On Friday, October 14, 2022, we celebrated a passing of the torch at Success & Succession. The entire DeSales and Fox Grove staff, along with nearly 150 friends of the organization gathered for a luncheon at the Forest Park Golf Course to celebrate and honor two leaders of DeSales. Led by Master of Ceremonies (and DeSales board of directors president) David Rodgers, we said farewell to Tom Pickel, as he retired after serving as DeSales’ Executive Director for 35 years. We also celebrated and welcomed Becky Reinhart, who became DeSales’ next Executive Director; ascending from her previous role as Assistant Director.
Longtime neighbors, past DeSales staff members, leaders of other community development organizations across St. Louis, and members of the Pickel family all shared memories and appreciation of the work Tom did during his time at DeSales. Since joining the organization in 1987, Tom’s impact has been monumental. He led DeSales from a small nonprofit that promoted investment and homeownership in our small slice of the south city, to an organization that touches neighborhoods from the north to southside and even west of Skinker with a staff of 50 and a $4 million budget. He led the organization in pioneering the use of the low-income housing tax credit to revitalize neighborhoods that too many had given up on.
