Back and ready to help

In her third week as director of development for the Permian Basin Rehabilitation Center, Lee Anna Good is still settling in. Researching grant deadlines and meeting staff members, Good is also establishing relationships with potential donors to the nonprofit outpatient center.

And, Good says, when she talks about the center, she is genuine: it is a place that helps many and could have even helped her.

Last year, Good tripped and fell while walking in St. Louis, where she had lived for 20 years. The immediate concern was her broken elbow. But in the weeks afterward, she suffered severe headaches and memory lapses.

Tests revealed a significant problem, and the next day she underwent surgery to remove a blood clot.

"I could have ended up paralyzed," Good said. "I could have been someone who needed the rehab center, whether it be for speech therapy or learning to walk again. I just happened to get really lucky."

The ordeal caused her to evaluate everything. She had been considering a career move, and with the injury, she decided to make a significant geographical move.

Good was coming back to Odessa.

A 1981 Permian graduate, Good was a singer in high school and earned a bachelor's degree in music from the University of Texas. But having seen the talent in Austin and the sacrifices she might have to make for a music career, she switched gears.

She enrolled in Indiana University's arts administration graduate program, which included many nonprofit elements, and soon after completion she became the director of public relations and marketing for the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra.

After eight years there, she wanted to work with an essential part of the nonprofit structure: fund raising.

Good then became the vice president of Forest Park Forever in St. Louis, managing a capital campaign that raised $100 million for the park, which is about 500 acres larger than New York's Central Park.

"No one really believed we could raise that kind of money from a public park because the expectation is that it's a public park and cities should pay for it," Good said. "Realistically, they're very expensive."

Leading up to last year's injury, Good felt the urge to again be surrounded by her family.

When she returned, she landed the position with the center, where her father, Mark Knox, once served as a board member.

Good is tasked with raising funds for the center in as many ways as possible.

There is a constant need so the center can continue serving as many people as possible: it aims to turn no one away, and fees for services depend on family income.

Physical, audiology, occupational and speech-language therapy are the focuses, and bilingual staff members provide more depth.

Moreover, the center would like to expand its services. Good said the center hopes to provide help for obesity, as well as build an aquatics facility.

That means the building would need to get bigger. Opened in 1979, the two-story structure on North Alleghaney Avenue was renovated about two years ago, and the staff is maximizing the space available, chief executive officer Rissé Rogers said.

"As the community grows and more people need our services, we need to keep up with the demand," Rogers said.

Meanwhile, Good is aware that in this economy, raising money is difficult.

One of her priorities is building relationships and going beyond the established donors. She talks about a place that could have helped her if she had not been as fortunate.

"There are things that have been sort of waiting in the wings until we have the right staffing to get it done." Good said. "So I think the potential here is enormous."

PERMIAN BASIN REHABILITATION CENTER

Therapy for those with disabilities, with four concentrations

>> Audiology - aids those with hearing disabilities.

>> Occupational - includes regaining basic domestic skills.

>> Physical - strengthen body and minimize disabilities' limitations.

>> Speech-language - speech pathologist helps infants, children and adults.