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IAM celebrates 40 years of helping neighbors

Mark Warwick and Paige Posey emceed IAM’s 40th anniversary celebration while Bird Bartlett and Damian “Duke” Domingue, of Duke Says Sold!, conducted a live auction. [BILL MOSS/Hendersonville Lightning]

By Lightning Reports, Published: May 9, 2025

To celebrate its 40^th anniversary, originally scheduled in early October after Hurricane Helene, IAM hosted donors and sponsors at a dinner at Kenmure Country Club on Thursday, May 1, and heard from “neighbors in need” and from one of the agency’s most generous supporters.

Chuck McGrady, whose family has been longtime donors to community causes, said that IAM was among the most focused and dedicated nonprofits in a county that’s blessed with dozens of those agencies.

McGrady said that had he feared that  the onset of Covid-19 in March of 2020 might doom the volunteer-dependent agency but that it persevered and continues today to meet needs countywide through its food pantry, clothing closet and crisis intervention services.

“It’s one of my favorite organizations in Henderson County, and I’ve got a few,” he said. “That’s why it’s so important to me and Jean and my family and it’s so important to this community. So, thanks. Keep doing good things.”

In 1984, the year it was founded, IAM served around a thousand people; now it serves 24,000 individuals and delivers 89,000 crisis services a year.

Executive Director Elizabeth Willson Moss introduces Gib and Nancy Campbell, who received IAM’s first Compassion in Action award for their long service as volunteers. Gib, who volunteers in intake, has given 28 years; Nancy, who works in the clothing closet, 24.Executive Director Elizabeth Willson Moss thanked the agency’s patrons and urged them to continue to give because poverty, though often unseen, remains a problem in Henderson County.

“It's hard to ask for help, but we try our hardest and do our best to treat them with dignity and respect and to fulfill that need the day that they come in,” she said. “If you are so moved, we would love to have you continue to support our efforts now — now and for another 40 years.”

Two families IAM  assisted over the years gave grateful and teary-eyed testimonials. They described how Henderson County’s crisis assistance nonprofit had given them the hand-up they needed to get back on their feet and become self-sufficient.

Thirty five years ago, Kaye Brownlee was new to town, struggling to get settled, find a steady job and take care of her children’s basic needs. Neighbors told her to seek help from IAM.

“I was a little hesitant at first to seek assistance, but my family did have three little mouths to feed,” she said.

Kaye Brownlee IAM staff and volunteers welcomed her warmly and helped her with food and other necessities like personal care items and clothing.

“I still remember the feeling of hope and encouragement it gave me to keep pressing on,” Brownlee said.

As she left that day, Brownlee told herself she would return the kindness she had received some day.  Today, Brownlee serves on IAM’s board of directors and volunteers in the food pantry, the third largest in Western North Carolina. “It is very heart-warming and humbling to be able to return the blessing.”

Rosario Villarreal, another “neighbor” assisted by IAM, described how IAM helped her with first month’s rent, food and other services so she and her children could leave a local domestic violence shelter and move into a home. Today, Villarreal, is a leader in the Latino community and a state employee. She refers other families to get help at IAM. “I will never forget how IAM helped me,” she said.