Will Thomas resigns from Brethren Benefit Trust.

Will Thomas has resigned from the Brethren Benefit Trust (BBT) staff after serving nearly seven years with the agency in a number of roles. His resignation takes effect July 31. He has accepted a faculty position in accounting at Southwest Minnesota State University in Marshall, Minn.

Thomas has served as director of customer service operations for the Brethren Foundation, working with asset management and deferred gift clients, and has written the monthly "Investment Perspective" newsletter. He has been responsible for supervising and maintaining relationships with BBT's eight investment managers, scheduling quarterly and annual reviews, and examining each manager's results against established industry benchmarks.

In addition, he has served as BBT's primary voice for socially responsible investing initiatives including BBT shareholder resolutions in 2002, 2003, and 2004 that asked Yum! Brands to ban smoking in its corporately owned restaurants. Although those resolutions were not approved by shareholders, having the issue presented to the parent company of Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, Long John Silver's, A&W All American, and KFC prompted the firm in 2005 to announce that it was banning smoking in its own restaurants and would work to eliminate smoking in the restaurants of its franchisees. He has been BBT's representative to the Interfaith Center for Corporate Responsibility, for the past five years serving on the governing board with one year as chair, currently serving as vice-chair.

Thomas also helped establish BBT's Community Development Investment Fund, an investment choice for Foundation and Pension Plan members that helps infuse development funds into low-income areas of large cities; and has been a contributor to BBT's Communication Team as a senior writer and editor.

Source: 4/12/2006 Newsline
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