Community Foundation of the Ozarks

CFO LeMon 2 from CF Ozarks on Vimeo.

CFO hosted one of the 10 Best Speakers in America at Thursday’s Agency Partner Appreciation Luncheon.  Dr. Cal LeMon spoke with CFO’s Agency Partners about the importance and meaning in work in his “Get a Life, Change a Name” speech, which focused on individuals who work jobs in which they must be “givers”.  Dr. LeMon spoke on creating self fulfillment through work in aiding others. 

To view Mr. LeMon’s speech, simply click the play button on the embedded video above.  Those with slower internet connects will have a brief pause as the video begins streaming.

The 2010 “10 Weeks Festival” of Springfield area arts events exceeded its goal by raising more than $11,000, which will be shared evenly between the Care to Learn Program for Springfield Public Schools and the Arts in Action endowment fund.

The “10 Weeks Festival” surpassed its $10,000 goal by raising $11,354, with donations coming in throughout June after the official festival events concluded in late May.

The primary fundraising took place at more than 100 performing and visual arts events where patrons contributed $1 or more at a time throughout the 10-week period. This year’s festival also included the first-time “Flights of Fancy” event celebrating the one-year anniversary of the Springfield-Branson National Airport in May.

The “Care to Learn” program was created to meet health, hunger and hygiene needs for Springfield Public Schools students.

“The partnership between the arts community and ‘Care to Learn’ strengthens our community not only by serving those in need, but by allowing a new generation to explore their potential through the arts,” Founder Doug Pitt said.

The Arts Programming Sustainability Initiative oversees the Arts in Action education endowment fund at the CFO. The goal is to develop sustainable operational funding sources for the arts and therefore allow Springfield arts agencies to concentrate on presenting quality  programming for the region.

Board Chairman Dr. Tom Prater announced Wednesday, May 19 that Brian Fogle will be the new President of the Community Foundation of the Ozarks, citing Fogle’s 30 years of banking experience and community service as strong assets for the CFO’s mission of providing resource development, grantmaking, collaboration and public leadership across southern Missouri.

Fogle, who joined the Foundation in September 2008 as Executive Vice President, will succeed current President Gary Funk effective July 1, 2010. The announcement completes a planned transition; on April 1, Funk announced he was stepping down as president to serve as a Senior Fellow for the coming year to focus on the CFO’s 18-month-old Rural Schools Partnership program and assist with the transition. Funk joined the Foundation in 1999 and was named President in 2003.

“Brian’s presence in our community, his people skills, and his knowledge of the nonprofit world in the Ozarks is second to none,” Dr. Prater said.

An Aurora native, Fogle’s career includes 30 years in the banking field, including Great Southern Bank where he worked as Director of Community Development prior to joining the CFO staff. He also has experience in the education field as a former vice president of institutional development at Ozarks Technical Community College.

 He is a graduate of Aurora High School and he received both bachelor’s and master’s degrees in banking and finance from the University of Mississippi.

Fogle is an active community and civic volunteer. He currently chairs the Good Community Committee; he also serves on the boards of St. John’s Health System, Forest Institute, the Greene County Regional Health Commission, The Kitchen, the Ozarks Regional Community Development Corporation, the Urban Districts Alliance and Springfield Innovation, Inc. Fogle was named the 2010 Springfieldian of the Year by the Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce. Other community honors include: Leadership Springfield’s O. Franklin Kenworthy Leadership Award in 1990; the National Community Leadership Award in 1993; The Sertoma Club Community Service Award in 1998; the Preservation Springfield Award in 2000; and the Pinnacle Award in 2002.

“I look forward to the challenge of carrying on the great tradition of philanthropy that first was theorized by community pillars Ann Drummond, Jim Payne, Fred Hall, Vince Tyndall, and others back in 1973,” Fogle said.  “We’ve certainly come a long way.”

As Funk’s successor, Fogle assumes leadership of a $145 million Foundation, which includes 41 affiliate community foundations and 350 agency partners throughout southern Missouri. By the end of the 2010 fiscal year on June 30, the CFO anticipates providing about $15.5 million in grants and distributions. 

A significant amount of the Foundation’s growth occurred during Funk’s seven years as President, a period in which the CFO’s assets tripled, the number of affiliate partners has grown to 41  and new initiatives were launched in the arts, conservation, rural capacity building, poverty alleviation, and education. The Foundation also opened a new office in Springfield along with its first offices in West Plains and Carthage.

“I am elated that Brian is on board and succeeding me as President and CEO,” Funk said. “Brian was a great Foundation ally while in the private sector, has been invaluable as our executive vice president, and will provide thoughtful leadership for the foundation in the years ahead.”

 Fogle and his wife, Renee, have three children: Andrew, 22, is a May 2010 graduate of American University in Washington, D.C.; Betsy, 20, is a junior at Missouri State University; Ellen, 17, a junior at Parkview High School.