TYLER, Texas — East Texas Food Bank CEO Dennis Cullinane announced Tuesday that he will be retiring at the end of June.
His retirement will coincide with the end of the food bank's fiscal year, which is June 30. Cullinane said it's been an honor to serve as the CEO since 2010.
“The ETFB board is very thankful for the 13 years of service Dennis has provided,” said Jeff Johnston, chair of the ETFB board. “During his tenure, ETFB doubled its meal distribution where today we are providing 27 million meals to 117,300 households in 26 counties in East Texas. He led us through the pandemic where the ETFB saw tremendous need with long lines of people seeking food assistance, some for the first time.”
The East Texas Food Bank serves 26 counties across the region and provides over 27 million meals annually to 200 partner agencies and feeding programs.
According to the ETFB announcement, Cullinane served as board chair of Feeding Texas and board chair of the Collaborative for Fresh Produce. While he served as CEO, the food bank was named Non-Profit of the Year by the Tyler Area Chamber of Commerce and twice by the Better Business Bureau.
Cullinane said he's proud of the impact that ETFB has made in East Texas, such as working to close the meal gap by 2025 and develop a strategic plan to grow programs and services for that purpose.
"I am excited to have opened our first branch in Lufkin in 2021 with three more opening this year in Tyler, Longview and Texarkana. I am thankful for all of the relationships and partnerships we have built and know ETFB will continue to thrive with the strong team that we have built," Cullinane said.
The nonprofit's board of directors has formed a search committee to select qualified candidates for the CEO role. A new office holder will start in June so they can train with Cullinane, Johnston said.