Co-founder Noble Crawford, who served HOPE Farm for 30 years, retired on August 31, 2020. During his tenure, Noble served in every capacity: teacher, mentor, member of the executive team, public speaker, fund raiser, school advocate, and cheerleader for the moms. Noble never missed a single event – he attended every graduation, every Fall Festival, every Open House, and every Summer Camp. To me, Noble Crawford represents everything that is good and true about HOPE Farm and its mission.
Young lives have been saved due to the steady, positive, and patient influence of Mr. Crawford. Noble, is a husband, father, grandfather, brother, son, friend, mentor and true professional. We will miss his larger-than-life smile and strong bear hugs! We will miss his encouraging words and his gift to know exactly the right thing to say. We will miss his ability to listen and then speak true wisdom. We will miss his wisdom in the Word of God and his passion to know how to lean on God in all things. Noble’s season at HOPE Farm may have ended, but his legacy will live with us forever. He has taught us that one child, one teacher, one book and one mentor can change the lives of many!
August 31st is the day Noble retired, and will be a special day in the future of HOPE Farm. August 31st will become Noble Crawford Community Service Day at HOPE Farm. It will be a day that the HOPE Farm staff and boys give back to the community. This day will exemplify how Noble served our families for the last 30 years.
Noble is a man of great character who strives for excellence in everything he does. Many of us are sitting in the shade today because of the trees that he planted over the last 30 years. He planted HOPE in a community of low income and fatherless boys, and he planted love into a group of employees who committed their life to servant leadership. Noble planted leadership into a group of young men that was headed into a path of destruction, and he planted wisdom into an administrative team that could not see how HOPE Farm made sense on paper. Most of all, Noble Crawford planted faith into all who lack in spirituality and disbelief that HOPE Farm can and would become a pillar in the community that provides outreach for fatherless boys and single moms in the low-income communities.
On August 31, 2020, the staff celebrated Noble and his wife Mae. We hope to have a bigger celebration this spring inviting the public. In the meantime, if you would like to view a special video made for Noble and to donate to his retirement gifts, please visit www.hopefarmfw.org/NobleCrawford or mail a check directly to HOPE Farm. All donations will go directly to Noble.
