Metrocrest Services to hold 18th Annual Keyholder Breakfast

“This year the Keyholder Breakfast is extra special as the program for the morning includes a panel discussion with local experts moderated by Metrocrest Services’ own Tracy Eubanks on the factors that contribute to the well-being and quality of life of individuals and communities, said Caitlin Hardegree, marketing and communications manager for Metrocrest Services.

The 18th Annual Keyholder Breakfast is planned for Tuesday, March 28 from 7:30 to 9 a.m. at the Courtyard Dallas Carrollton and Carrollton Conference Center. The Keyholder Breakfast panel will include Justin Bashaw who is design director, studio director and senior associate with Gensler, Hee Soun Jang, Ph.D who is an associate professor of public administration at the University of North Texas, and Joseph W. Dingman, MBA, CPA who is a financial executive and community innovator.

Bashaw is an advocate for good design and a skilled designer in base building architecture and adaptive reuse. Dedicated to shaping the world, his work focuses on improving the human experience with projects that are highly contextual to the site, the local ecology and communities they impact. Some of Bashaw’s recent projects include the City of Farmers Branch Manske Library, City of Frisco Public Library, Boys & Girls Club of Greater Dallas East Dallas Club, Toyota Music Factory, Dallas Cowboys World Headquarters at The Star and the new home for Metrocrest Services.

Dr. Jang’s primary research focus is on cross-sector collaboration and the role of non-profit organizations in the public sector. Her research advances knowledge about the role of nonprofits in public service and resource development that can improve organizational effectiveness and public service delivery. She is co-author of the book “Public-Nonprofit Collaboration and Policy in Homeless Services,” which was published in 2022. Her research has been funded by Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, IBM Center for the Business of Government and Dallas Area Habitat for Humanity. She has served the Denton County Homeless Service Leadership Team as a board member.

Dingman is a financial executive with more than 40 years of experience in commercial real estate investment management, mostly with his own firm serving German clientele. In 1991, Dingman co-founded the Catholic Housing Initiative (CHI) which currently has more than 1,100 units of affordable rental housing in the Dallas area, with other projects in development. He was the Catholic Foundation's 2020 honoree for his contribution to affordable housing in Dallas, and has been active in local policy formation as a citizen and as an appointed member of several public boards.

Metrocrest Services launched in Keyholder Breakfast in 2005 and the name pays homage to the original Metrocrest Services logo, which featured a key and the tagline, “the key to preventing homelessness.”

Expected to open in spring of 2023, the new home for Metrocrest Services will bring all of the organization’s services under one roof, which will help to create convenient access for clients and volunteers alike. This is the largest expansion the nonprofit has had in its 50-plus-year history.

“We are passionate about the concept that what is being created is not just a building or a place to meet the basic needs of our community; this 48,000-square-foot space will be so much more,” said Tracy Eubanks, CEO of Metrocrest Services in a press release. “Our new home is everyone’s new home: This new campus will become a gathering place where our neighbors can seek assistance, take a class, volunteer, learn and grow, a place where the community comes together for positive impact and to connect. It has the potential to be a key component within the social fabric of our community.”

The new facility will be located on 4.6 acres of property near the intersection of Josey Lane and Belt Line Road in Carrollton. The 48,000 square foot campus is meant to become a welcoming hub for all of the agency’s daily operations, which includes providing access to nutritious food, workforce development and financial literacy, rent and utility assistance, senior services and other programs for individuals, families, and seniors that lead to self-sufficiency and foster independence.

The campus will also have a shared space for complementary service providers to support clients from one central location and a volunteer center that will offer greater access to opportunities for community engagement. This will bring all Metrocrest Services programs under one roof and the new campus will allow for an improved efficiency in all operations and will house the expanded programs that the nonprofit has launched throughout its history. Funding for the new Metrocrest Services campus comes from a $15.8 million capital campaign called Building Our Future.

“While the need we are serving has never been greater, the dedication of our staff, volunteers and community supporters continues to grow to meet that challenge,” Eubanks said in a press release. “We’re excited to create a place where they can do their best work, improving the lives of our friends and neighbors here in the Metrocrest community.”