Mercer County Civic Foundation Newsletter

Mercer County Civic Foundation Newsletter
Grant Edition
Supporting Charitable Giving in Mercer Co. Since 1960
Fall, 2015
IN THIS ISSUE:
Board Transition
Grant Info
p. 1
p. 2-3
New Funds
p. 3
Other Tidbits
p. 4
BERTKE STEPS IN TO
FILL KREMER’S TERM
KEN KREMER STEPS DOWN
The Mercer County Civic Foundation felt a huge void in July, 2015, as Ken
Kremer, a seventeen year Board Member, stepped down from his position as
representative from the Marion Community. Ken’s departure marks the end
of an era. His seventeen years of service have been marked by extraordinary
efficiency and excellence. He possesses a rare combination of vision,
fairness, attention to details, honesty, and caring.
Ken feels strongly about the works of the Civic Foundation and said, “I truly
love every person on the Board, as well as their mission and role in the
community.”
The MCCF Board, staff, fund-holders and friends extend a
sincere thank-you to Ken for his unsurpassed service to our foundation. We
will all miss his wonderful sense of humor, story-telling, and great
intelligence. We wish Ken and his wife Lou Ann many glorious years ahead.
Ken is pictured here presenting a grant check to Ben Moeller for the
Chickasaw Community Park. Each year, the Urban and Irene Zahn Fund
disburses considerable dollars to charitable causes and scholarships in the
Marion Community.
Lou Ann & Ken will continue fulfilling those
philanthropic duties for the Zahn Fund. We thank them for their continued
service and spirit.
We welcome new Board member,
Diana Bertke, a Mercer Co. and
Marion Township native, to the
Board of the Civic Foundation.
Diana has degrees from Defiance
College & Wright State University.
She taught at Marion Local &
Celina Schools. Since retirement
she has been an adjunct at WSU
Lake Campus. She remains active
in the Marion Scholarship Foundation & Zoning Commission, and
other community activities.
Diana and her husband, Ted, have
three daughters and cherish time
with their family and grandchildren, as
well as traveling and
gardening.
Welcome
aboard,
Diana.
GRANT SEASON— A Glimpse of Our Successes
Generous Donors like you help us support the nonprofits that make life better for our area. This fall, the
Mercer County Civic Foundation provided $181, 500 in grants to the following organizations:
Arts Place
Big Brothers-Big Sisters of Mercer, Auglaize, Van Wert
Boy Scouts—Black Swamp Area Council
Cancer Association of Mercer Co.
Choosing Life Pregnancy Center
Mercer County Council on Aging
Family Crisis Network at OUR Home
Foundations Behavioral Health Services
Joint Township District Memorial Hospital Foundation
Mercer County Emergency Response Volunteers
Medical, Educational, Development Foundation (MED)
Mercer County Emergency Medical Services
O.U.R. Home Family Resource Center
Private Duty Services—Adult Day Care
St. Anthony Dinner Theater
State of the Heart Hospice
Wright State University Foundation– Lake Campus
Health Care Initiative
Sharon Green, executive director of the Mercer
County Council on Aging, center, receives a
generous grant from board members Dave Kaiser,
Jim Dippold, Barb Hamilton and Jane Stuckman.
We are proud to support the Boy Scouts of Black
Swamp Council with a grant for summer camp.
Receiving a grant for JTDMH is Linda Haines,
foundation director. Pictured are Jane Stuckman, board member, Haines, Carol Hone, MCCF
director and board member Barb Hamilton.
The Cancer Association
of Mercer County will
use their grant for patient supplements. In
photo are Dave Kaiser
and Jim Dippold, board
members, and Valerie
Heitkamp receiving the
check from office
manager, Evelyn Vian.
Members of the Mercer
Health Care Fund within
the Civic Foundation join
W.S.U. & community
members in announcing
the $400,000 pledge to
the Wright State Rural
Health Initiative which is
dedicated to creating
opportunities for medical, nursing and pharmacy students in our rural
setting .
OUR NEW FUNDS
Our foundation continually
grows. We are blessed with two
new scholarship funds this year:
Mary Alice E. Bruns Scholarship
L-R: John Irmscher, Jim Dippold, Bill Montgomery, Phil Fullenkamp,
Bill Meikle, Carol Hone, Mauri Cron, Deb Gibson, Tom Lammers, Barb
Hamilton, Jane Stuckman, John Coe, Dave Pax, Jay Albayyari, Tom
Knapke and Julie Miller.
Grants to “Arts in
the Park “ have
provided local
youth with a
variety of classes
each summer.
These kids
display their
“Special Effects’”
creations.
A student creates a masterpiece in an
art class taught by professional artist
Cera Maria Hess, originally from
Maria Stein. These Saturday morning
art classes are provided by a grant
from the Ann and Tom Knapke Art
Fund.
St. Anthony Dinner Theater
was granted funds to support
area families with special
needs. (L-R) are Barb Hamilton, board member, Jim and
Janie Timmerman from the
St. Anthony group, Dave Kaiser and Jim Dippold, board
members.
An accomplished
organist, Bruns
played at St. Henry, Carthagena,
I.C. in Portland,
and Maria Stein.
From her estate,
she continues to
give back to her community through
this legacy scholarship to one student
selected from both St. Henry and Ft.
Recovery. We are honored to have a
small part in Mary Alice’s charitable
wishes.
Evelyn R. Meyers / University
Women’s Scholarship
A scholarship was recently bequeathed to the
University
Women’s Club by
Evelyn R. Meyers.
She was the
club’s very first
loan recipient in
1937. Her niece
said, “Your loan
meant so much to Evelyn and bridged
a gap which allowed her to lead a
successful career as a teacher.” The
University Women’s Club has
entrusted those bequeathed funds to
the Civic Foundation. We will
continue to manage the scholarshipfunds for a deserving Mercer County
woman enrolled in a college of
education.
Non-profit Org.
U.S. Postage
PAID
Celina, OH
Permit No. 105
RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED
Located in the Richardson Bretz Building
119 W. Fulton
P.O. Box 439
Celina, OH 45822
419-586-9950
E-mail: mccf@bright.net
Have you Considered Making a Gift to
CIS Kids Share Thankful Hearts
the Foundation?
We accept charitable gifts in many forms:
Cash,
publicly traded stocks, real property, planned gifts.
Give us a call if you have any questions. If you’re
interested in establishing a fund with the MCCF, we
would love to sit and discuss options.
Are You a Friend of the Foundation?
Become a member and support the operations of
the Civic Foundation which allow our charitable
dollars to stretch even further. Annual gifts are
$25, or lifetime memberships are $250. You’ll receive all of our publications,
inclusion in our
recognition listing, and an invitation to our complimentary FRIENDS’ LUNCHEON each Spring.
Celina Intermediate School sixth graders share their
thankful hearts with the MCCF for the field trip
assistance provided for the entire class’s four day
adventure at Glen Helen Outdoor Education Center.
Funds from the James Donor Advised Fund provide
enriching experiences to students in Celina Schools
that go beyond the borders of Mercer County.
Visit our website: www.mercercountycivicfdn.org