Foundation brings on new leadeship

SANDUSKY — The Erie County Community Foundation is excited to welcome new leadership to the board of directors: In January, Lee Alexakos was named the chair and Ron Parthemore was named the vice chair. Alexakos brings a track record of community collaboration from her years of service at Cedar Fair and becomes the second woman chair in the community foundation's 27-year history. Parthemore brings a strategic background to his role as vice chair after leading the foundation's recent strategic planning process and serving a career in human resources and consulting. The new leadership is coupled with community foundation veterans who graciously agreed to continue serving in their current roles: Dan Moncher as treasurer and Mary Jane Hill as secretary. A few new faces can also be seen as committee leadership changed in 2022: • Sandusky city manager, Eric Wobser now leads the foundation's grants committee, responsible for distributing roughly $500,000 annually to nonprofits and projects that enhance the quality of life in Erie County. • Abbey Bemis, executive director of the Erie County Economic Development Corp., takes on the leading role in the governance committee, ultimately responsible for all board functions, such as setting board responsibilities and strategy, and ensuring the board identity is reflective of the community it serves. We are fortunate to keep Julie Barnes Foster of Barnes Nursery on as marketing and development chair and Tom Wolf as the investment adviser with his years of investment experience. Marked with a record year in 2021 and a new strategic plan ready to be unveiled, the community foundation is excited to take bold steps forward in 2022. "A key focus will be advancing our grantmaking program," Alexakos said. "Beginning with a needs assessment conducted in 2019 and our recently completed strategic plan, we have the in-depth information to better guide our grantmaking. She continued: "Our goal is to address the most pertinent issues and support innovative and collaborative solutions. Our efforts will be purposeful and grounded in our mission of enriching the lives of the people of Erie County," The community foundation will keep its strong roots of being a community partner that comes to the table, ready to collaborate. Parthemore said he is "proud to be a small part of an organization that helps so many people." "From helping residents get food during the first year of the pandemic to helping local restaurants provide some of that nourishment to celebrating our 25th year with improvements to the Erie MetroParks, we always try to partner with other organizations to improve Erie County," Parthemore said. In its 27th year, the Erie County Community Foundation has awarded more than $20 million to organizations in Erie County. Grant cycles occur twice a year with applications due on Feb. 1 and Aug. 1. Organizations, grant-seekers, and individuals wishing to leave a legacy in Erie County through charitable giving should visit eriefoundation.org or call 419-621-9690 for more information.