Photo courtesy of SRQ MEDIA.

This week brought loss as heavy as it comes for our region. The news of Charles and Margery Barancik passing was sudden and searing. It seemed like time stopped.

At Gulf Coast Community Foundation, Chuck and Margie were family. So, too, are the team they assembled, who carry on in honor of their lives and memories. The private family foundation the Baranciks created has matured quickly into a strategic, solutions-oriented operation with a holistic focus: transforming lives by transforming communities. The visionary work that Chuck and Margie seeded and energized will only get bolder, only get better. Right now, our hearts ache. But soon our hearts will swell to bursting again every time we see another life changed by the Baranciks’ legacy of generosity and love.

I will miss Chuck’s sense of humor, his curiosity, and his sheer joy at seeing others succeed. Chuck was a numbers guy, but he never saw the people he tried to help as numbers. They were unique people who deserved the opportunity to live their fullest lives and fulfill their potential. I will miss Margie’s passion for children and for education, which she and Chuck viewed as the means for future leaders to understand, engage with, and change their world.

Sorely missed, but never forgotten. It’s all the more reason to hold our loved ones close this season. To recommit our presence and energies to what matters most. To do good and, in doing so, strive to do right by those who came before us and those who left too soon.

Mark Pritchett is president and CEO of the Gulf Coast Community Foundation.

Photo courtesy of SRQ MEDIA.