When Charles Bray took the job as president of the Johnson Foundation n 1988, he said he would serve for 10 years and then move on.

At the end of last month, after more than nine years as the foundation's leader, Bray kept his word and retired.

But that doesn't mean he's slowed down. Bray, 64, retired on Oct. 31. That same weekend, he and his girlfriend, Katie Gingrass, moved to Milwaukee where she owns a gallery.

He is the chairman of the board for the 10 Chimnies Foundation, which seeks to create studios and workshops for playwrights and actors. He will consult for the Eisenhower Exchange Foundation in Philadelphia, which brings emerging foreign leaders to the United States for study tours. He also serves on other boards and will stay involved in some Racine projects, like putting together a leadership development program, helping the city create a climate that supports creativity and innovation and serves on the board of directors of the Youth Leadership Academy.

And he comes back from time to time for breakfast meetings.

“I am keeping several attachments in Racine, quite apart from all the friends I have made there," Bray said. “I don't for a moment want to cut my ties to a community that was so nice, so good to me."

The Johnson Foundation sponsors conferences at Wingspread that bring people together to work on solutions for problems facing society. During his near-decade as president, Bray charted that course for the foundation. Among the foundation's memorable achievements for Bray:

m It put together a group of 15 people to re-examine the role of higher education in the post-Cold War world. The group issued a report that is having “considerable influence" on shaping the future of higher education.

m It helped a World Wildlife Fund researcher bring together scientists to study toxins and their effect on the human endocrine system.

m It held a series of conferences in the late 1980s and early 1990s about youth involvement and community service. Those conferences led to the creation of the Corporation of National Service and George Bush's famous “1,000 Points of Light."

The Johnson Foundation spent around $3 million on the conferences. But those conferences translated into more than $173 million in new and redirected funding around the country, Bray said.

“We did what the Johnson Foundation does we helped bring people together on an issue of importance," Bray said. “I guess the slogan that I helped instill in the foundation is that ideas have consequences. And, of course, every Wingspread conference is about ideas."

Bill Adams, director of the Racine County Human Services Department, said Bray is “energetic, insightful, a leader and a real asset to the Racine community."

Adams has worked with Bray on the Racine Community Coalition for Youth and at various Wingspread conferences. He said Bray has also helped him chart the course for the Human Services department as it undergoes changes in its delivery of services.

“It's real hard I guess I can't say enough good things about him because he has provided real inspiration," Adams said.

Bray is happy with the stamp he has put on the foundation and the mark he has left in the community. His one regret: “That I won't be around to help more formally in the building of sustainable Racine. It was great to be around before the takeoff. It would be fun to be around for the takeoff and eventual landing.