Meet Kathy Cates, Board Chair – Marketing Committee
Brand Specialist at Brand Connect
Kathy Cates has been involved with the board at Goodwill Industries of Central North Carolina since 2018. A lifelong, avid thrifter, Kathy first learned more about our mission through Leadership Greensboro, where she met our CEO Christopher Gorham and took a guided tour of our home office and Greensboro Career Center. She was impressed by the workforce development and training opportunities alongside our recycling initiatives and excited to bring her communications expertise to the table.
As the Board Chair of our Marketing Committee, Kathy guides the advertising and brand management of our local nonprofit organization. In her words, “Goodwill is still misunderstood, a best kept secret that shouldn’t be a secret at all.” And that’s how she sees her role – to connect more members of our community to Goodwill’s mission.
The Best Kept Secret that Shouldn’t Be a Secret at All
“Until I went through Leadership Greensboro with Chris Gorham, I did not fully understand the mission. I think in learning the true mission of Goodwill, I’m in a position in the business community that I can share that message. It’s still a little bit misunderstood and the best kept secret that shouldn’t be a secret at all. I encounter a lot of people who are looking for help on their resume or looking for jobs – I’m in a lot of associations that revolve around some of the machinist and construction industries – and to be able to share that mission can also provide resources for them.”
Why Pay Full-Price When You Can Get the Quality and the Name Brand
“Yeah, I love to shop, and I guess as a little girl I grew up in a frugal household. And we yard-saled and rummage-saled and thrift shopped, and really there weren’t a lot of Goodwills where I grew up, but when I came to Greensboro, and then getting involved with Goodwill from Leadership Greensboro, I started shopping. I just feel like there are so many amazing bargains and why pay full price for something when you can get the quality and the name brand.”
