2009 Spirit of Giving Awards

On Thursday, October 29, the Vanderburgh Community Foundation's Spirit of Giving celebration celebrated the giving spirit and recognized 20 nominees for the 2009 Spirit of Giving Awards.

Lunch was served at the Evansville Boys & Girls Club by local community leaders in order to acknowledge the need in our community and honor those who have stepped forward to meet that need.   In keeping with the foundation's mission to improve the quality of life in Vanderburgh County, all proceed from the event will be granted out to nonprofit organizations who serve the need of residents in Vanderburgh County.

"During the past year, it seems like all we hear about is how our economy is suffering," said Mark Miller, President of the board of the Vanderburgh Community Foundation.  "Today we are here to celebrate the good news that we have people in our community who put others before themselves and truly make a difference. "

The Vanderburgh Community Foundation presented the third annual Spirit of Giving awards.  Six individuals were identified and recognized as finalists in the categories of Children's Philanthropist and Outstanding Volunteer Fundraiser Awards.

The Children's Philanthropist award recognized an individual who has made a significant contribution through direct or indirect financial support and/or volunteer activities to advance the quality of life for children in the areas of social services, education, and/or health.  Nominees in this category were:

Jean Alvey

Ursula Anderson

John Dunn

Gayle Gerling-Pettinga

Terry Huber

Amy Kolleck

Mary Meier

Cheryl Mochau

Shannon Reed

Charles Walker

Dr. John Wittgen

Our first finalist for the Children's Philanthropist award was Ursula Anderson.  Ursula Anderson has been a dedicated volunteer with Boom Squad for the past four years.  In December 2007, she organized the BSI Dance Squad.  But Ms. Anderson is more than the dance coach for this group of young women.  She helps them to develop personally, academically, and socially.  During the most difficult of times, Ms. Anderson actually shares her home with young people in need.  She currently has three of the dance troupe and two other siblings living in her home because other accommodations are not available for them.  She ensures these young people stay in school, have nutritious meals, medical coverage when needed, and are not classified as homeless. 

The next finalist for the Children's Philanthropist award was Dr. John Wittgen.  While Dr. John Wittgen has been a long time financial supporter of St. Vincent's Day Care Center, United Way and many other non-profits in our community, his most significant contribution to the lives of children as a pediatric dentist in Evansville since 1973.  Dr. Wittgen's has a tremendous impact on the quality of life and improvement of the health of some of the most vulnerable and at-risk children in our community.  For many years he has provided preventive dental care including parent dental education through Head Start, serving 50-100 children annually.  In his private practice as a pediatric dentist he has treated several generations of children with no dental insurance.   Dr. Wittgen makes it a policy, a professional priority and a philosophy to treat all children with acute dental problems, regardless of their ability to pay.  He is passionate about serving children in poverty at both Head Start and St. Vincent's Day Care Center.

The recipient of the Children's Philanthropist award was Mr. Terry Huber.  Though Mr. Huber brings a level of professionalism to everything he does, it is his relentless compassion for children that motivates him to provide such unselfish and tireless efforts in our community. He has been involved in the leadership of Lampion Center for 14 years.  However, when the Lampion Center began the Stewards of Children child sexual abuse prevention program, Mr. Huber immediately became an advocate and leader for this program.  He has been the catalyst for funding the project by holding Stakeholder meetings at his own expense to ask others for financial support.  He volunteered to be trained as a facilitator, and has personally taught the Stewards of Children program to many people in our community.  He is passionate about sharing with others how important the program is to the health and welfare of our children.  Due to the momentum he has built, our community now has over 500 adults trained in child sex abuse prevention.

The Outstanding Volunteer Fundraiser award honored an individual who has demonstrated commitment and success as a volunteer fundraiser for the benefit of charitable institutions.  The nominees for the Outstanding Volunteer Fundraiser Award were:

Howard Abrams

Regina Denu

Mimi Ferrara

Lisa Jones

Robbie Kent, Sr

Willie Ruckman

Scott Wylie

Ray Zeller

Ted Ziemer Jr

The first finalist for the Outstanding Volunteer Fundraiser Award was Mr. Howard Abrams. 

Mr. Abrams has been an avid supporter of the arts for many years including strong affiliations with the Evansville Philharmonic Orchestra, the Friends of the Victory Theatre, the University of Evansville Theatre Department, the Evansville Museum of Arts, History & Science and the Reitz Home Museum.  He has been instrumental in raising money for each of these entities from private and corporate donors.  He has served as the chair of the capital campaign for the Arts Council of Southwestern Indiana's Capital Campaign. Through his efforts of organizing and encouraging his committee and personally making many calls on individuals, foundations and corporations, the Arts Council raised $636,000, far surpassing the goal of $300,000.

The next finalist for the Outstanding Volunteer Fundraiser Award was Mr. Robert Kent, Sr.  Robbie Kent served as the co-chair of the Boys & Girls Club of Evansville's Board Campaign for the organization's $5 million comprehensive campaign.  He is an incredible leader and has excellent organizational skills as a major campaign chairman.  He has the ability to share the vision and execute the steps necessary to achieve the goal.  Through his own personal giving and his dedication to sharing his love, Mr. Kent has been directly involved in securing millions of dollars for a variety of community organizations, including our local Catholic schools, the University of Evansville, and St. Mary's Foundation.  Mr. Kent has provided leadership for the fundraising campaign of numerous organizations, and he has a track record for success that is truly worth of recognition.  Mr. Kent has provided the leadership, dedication and enthusiasm necessary to truly make a difference. 

The recipient of the Outstanding Volunteer Fundraiser Award was Mr. Ted C. Ziemer Jr.  Mr. Ziemer is a dedicated leader at the University of Southern Indiana and the success of USI's first capital campaign may be directly attributed to his efforts and guidance as chair of the Foundation Board during the campaign.  With a goal to raise $10.5 million dollars, USI received gifts and pledges of over $18 million under Mr. Ziemer's leadership.  He has also headed successful fundraising efforts for the Daughters of Charity's $3 million dollar capital campaign, and chaired the $2.5 million dollar campaign for St. Mary's Medical Center. In addition, Mr. Ziemer served as chair the building campaign for Holy Rosary Catholic Church which raised $1 million dollars.  These are only a few of the organizations that have benefited from Ted Ziemer's dedication and zeal as a fundraiser for our community.  He has had a tremendous impact and has truly made a difference as an Outstanding Volunteer Fundraiser. 

Since 1992, the Vanderburgh Community Foundation has served our community by helping donors establish endowment funds and administering grants and scholarships that benefit the residents of Vanderburgh County.  More than 135 nonprofit organizations and 140 students have benefited from distributions made by the foundation since its inception.  During the past year alone, the Vanderburgh Community Foundation was responsible for more than $1,000,000 in grants and scholarship awards.

Some of Evansville's most prominent business, political, and community leaders set the example of service as they serve lunch to all who attended the event.  In keeping with the theme of service, not excess, the Vanderburgh Community Foundation offered attendees a simple, yet tasty lunch served in bucket hand-decorated by the kids at the Boys & Girls Club.

Local leaders who served included Carl Chapman, President and COO of Vectren Corporation, Jason Claspell and Julie Dolan, News Anchors at Fox 7 WTVW, Mark Elliott, On-Air Personality at WIKY Radio, Evansville Chief of Police Brad Hill, Bob Jones, President and CEO of Old National Bank, Karen LeMond, Co-Owner of T. R. U. Event Rental, Jack Pate, Publisher of Evansville Courier & Press, Pat Shoulders, Partner at Ziemer, Stayman, Weitzel and Shoulders, Mizell Stewart, III, Editor of Evansville Courier & Press, Todd Tucker, President of Tucker Publishing Group, Linda White, President and CEO of Deaconess Hospital, and Vanderburgh County Sheriff Eric Williams.

The food was prepared by volunteers, including Scott Wylie of Fireside Grill and Lowry Igleheart-Keach of Maxine's Café and Bakery.   For more information, contact the Vanderburgh Community Foundation at 422-1245 or visit the website at www.vcfoundation.org.