Mrs. Christina Fulsom

The encouragement to the community is immeasurable, said Christina Fulsom, executive director of People Attempting To Help

"Thank you so much for what you've done to help others," Mrs. Fulsom said Wednesday. "This has been amazing.

Chung is president and other members are: Robert Bush, executive director, East Texas Food Bank; Christina Fulsom, executive director, People Attempting To Help; Linda Shawn, a certified public accountant with Perry Reed Co. of Longview; Steve Todd, vice president BWR Architecture of Tyler; Jim Wooldridge, Habitat for Humanity of Tyler; and Chung's wife, who has been involved in prison ministry as well as rescue ministry.

NEW PRESIDENT: Christina Fulsom (right), the new executive director of People Attempting to Help, addresses the gathering at PATH'S open house, Tuesday. (Staff Photo By Patrick Butler)
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Brown then introduced Christina Fulsom, 39, a graduate of Stephen F. Austin State University, who was recently a resident of Charlottsville, Va., as PATH's new executive director.
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Ms. Fulsom, who resides in Whitehouse with her husband and two boys, age 16 and 8, was born in Madrid, Spain, to an Air Force military policeman from Brooklyn, N.Y., and a Spanish mother.She grew up speaking Castilian Spanish in the home, which is distinguished from Mexican Spanish by a slight lisping sound in the pronunciation, in addition to other words.Despite the unique style of speaking, Ms. Fulsom said she experienced little difficulty in speaking to Hispanic people's anywhere, a key requirement of the search committee.She said she also had no trouble learning English when her father relocated to Kerrville, just north of San Antonio, when she was 15.

"I have a degree in Spanish from SFA and went right to work as a courtroom interpreter for years right here in Texas," she said."Languages have never been hard for me to pick up," she said.
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On hand to welcome Ms. Fulsom was the Rev. Dr. Mike Massar of First Baptist Church, Rabbi and Mrs. Shlomo Shechter of Synagogue Ahavath Achim and the Rev. Harlon Overstreet of United Baptist Church.
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Goodwill Industries Executive Director David Walton and Jim Wooldridge, director of development, also welcomed Ms. Fulsom to Tyler.
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Ms. Fulsom went to Catholic school in Spain and now attends Pollard United Methodist Church.

Ms. Fulsom said she could bring a unique perspective of people to her new position as PATH president.

"I grew up speaking Spanish, learned French at school, been exposed to other cultures, and come from a family where generosity and compassion along with hope for the future and helping others was just a natural thing to do."

She was married in Texas and moved to Virginia.

"When my husband and I moved to Charlottesville so he could finish his (medical) residency, I got involved in nonprofit fund-raising and found it the most rewarding work to do, if you can even call it work.I'm not sure it's really work when you get to help others, and PATH is an outstanding organization that really helps," she said.

Mr. Fulsom is a child and adolescent psychologist working at Clinical Associates of East Texas.

Ms. Fulsom's work for the Monticello Area Community Action Agency, along with the March of Dimes and doing cancer research fund-raising, was cited by Brown as the experience the committee wanted to see in the new president.

"Her ability to clearly communicate the mission of PATH is so key," he said."She even interviewed us to make sure this was the right spot for her."

"I just wanted to make sure that PATH was not simply giving people aid, without helping them get to the root of their problems," she told the Tyler Morning Telegraph."My concern was that oftentimes agencies do a great work of putting on a 'Band-Aid' on the wound, but not healing the cause.PATH wants to get to the root of the problem; that is part of the overall mission."

Ms. Fulsom will begin her duties in January.

Christina Fulsom, executive director of Tyler's People Attempting To Help, a faith-based charity, accepted the Coretta Scott King Award at Monday's march on behalf of PATH for its "compassion and presenting the loving side of the community."

"As a result of low wages, unstable employment and loss of benefits, many families are forced to hold several part-time jobs and still are not able to make ends meet," she said on Thursday.
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And public assistance is indeed declining, Mrs. Fulsom said, along with benefits.