Gilfillan
Cordes HICKORY — A new era of leadership started July 1 at the Catholic Conference Center in Hickory, as longtime director Deacon Scott Gilfillan retired and Kris Cordes was named to the role.
Cordes is the first woman to manage the center, and she takes on the job after having come up through the ranks as executive chef and hospitality manager.
She has 35-plus years of experience in the world of hotels, restaurants and catering, and has worked in all aspects of the hospitality industry from food sales to event planning and design to executive chef positions.
Gilfillan retires after six years as director, and he leaves the center fully renovated and in a strong financial position.
Built by the Diocese of Charlotte in 1988, the Catholic Conference Center was originally designed as a support facility for parishes and diocesan offices and programs, but its picturesque setting near Baker Mountain soon attracted individuals and groups, both Catholic and non-Catholic. The center offers a 50-room hotel-style lodging house with meeting rooms and a dining area, as well as two retreat houses.
Cordes has eight years of experience with every aspect of the center’s operations, and to her, the role is her passion.
“I was looking to exit the secular world of high-end dining and put my experience and efforts into a more ministry-minded position,” she said. “During these years I have become deeply committed to the vision of the center and its guests, and I am thrilled to be given the opportunity to be director. I greatly look forward to building on my responsibilities here and continuing the relationships I’ve built with our own staff and our guests.”
Cordes calls the center a “hidden gem” and hopes to make more people aware of the publicly accessible features on the sprawling 180-acre property, including wooded walking trails, an outdoor Stations of the Cross, and picnic shelter.
Deacon Gilfillan, a retired steel company manager, took over as the center’s director in 2018. Over the past six years, he oversaw a major remodeling effort and expanded the center’s program offerings, strengthening its long-term financial position and helping it weather a nosedive in bookings during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The center now boasts a steady business, with 50 of the past 52 weekends fully booked.
One of Deacon Gilfillan’s signature projects was renovating St. Mary House, a 100-year-old farmhouse on the grounds. It reopened in 2022 to accommodate overnight guests in a home-like facility separate from the main center – particularly ideal for small group retreats.
Now, he says, he is looking forward to retirement.
“My decision to leave the center was difficult because everything was prospering beyond my wildest dreams,” he said. “After months of prayer and spiritual direction, the Lord was clearly telling me that now is the time to leave. The Lord has not been so clear on what He wants me to do next, but I’ve got a few thoughts.”
He looks back on his work at the center with gratitude, even with the challenges posed by the pandemic in 2020 and 2021.
“The first two years I was there we were flourishing…I started feeling like I was finally living out my calling, harmonizing all aspects of my expertise, experience and ministry,” he recalled. “Then came the pandemic, and all the many different groups that would book a retreat stopped calling, and our reservations plummeted from record levels to zero.”
He turned to the writings of St. Therese of Lisieux for encouragement and looked for new ways to serve guests at the center and improve outreach. The St. Mary House became a reality, volunteers worked at cleaning up walking trails and converted an old shed into a pavilion, and he began offering spiritual direction to people left spiritually affected by the pandemic. The center started an email newsletter and blog, which now has about 3,000 subscribers, and increased its social media outreach.
“We emerged from the pandemic and entered an even more prosperous era than the years before,” he said. “The last two years have been the best two years ever. Revenue is over twice what it was when I started. Through their gracious hospitality and service, the staff is laser-focused on helping our guests find renewal and spiritual growth.”
Deacon Gilfillan said during retirement he will continue dong spiritual direction, a “hidden charism” he discovered during the pandemic. He also hopes to lead retreats, parish missions and days of reflection. Divine Mercy University in Virginia has also asked him to help with their residencies in spiritual direction.
Cordes said she wants the center to continue to be a place where people can receive spiritual nourishment, and she also wants to keep making improvements to the facilities.
“My main goal is always to serve and minister well to those looking for renewal and respite,” she said. “We want to equip them so that they in turn may minister, renew and equip those they serve and the ministries they lead. I am looking forward to finding ways to grow our business, especially on weekdays, and moving the center forward with the ultimate goal of serving our guests even better.”
— Christina Lee Knauss