CHEROKEE, NC, December
13, 2004 – Cherokee Preservation
Foundation announced today that Dr.
Myron Coulter, the founding chairman
of the Board of Directors of Cherokee
Preservation Foundation (CPFdn), is
retiring from CPFdn’s Board,
effective immediately. He is succeeded
by Luke D. Hyde, an attorney and business
owner who was born and raised in Swain
County and splits his time between
Bryson City and Raleigh.
Coulter was
appointed chairman of CPFdn’s
Board by former Governor James Hunt
in 2000, when the Foundation was established
as part of the Second Amendment to
the Tribal-State Compact between the
Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI)
and the State of North Carolina. He
did much of the formative work that
has already made Cherokee Preservation
Foundation an important catalyst for
cultural preservation, economic development
and environmental protection initiatives
involving collaborating groups on the
Qualla Boundary and the seven westernmost
counties of North Carolina. CPFdn is
an independent nonprofit foundation
funded by the EBCI from gaming revenues
generated by the Tribe, and since its
inception, it has made 180 grants totaling
nearly $12 million.
Coulter, the retired
Chancellor of Western Carolina University,
told fellow
CPFdn directors and the staff that
he had promised Governor Hunt and his
family at the time of his appointment
that he would serve as chair until
the Foundation was firmly functional
and well staffed and until he reached
the age of 75, and that all of these
conditions have been met.
“
It has been a gratifying experience
to have helped guide Cherokee Preservation
Foundation to its significant and respected
status,” said Coulter. “I
am confident that the Board and the
Foundation’s staff will lead
Cherokee Preservation Foundation into
even greater prominence as a positive
force for the overall well being of
the Cherokee.”
“Cherokee Preservation
Foundation would not be what it is
today and would not
achieve its full potential in the
future without the benefit of Dr. Coulter’s
vision and leadership,” said
Susan Jenkins, executive director
of the Foundation. “We are
grateful for the tremendous amount
of time,
energy and talent he has contributed
to the Foundation to help building
an exciting future for the Eastern
Band of Cherokee Indians.”
Luke
D. Hyde has been appointed to a four-year
term to succeed Coulter
as chair. Hyde is a tax attorney
in Raleigh and owner of Calhoun Country
Inn in Bryson City, as well as general
counsel for and an active member
of
the Citizen for the Economic Future
of Swain County. Born and raised
in Bryson City, he earned his B.S.
degree
from Western Carolina University
and his J.D. degree from Antioch
University
School of Law. He attended WCU on
a football scholarship and was elected
Student Body President, serving two
terms.
At Antioch University School of Law,
he was associated with Dean Edgar
Cahn on cases of national prominence
involving
constitutional issues. While in law
school in Washington, D.C., he worked
on Capitol Hill for the House Interior
Committee on conservation and environmental
issues.
"Governor Mike
Easley has chosen a wise and accomplished
North Carolinian to
chair the Cherokee Preservation Foundation,” said
Coulter. “Luke D. Hyde is a
native of our mountains who has dedicated
his personal and professional life
to the service of his fellow citizens.
Luke is a man of integrity and positive
attitude. He is a compassionate leader
with a rich background of achievement
in the practice of law and in a career
of public service based upon his
strong
personal ethics and principles.”
“
I am honored by the appointment by
the governor,” Hyde said. “Cherokee
Preservation Foundation’s board
has built a solid foundation under
Dr. Coulter’s leadership. The
task ahead is to continue a comparable
level of energy, dedication, competence
and intelligent imagination to the
mission of the board. I am also humbled
by this appointment, and I pledge
to give my best efforts to the responsibilities,
challenges and opportunities.”
For
more information about Cherokee
Preservation Foundation, visit the
foundation on the Web at www.cherokeepreservationfdn.org.
