Karen E. Silva-Sabitoni

Hillary Salmons and I had met with you via Zoom before beginning this year’s capital campaign at the First Unitarian Church of Providence.  At this juncture, we felt it was crucial for the success of such an endeavor to hire an expert to guide us through the entire process.  We chose your organization based on its stellar reputation and with the recommendation of Reverand Liz (who had worked with your firm during her tenure in Baltimore).  Subsequently, we had several preliminary meetings with a small committee and one of your consultants, who had guided Liz previously and who was familiar with the culture of Unitarian churches.

I believe you know the rest of this narrative regarding our assigned consultant – this bundle of positive energy, immediately stepped in and drove from sunny Orlando to New England amid a typical New England blizzard so as not to interrupt the previously established timeline for the campaign.  What a testament to your organization and to his commitment, zeal and enthusiasm.

Truly, he has been a remarkable (albeit temporary) addition to First U – he seamlessly was able to weave himself into the tapestry of our congregation to become a valued member of our community. His “can do” attitude, combined with his indomitable spirit and his seemingly endless patience, not to mention his sense of humor and willingness to jump in to either direct or assist (depending on the needs of the moment) have been truly extraordinary.   Our Klote consultant has spent endless hours serving as our guide encouraging and training the First U volunteers, establishing and reviewing procedures, assessing the results, encouraging the congregation, embracing the staff, involving the Prudential Committee along the way, and demonstrating that a process which had first seemed daunting and unwieldy was not only possible, but could actually be fun.

Suffice it to say, he has been an integral member of our First U family – we will miss him, and we think he’ll miss us a little bit too.  We hope he will return for our final celebration when we realize (or surpass) our goal next fall – and we sincerely hope he will wear his gifted RI lobster hat and claws to the event – he is such a good sport!

Many thanks for lending a Klote consultant to us for this important project.  We know he will be a successful consultant at his next church and will continue to be an outstanding ambassador for James D. Klote & Associates.