Carthage Community Foundation Reborn 13 Years After Founding
Thursday, February 2nd, 2012We want to officially welcome (back) the Carthage Community Foundation, which has been reborn 13 years after it became one of our first regional affiliates.
The original Carthage Community Foundation, founded in 1999, expanded in 2006, incorporating as the Community Foundation of Southwest Missouri, Inc., to serve a four-county area of Jasper, Newton, Barton and McDonald counties.
With the development of philanthropic resources in the CFSWMO region in the succeeding years, particularly in the Joplin area, CFSWMO is changing its name back to Carthage Community Foundation and a new affiliate has been established to serve the Joplin area. The new affiliate will retain the CFSWMO name for the present.
Don LaFerla will serve as president of the CCF’s Board of Directors. Other board members include: Kevin Checkett, Frank Dunaway, Bill Putnam, and Stan Schmidt, who are four of the original founders; former CFSWMO board members LaFerla, Bill Lee, Carolyn Phelps, Lee Pound, and Miriam Putnam; and new recruits Chuck Bryant, Patrick Scott, and Jim Woestman.
“The initial expansion of Carthage to encompass a broader section of our region has fulfilled its purpose,” said Putnam, who previously served six years on the board and four years as volunteer Executive Director of CFSWMO. “Joplin is now well on its way to developing its own philanthropic assets and we think each area will be better served with a more direct focus on its own needs and goals.”
The Community Foundation of Southwest Missouri will continue to serve Joplin, and the smaller communities in the immediate area. Stephanie Howard is the new Chair of the CFSWMO.
Michelle Ducre, the CFO’s staff associate based in Joplin, will transition from serving as Executive Director for CFSWMO to Regional Development Director serving all of the affiliates in the southwest region of the CFO’s service area – CFSWMO, Sarcoxie, Neosho and Carthage.
