Wed. Jan 28, 2015
Retiring Board Chair, Helen Jungwirth, Honored for Years of Service
Wisconsin Rapids, Wisc. – January 27, 2015 – This month, Incourage Community Foundation, a nationally recognized leader in place-based philanthropy and community change efforts, honored retiring Board Chair Helen Jungwirth and announced new leadership for 2015.
Jungwirth, retired president and publisher of the Wisconsin Rapids Daily Tribune and the Stevens Point Journal, began her term on Incourage’s Board of Directors in 2005. She served as Board Chair for six of her nine years. During her tenure, Incourage purchased, then decided to permanently own, the Tribune Building, in December 2012 and September 2014, respectively. Prior to that, Incourage began involvement with the Knight Community Information Challenge and in 2009 launched the Digital Divide survey. In 2010, Incourage was the first rural site selected by the National Fund for Workforce Solutions (NFWS) to receive a Social Innovation Fund Grant. In 2008, under Jungwirth’s leadership, Incourage earned the Council on Foundations’ highest honor, the Critical Impact Award.
When asked to reflect on some of her proudest accomplishments, Jungwirth cited the courage that the board and staff possessed to change the name of the Foundation to Incourage, understanding the impact this could have on the organization’s work.
“My hope is that all will be able to continually hold the vision in trust. Always recognizing that failure is necessary, and to always have the courage to do what is right,” Jungwirth said. “I’m so proud of the staff, board and our residents. There is nowhere I would rather live than here. And I’ll continue with the Tribune Building Project in any way I can. Perhaps my service to Incourage is only beginning!”
“I had come to see Helen as a permanent part of Incourage, and celebrate her long tenure as a board member, especially Chair – a role that particularly suited her talents,” shared Incourage board member Carl Wartman. “Helen’s enthusiasm for the Foundation’s work was amazing. She recognized that all our work was in service to our mission, and her commitment to that mission was tangible. She has been deeply involved in every initiative of the Foundation. Our present direction owes much to Helen’s guidance.”
Kirk Willard, Plant Director of Ocean Spray’s Wisconsin Rapids and Tomah operations, leaves the board after completing his three-year term. Willard played an integral part in Incourage’s Workforce Central program becoming the first rural site selected by NFWS.
“Kirk’s involvement was instrumental in us becoming the first NFWS rural site,” noted Incourage CEO Kelly Ryan. “Kirk was a leader in Workforce Central’s creation and vital to its success.”
For 2015, three Directors were elected as officers, effective in January. Kristopher Gasch of Fey Printing will lead as Board Chair, with Paul Liebherr of Christian Life Fellowship serving as Secretary, and Carl Wartman, New Page Corporation retiree, as treasurer. Donna Anderson of Wisconsin Rapids Public Schools and Wood County Birth to Three Program, Dale Bikowski of Sentry Insurance and Neighborhood Table, and Kristie Rauter of Wood County Health Department, complete the current Board of Directors.
Gasch is the Director of Marketing at Fey Printing and, with the exception of leaving for higher education, specifically a Music Business degree from Edgewood College in Madison, is a lifelong resident of south Wood County. In fact, the Gasch family arrived in Wood County directly from Germany in the 1870s. He brings extensive community volunteer leadership to the role, including Arts Council Board of Directors, past president of Sunrise Rotary, Mead Elementary Charter School Governing Council, and co-founder of Downtown Classic Cinema to name a few. Gasch has also served as table host for the Tribune Building Project (TribuneBuilding.org) for every meeting since inception, and shared his expertise with the Teen Leadership program as a repeat “Meet Your Community Leaders.”
“Kristopher is a dynamic young professional, recently named one of ‘20 Under 40 Up & Coming Executives’ in his field. He possesses energy and passion for this place, as well as a commitment to the people living here,” Ryan said. “I look forward to working with Kristopher to advance our vision of a community that works well for all people.”
Sharing his experience of founding the Downtown Classic Cinema, Gasch reflected on his positive experience with the organization he’ll now know more intimately. “Sponsoring a movie event when no businesses were willing to was a relatively small but impactful way to bring the community together,” Gasch said. “And that concept [for community benefit] extends to physical things like boat landings and studying their use, to equally as important but less tangible things like starting a conversation about mental health here in the South Wood county area.”
Incourage’s Board of Directors is comprised of six individuals representing the public and private sectors, faith community, young professionals, health & wellness, families, financial services and a number of other areas complementary to our community’s priorities, and the organization’s vision of a community that works well for all people.
To learn more about Incourage, visit www.IncourageCF.org, call 715.423.3863, like the organization on Facebook, follow @incouragecf on Twitter and subscribe to it on YouTube.
About Incourage
Established in rural Wisconsin in 1994 to serve the changing needs of the south Wood County area, Incourage has become a nationally-recognized leader in place-based philanthropy and community development. Guided by values of equity, opportunity and shared stewardship, Incourage envisions a community that works well for all people. One physical manifestation of this vision is the Tribune, which demonstrates Incourage’s resident-centered approach to growing a strong and inclusive local economy. To learn more, visit incouragecf.org.
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