Johnny O’Brien to Retire as President

Johnny O'Brien's Letter to Alumni:

November 14, 2008

Dear Alumni:

     Today, November 14, I announced my intention to complete my tenure as president of the Milton Hershey School – effective July 31, 2009. The attached letter to our School community outlines the rationale for and timing of my decision.

     It has indeed been a privilege and humbling honor to serve as a caretaker of our Home during these challenging times. As an alumnus, I hope you derive satisfaction from the fact that:

• Your alma Mater has been restored to its Founder's Mission.
• We are a year-round Home again for terrific kids from the toughest of circumstances.
• We are serving and saving the lives of 50% more children. (1800 students today).
• We have shifted from a culture of entitlement to one of accountability, pride, and gratitude.
• All of the School's focus is on student success through high moral character and strong work ethic.

     I accepted the stewardship of MHS only to help lead us to this place. Our beloved “Home – The Milt” is so much bigger and more significant than any one of us. And, with my role largely complete, I turn to our very capable and dedicated Leadership Team and a School Family which is poised to take MHS to an even higher level of operational excellence.

     Many challenges remain as we prepare to launch our second hundred years. We will need a vibrant School-Alumni relationship and your help more than ever before. The MHS Alumni Association's leadership is reaching out to the School and to all graduates to forge a working partnership that will add significant value to MHS students and our youngest alumni. I have always said that, as a one-of-a-kind “Home,” we should have the best School-Alumni relations in the world. As we prepare to enter Milton Hershey's second century, that lofty goal is within our reach.

     I hope you will elect to get involved in our upcoming Centennial celebrations and help to build this union of “Home-Milt-Alumni” in honor of our Founders, and our noble mission.

In service of MHS,

Johnny O'Brien ‘61

Johnny O'Brien's Letter to the School Family:

11/14/08

Dear MHS Family Member,

     Six years ago, when given the humbling honor of coming back to guide this Home which had saved my life, I vowed to do four things:

1)  Restore MHS to Mr. Hershey's Mission of being a year-round home for terrific children from the toughest of circumstances.

2)  Serve and save many more of these precious children as called for in the Deed of Trust.

3)  Create a program which focused all energies and resources on student and young graduate success, and

4)  Develop a unified, adult community where all staff are dedicated to our noble MHS mission.

     Working hard and together, we, the MHS Family, have largely achieved these monumental goals. We are a year-round Home (with a great School) for kids who desperately need us and we are miraculously serving and saving 50% more children today. The MHS program is truly focused on developing our students' moral character and producing excellence in academic and life skills. And you -- our sensational staff -- have demonstrated a level of devotion to our children which is unparalleled. We are beginning to pull together in a way that fiercely loving families do.

     So it is a tribute to your dedication and sacrifice that I can confidently pass the mantel of MHS leadership to a worthy successor this summer, 2009. It is because you are more than ready to take MHS to the next level, I am ready to step aside.

     When I arrived in December 2002, I made it clear to the Board, our senior management, and my bride that I would labor every day to get the School back on mission, get it healthy and serving more kids and then get out of the way. So it is time for me to pass the torch. You know the adage that if you genuinely love someone or something, you love “with open arms.” I have loved my “Home” for over 60 years and always will. I care deeply enough about MHS to let her go.

     Because the state of our Home and School is so healthy, this will be a positive transition. The School's direction and program are on the right path. Our Board of Managers agrees and they have vowed to continue on it. The senior managers on our Leadership Team are the most effective and dedicated team of leaders I have ever worked with. Anchored by Pete Gurt, Vice President of Student Life, our Leadership Team consists of devoted servant leaders who have positioned MHS for operational excellence and, with your help, will assure that we go from being very good to being great.

     But I repeat that Milton Hershey is only as good as the exceptional people who choose to dedicate their hearts as well as minds to our noble, child-saving mission. We are fully back on our Founder's mission. We have a shared vision of student success. We are making our Sacred Values sacred. And we have you, our remarkable and devoted staff who will raise our amazing children together to reach new heights. I have absolute confidence in you and nothing but bold optimism for our School's future. I will depart in July with humility, fulfillment, and inner peace.

     But there is still time on the scoreboard. I may be deep into my “fourth quarter” but this is the most critical time of all for stewards. I intend to finish strong because completing what we start is more important than beginning it. And because that is our Spartan Way. I need your help to make the next eight months part of the best year ever for MHS. Together we will complete this firm foundation to support the next 100 years of serving and saving childrens' lives.

     Onward and Upward Spartans!

Your dedicated MHS servant,

Milton Hershey School Press Release, Friday, November 14, 2008

     “There is no question that Milton Hershey School is Mr. Hershey's greatest and most enduring legacy. Thanks to Johnny O'Brien, Milton Hershey School today is healthy and headed in the right direction, and ready to launch its next 100 years of service.”

     O'Brien, a 1961 graduate of the School, was named president in July 2003. During his tenure, Milton Hershey School grew to serve 1,800 students, the highest number of children ever enrolled at the School. O'Brien also oversaw the renovation of the School's flagship building on Pat's Hill into the new Catherine Hall for middle school students; instituted a Transitional Living program aimed at helping seniors learn independent life skills before leaving the School; and created Springboard Academy to help new middle school students adjust to the highly structured life at MHS. Transitional Living and Springboard are among the most significant innovations in Milton Hershey School's history.

     “It has truly been a privilege to serve as president of the place I call home,” O'Brien said. “Our single focus during these past five years has been the success of our students and young graduates, and everything we have done has been with that end in mind.”

     “When I arrived back home, I set three major goals for my tenure: restore the School to Mr. Hershey's Deed and Mission, serve and save many more children, and position the school for excellence and student success.

     “I consider myself blessed to have worked with this deeply committed staff and our amazing and resilient students who have made it possible to reach all of these goals. My retirement is a tribute to the dedication of our houseparents, teachers and support staff, and to the ability of our Leadership Team. The School will be in very capable hands.”

     A grandmother enrolled O'Brien and his older brother, Frankie, into the School after their father murdered their mother. O'Brien was not yet four years old.

     O'Brien eventually graduated with a scholarship to Princeton University. He was the founder and president of Renaissance Leadership, a management consulting company specializing in change leadership and executive coaching. O'Brien also previously served as Education Policy Fellow at the National Institute of Education and as Associate Director of Admissions at Princeton University. He is currently on the Board of Trustees of Princeton.

     “We know that Mr. Hershey wanted the community he founded to work together for the common good. Milton Hershey School is a key part of that community, and Johnny has revitalized those connections,” Zimmerman said.

     “While I am saddened to see Johnny go, I know that he leaves Milton Hershey School in a terrific position for the future.”

     Zimmerman said that, with O'Brien's help, the board has launched a national search for his successor.