Montgomery County Community Foundation held its annual meeting Thursday at the Hoosier Heartland State Bank’s Success Center. President Marta Sweek presided over the meeting.
Following the standard items of business, outgoing and incoming board members were recognized.
Outgoing board members included Sweek and Ron Dickerson.
Sweek joined the board in 2018 and served two consecutive three-year terms. She served as secretary, vice president and then president of the board, as well as chair of the grants and distributions committee.
Dickerson joined the board in 2017 and served two consecutive terms as well as an additional year to fill a vacancy. He served as treasurer, and served on the grants and distributions, governance and audit and finance committees.
Newly-elected board members recognized were Chris Cox and Gary Isenberg.
The balance of the 13-member board includes: Tracey Barr, Brenda Lovold, Jack Grimble, Erin Gobel, Cathy Caldwell, Debbie Schavietello, Preston Bost, Anna Bravo-Moore, Wendy Feller, Sheila McCormick and Zach Hockersmith.
Since 1996, the recognition of outstanding volunteers has been a staple of the MCCF annual meeting. Two awards were presented, one to an adult and another, the Peggy Herzog Youth Volunteer award goes a young person.
The 2024 MCCF Volunteer of the Year is Nate Baldwin, nominated for his service to the Sugar Creek Players. Currently vice president of the board, Baldwin, a theater parent, strives to make Sugar Creek Players a better organization every day and always gives 110%. Specializing in computer technology at Wabash, he designs and manages the website and assists with the ticketing system.
His skills don’t end there. He offers his artistic skills to paint beautiful scenes for many of the productions and just recently directed a show himself. He’s even used his plumbing and electrical skills to keep things going.
Sweek presented Baldwin with a plaque commemorating his service and a $1,000 grant Sugar Creek Players in his honor.
Two other individuals were nominated and each received a certificate of recognition and a small gift. They included: Mike Everett, Crawfordsville District Public Library, and Sarah Reed, Humans United for Equality.
Everett has been a volunteer for 35 years and coordinates the library book sale. His marketing of rare items on EBay has greatly increased the sales. The proceeds extend the library’s budget and supports offerings such as the Summer Reading Program.
Reed has served as the volunteer treasurer for HUE for the past eight years and was instrumental in its journey to becoming a fully-fledged 501 (c) (3) organization delivering a multitude of services. She is a primary organizer of HUE’s annual Celebration of Unity.
Next up was the Peggy Herzog Youth Volunteer of the Year Award, which went to Jessica Bradley for her service to Volunteers for Mental Health in Montgomery County. Bradley is a high school board member and program volunteer for VMHMC. She works within her school community to involve a variety of volunteers who support VMHMC programs. She brings her youthful energy to the board and always exudes positivity and respect. She is both the legs and the wheels when it comes to getting things done in the southern half of the county, whether hanging hundreds of signs in school buildings or checking donation bins for the annual Christmas drive.
Sweek presented Bradley with a plaque commemorating her service along with a $1,000 check to VMHMC in honor of her service.
Other youth nominated were: Corbin Meadows and Emma Pack.
Meadows, a Key Club member at North Montgomery High School, approached the co-sponsors of the club with an idea to start a clothing closet for students in need, he name Thoughtful Threads. His own past experience of need motivated him to want to help others.
Pack, a second grader, has already accumulated three years of volunteer service at Rainbow & Rhymes Preschool. She helps teachers, organizes supplies, cleans, re-shelves library books and helps set up for events. She is always eager to help and outside of the preschool.
Sweek wrapped up the accomplishments of 2023 in which a record $2 million was awarded in grants and scholarships. A video capturing highlights of the past year was shown. The video, along with the electronic version of the 2023 annual report, can be viewed on the MCCF website at www.mccf-in.org.
