE at Texas Tech University.

Leisa Smith

Leisa has worked with Delilah’s radio program for over ten years now. She was able to experience the joy and heartache of first visiting Ghana in January 2009. She fell in love with a little boy and shortly thereafter, she and her husband Jeremy adopted Sorin. After two additional trips to Ghana in 2009, they were finally able to bring their sweet son home and he is now thriving. Leisa is passionate about the work Point Hope is doing, not only in Camp Buduburam, but also in other places around the world. She has seen with her own eyes the progress made and the work yet to be done, and this is why she believes we must soldier on in the spirit of humanity and helping others.

Donna Sperone

Donna Sperone is a co-founder and managing partner of Pennsylvania Land Transfer Company, a title insurance firm in the Philadelphia area, recognized for its excellence as one of the leading title insurance agencies in residential, industrial and commercial title insurance services.

Donna has worked with Point Hope since its inception and in addition, has dedicated her time to other charitable organizations. She has served as a past Board member of the American Cancer Society and Stages of Imagination, a non-profit organization offering character education themed productions to school age children.

Debbie Sundberg

Debbie Sundberg is a wife, mother and grandmother. She has also been the sole proprietor of a Pacific Northwest floral business for 30 years. Debbie is an active member in the community and her church. She and her husband Brian have been involved with Royal Rangers and Missionettes (youth ministries) for over 25 years. They have hosted countless young adult and youth group gatherings at their farm throughout the years, as well as hosting missionaries from many different countries.

Debbie and Brian live on a pastoral farm that has been in her family for generations. They raise beef cattle on their land and Debbie has two horses that she loves to ride. In addition to running her business, Debbie is an avid seamstress and quilter. Debbie is also the world’s BEST grandma, spending countless hours baking her famous sugar cookies, decorating for parties and hosting her grandchildren and all her “adopted” grandkids as well.

In the winter of 2008, Debbie and Brian travelled to Ghana, West Africa with Point Hope. Within the first few days after arriving in the camp, a malnourished, dying infant was placed in Debbie’s arms. It was unknown whether or not he would even make it through the night. Debbie spent the week cradling, feeding, praying for and loving him back to life, and was able to place him with another caregiver; he is now 2 years old, thriving and living with his new adoptive parents in Seattle, Washington. Brian’s expertise as a landscaper and gardener was much appreciated in Buduburam, where his idea of a water holding tank that would deliver the irrigation via water pressure was well-received and helped change the work load of the farmers at the camp. Today the farm is far more productive because of the information Brian was able to share.

Brian and Debbie’s love for the Lord, their passion for children in need and their commitment to their community makes them a valuable asset to Point Hope.