CHARLOTTE – SCORE Charlotte member Peter Safir was recently recognized at a district meeting and national leadership conference for his volunteer work and mentorship of small businesses and entrepreneurs.
Not only did he win the Outstanding Volunteer and Exceptional Mentor Award for the 2023 fiscal year but he also won SCORE Charlotte’s Distinguished Service Award for the second consecutive year.
“It is a privilege and honor to serve as a volunteer in mentoring and helping small businesses get started and expand their businesses in the 17 North and South Carolina counties we serve,” Safir noted. “It’s even more enlightening to see the results achieved in these small businesses succeed in opening or expanding their operations with a product or service to the North and South Carolina communities.”
Safir provided mentoring services to over 77 SCORE Charlotte clients and spent over 300 mentoring hours with these clients in 2022, according to President Barbara Brill.
He also coached at least eight prospective mentors in 2022. This involved an extensive training program of 10 to 12 hours each and one-on-one guidance to qualify for certification, Brill said.
Safir is one of 72 active or retired mentors. He serves as SCORE Charlotte’s vice president of education, a focal point for volunteer training, education and evaluation.
Before joining SCORE Charlotte, Safir worked 51 years in a variety of supervisory and executive positions in human service government agencies in Wisconsin and North Carolina.
He moved to Charlotte to become director of the mental health department for Mecklenburg County in 1987. In 1999, he was named director of Mecklenburg County’s Health Department, a position he held until semi-retirement in 2004.
After that, he served full-time as Mecklenburg County’s homeless director for 15 years. He fully retired in July 2021.
While working for the government, Safir served on several nonprofits boards, coordinated United Way campaigns and led other fundraising activities.