We want to share that our Executive Director, Daniel “Apollo” Chacon, ended his long tenure as an AARBF staff member at the end of February. While stepping away from his role, he has assured us that we will continue to see him at programs and events and he will always be a well-loved member of our Foundation Family.
We want to thank Daniel for his energy, loyalty, passion, and commitment to the Foundation. He worked his way up in his > 11 years as an employee and has worn many “hats”, often at the same time, as well as taken a wider leadership role across the national Burn Community. He has had a tremendous impact at every level of the Foundation and added many innovative new programs and services. He is well loved by our survivors, their families, staff, and volunteers and will be deeply missed. His strengths include deep relationships across our organization. As one camper stated, “He doesn’t just know me, he knows my whole family.”
In his time at the Foundation, we have served more than 1,000 children at Champ Camp, educated 100’s of thousands of children through our FISE programs and continued to build our reputation throughout the State, National, and International Burn Community. Daniel showcased AARBF’s Champ Camp as the gold standard of burn camps while chairing the International Association of Burn Camps. He has highlighted the healing power of recreational programs for burn survivors through research presented at the American Burn Association. And Daniel used AARBF’s FEMA grant to work alongside other burn professionals across the country to spearhead the creation of the IMPAC Tool to encourage behavior changes that implement burn prevention education. His silly side leaves a legacy as well, the “big fish, little fish” song he brought to campfire is a Champ Camp favorite and there is no one who can do it as well.
On behalf of the Board of Directors and staff please join us in wishing Daniel the best and in thanking him for his unwavering commitment to our success.
Ps. Watch for leadership announcements to come soon.