Chapter 12 - THE FOUNDATION BELONGED TO EVERYONE
The foundation's next board meeting was different.
I entered with Lucas beside me.
The room was filled with directors.
Doctors.
Researchers.
Community leaders.
Parents.
I stood before them.
“For years, people fought over the foundation because they thought it represented wealth.”
I looked around.
“They were wrong.”
“It represents responsibility.”
I announced a new plan.
Every recovered dollar would go toward children's healthcare.
New clinics.
Research.
Emergency treatment.
Rural hospitals.
Scholarships for medical students.
No family member would receive personal profits.
The board voted unanimously.
Lucas became director of strategic development.
I remained chair.
My mother became honorary trustee.
Arthur became senior adviser.
The foundation was finally what my father had imagined.
Not an empire.
A promise.
Months later, construction began on a new children's hospital.
We named it after my father.
The James Carter Children's Medical Center.
At the opening ceremony, my mother stood beside me.
Lucas stood on the other side.
Arthur cut the ribbon.
Children ran through the doors.
Parents cried.
Doctors applauded.
May you like
I looked at my family.
For the first time, nobody was hiding.
