Generous Hearts

Mission Driven

by Susan Bonnett Bourgeois

The Rev. Stephen Holzhalb, III, this year’s Dick Knight Award winner, is congratulated by friends and wellwishers including, from left, Kathryn Knight (daughter); Susan B. Bourgeois, president & CEO of the Northshore Community Foundation; Susan Knight Davis (daughter); and Lisa Wilson, chair of the Northshore Community Foundation.

This year, the Northshore Community Foundation is proud to name the Reverend L. Stephen Holzhalb III, known to many as Father Steve, as the fourth recipient of the Annual Dick Knight Award for Nonprofit Service to his community.

Dick Knight worked harder in his philanthropic missions than most people do at the height of their careers. He moved the needle on philanthropy and community service in our region unlike any other. His strong personal and professional relationships and stellar reputation in all of South Louisiana were instrumental in the efficacy and strength of philanthropy throughout our communities. We lost Dick more than five years ago, and to ensure Dick’s legacy, the Foundation offers this annual recognition and service award in celebration of the impact his example has inspired in others.

With this year’s award, we honor Dick’s legacy by recognizing the lifelong service that Father Steve has given to the citizens and families of the Northshore.

Father Steve

Christ’s Heart, Hands and Feet in Today’s World

Father Steve Holzhalb has been described as an entrepreneur in a priest’s clothing. From the day he was appointed rector of Covington’s Christ Episcopal Church in the early 1980s, he has worked to improve the quality of life of his congregation and the Northshore community that surrounds it with the vision and drive of a true entrepreneur and with the humility and dedication of a devoted pastor.

It seems the mission of the church he faithfully served—“to be Christ’s heart, hands and feet in today’s world”—was written for him, and his first opportunity to set his heart, hands and feet into motion to accomplish a mission came when a group of young mothers from his congregation visited him, advocating for a Northshore Episcopal school for their children.

Serving as president of the founding board of the Covington Christ Episcopal School, he became a fundraiser, a real estate consultant, a construction overseer and a recruiter of academic talent.

As a result of his unmatched enthusiasm and focus, and with the help and hard work of many other devoted individuals, Christ Episcopal School opened for the 1984 school year with 34 children, four classroom teachers and two enrichment teachers on staff. Today, this exemplary school is among the largest Episcopal schools in Louisiana, with more than 650 students attending pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade.

Long before Father Steve was approached by the Christ Church mothers, he had proposed the idea of a senior care community to his vestry, a mission to nurture and support Northshore citizens at the other end of the age spectrum. It became his dream deferred, and he waited patiently until the school was established to push forward with this idea.

So when the time was right, Father Steve, with the support of the Christ Church vestry, announced to the congregation and the greater community that, “with the aging of America, and of St. Tammany Parish, we must step forward now to fulfill our mission from God as a ministry to the elderly.”

Soon after that, Father Steve and Jack Lohman, a vestry member with a keen interest in expanding the thoroughbred industry in St. Tammany Parish and an equally strong interest in creating a continuing care facility for the elderly, began researching and visiting communities that had already adopted the intergenerational model of ministry, involving education and guidance for the young as well as care and comfort for the elderly, delivered in contiguous facilities.

“We were particularly interested in such a model in Bucks County, Pennsylvania,” Father Steve recalls. “We learned quite a bit from that visit.”

There were many site visits, amidst ongoing research and discussions of possible locations for a continuing care community—all, as a friend put it, “on their own dime.”

Eventually, the efforts of this dedicated pair created an undeniable momentum, and considerable public attention began to focus on the particular need they were addressing.

In May 1994, 94 acres adjacent to Christ Episcopal School on Highway 21 south of Covington were purchased for the expansion of the school and the establishment of Christwood. By that time, deposits had been received on 50 of the 96 apartments that would soon be built, while educational forums throughout the state continued to produce additional sales.

After years of diligent work and fundraising, Father Steve’s vision became a reality as Christwood opened its doors in May 1996. And today he serves as Executive Officer of the retirement community he so dearly loves.

While undoubtedly the driving force behind the development of these two major institutions, both the Christ Episcopal School and Christwood, Father Steve acted as a self-described ‘Johnny Appleseed’ in the establishment and enrichment of numerous other nonprofits on the Northshore.

While rector of Christ Church, it was discovered that Father Steve’s interest in providing hospice care aligned with St. Tammany Parish Hospital’s interest at that same time, resulting in the creation of a joint exploration committee between the hospital and the church that formed HOST, or Hospice of St. Tammany. A similar collaboration occurred with the church’s ‘Parent Talk’ lecture series becoming an early supporter of the hospital’s parenting program. Father Steve also served a term as a Trustee of the St. Tammany Parish Hospital Foundation.

Continuing to serve as rector of Christ Church, Father Steve was fortunate to be in a position to put a group of local citizens who were exploring ways to provide housing for lower-income individuals and families in touch with the newly formed Habitat For Humanity in Americus, Georgia. This liaison culminated in the formation of Habitat For Humanity, St. Tammany West. Father Steve was an early board member of this fledgling affiliate and served in that capacity again some years later. The Covington organization became the tenth Habitat affiliate in the world, and today there are more than 2,000 affiliates spread across the globe.

Yet another collaborative effort led by Father Steve was the assistance provided by the Christ Church Food Closet in support of the Covington Food Bank. Another early supporter of the Food Bank was the Covington Ministerial Alliance, of which Father Steve was an active member and participant.

With his continuing focus— always on community wellbeing and development—Father Steve became the Northshore liaison for the Jeremiah Group, an organization that works to form bridges across divided neighborhoods, as well as promotes economic opportunity and education.

Father Steve’s dedication and philanthropic heart are the embodiment of the spirit in which Dick Knight lived his life.

The Dick Knight Award recognizes individuals for their commitment and service to the charitable, nonprofit sector in the four-parish Northshore region. The spirit of the award is to recognize nonprofit staff who have significant tenure in service-based work and have a body of accomplishments that reflect that success. Previous winners include Dianne Baham of STARC, Myrna Jordan of Our Daily Bread Food Bank and Ola Magee of Regina Coeli Child Care Center.