[caption id="attachment_5132" align="alignright" width="500" caption="Albert Reyes and Ken Hall shake hands in the Maris Alumni Center on the historic Buckner Children’s Campus."][/caption]

DALLAS -- Buckner International Chief Executive Officer Kenneth L. Hall will retire April 30 after serving the global non-profit for 19 years. Hall’s retirement will move Buckner President Albert L. Reyes into the dual roles of president and CEO for the 133-year-old ministry.

The transition is part of a long-term leadership succession plan by Hall and the Buckner board of trustees. Reyes, who had served previously as president of Buckner Children and Family Services since 2007, succeeded Hall as the sixth president of Buckner on Jan. 22, 2010, while Hall retained the CEO title.

Hall said his retirement means he will transition from “a leader to a follower. As I step aside as the leader of Buckner, I hope to be an excellent follower of our new leader, Albert Reyes. I am supremely confident that Dr. Reyes is uniquely equipped to lead Buckner International for the next generation.”

He pointed to his 19 years of service as a “blessing. I have been blessed to have been the fifth president of Buckner and the board of trustees, staff, leadership and supporters have honored me with their trust and support.”

During his tenure, Buckner grew into one of the nation’s showcase social service nongovernmental organizations, annually serving more than 400,000 people through an array of diverse services designed to care for orphans, vulnerable children and families, and elder adults.

Hall oversaw the expansion of Buckner to include more than $200 million in capital improvements in the past 18 years and the growth of the Buckner endowment to a high of $200 million. Today, Buckner lists total assets nearing $400 million.

Along with the capital growth and improvements, Hall guided Buckner to expand its service offerings beyond the borders of Texas and the United States by launching the organization’s international programs in 1996.

Reyes acknowledged the change Hall has brought to his post. “Dr. Hall has provided extraordinary leadership and vision to the children, families and elders served by Buckner.

“Just as each leader of Buckner before him, he seized on the opportunities provided to him and the ministry, not to just maintain what he had been given, but to grow Buckner into what we are today,” Reyes said. “I want to build on what he leaves behind and to look for new opportunities of growth and expansion.”

Reyes will manage the organization’s nearly $110 million annual budget, while overseeing the daily operations of more than 1,400 employees worldwide. Those operations include work through Buckner Children and Family Services’ domestic and international ministries and Buckner Retirement Services’ seven senior living communities in Texas.