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2021 November News Brief

By November 16, 2021December 16th, 2021News Item, Newsletter
Wood River Women's Foundation Sun Valley Ketchum Idaho

November 2021

News Brief

Grantee Spotlight: Little Wood River Library

Little Wood River Library Xeriscaping funded by a WRWF grant is the perfect place for young minds to explore and learn.

Little Wood River Library – Project: Completion of Xeriscaping

The Little Wood River Library put their 2021 WRWF $10,000 grant to use this year by creating a beautiful, functional outdoor space. A stone patio scattered with locally built picnic tables has replaced a previously neglected and overgrown area behind the building. Both children and adults appreciate the many activities hosted by the Library in this exterior space.

The ambitious project was stewarded by Mary Bowman and now serves the needs of hundreds of Carey students and their families. Mary’s dedication to the library and her patrons is palpable; her energy and kindness radiate throughout the building.

The Little Wood River District Library is deeply grateful to the WRWF for their support over the last several years

Grantees In the News:

Hailey Library, New Dir. Lyn Drewien
St. Luke’s Nurse Amber Weber

Lyn Drewien, new director of the Hailey Library

Lyn Drewien was selected on 8/31/21 by the Hailey Public Library Board as its new director. She replaced former director LeAnn Gelskey, who served in the role from 2010 until April of this year when she accepted a job with the Idaho Commission for Libraries. 

Lyn is a 30-year resident of the Wood River Valley and earned her Master of Library and Information Science degree from San Jose State University in 2016. She worked the previous two years as the Blaine County Grants and Procurement Specialist. In her library career, Lyn has more than a decade of experience to bring with her as the new director, which includes positions at the Hailey Public Library and The Community Library in Ketchum. Congratulations, Lyn! 

Read More Here

St. Luke’s Nurse Amber Weber received the 2021 Carl A. Gray Memorial Award for Nursing Excellence. Photo credit: Kristin Cheatwood, St. Luke’s

WRWF salutes its grantee, St. Luke’s Wood River Foundation, for recognizing the local nurses as being heroes among us everyday. Nurse Amber Weber was the recipient of the 2021 Carl A. Gray Memorial Award for Nursing Excellence.  

Read More Here

President’s Message

WRWF President, Terri Bullock

I am beyond thrilled to write this message. Our November board meeting was packed with productive discussions and decisions. I encourage you to read the entire News Brief every month, to keep informed on all things WRWF!! Let’s get started!

We elected our third new board member in as many months. Dianne Tibbs-Johnson will begin her term by joining our board for her first meeting in December. Dianne, a process-oriented strategist, has jumped right in to review our Grants procedures and assure that we don’t put ‘busy work’ on our generous grants volunteers. She is also looking at our processes to ensure that our voting procedures are fair and unbiased. Read more about Dianne, click HERE 

Next, after over two years, I can announce that we have officially completed our Strategic Plan. We began this endeavor to ensure that WRWF meets our governance, fiduciary and operational requirements, both from the perspective of operating as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit in the state of Idaho, but also to remain relevant and resilient for the long-term. I want especially to thank Peggy Grove, who when President, understood and supported the need for a purposeful Strategic Plan. I want to thank my co-chair, Gail Landis, for partnering with me every step of the way. From planning to implementation, Gail led the effort to assure we have sound Governance policies and practices. I want to thank Carrie Morrow, who led an amazing team of dynamic members who identified and wrote procedures for every position held to date. Finally, LeeAnne Linderman has teamed with me to create our Leadership Development Program, and—by the looks of our three new board members—I see success in this arena. I am so grateful to every member of the board for the support, hard work, long hours, and superb leadership over these past two years. To read more about the Strategic Plan click this link.

WRWF socials came to a standstill when Covid-19 cases emerged, and many of us feel the loss of the connections and comraderies that are so important to our organization. I am excited to announce that through careful monitoring of the health of our Valley, our plan for 2022 is to gather in person for M&Ms, educational events, meetings and many more socials. Our first concern is protecting our members and our community, so we will reintroduce in-person gatherings as appropriate and safe to do so. Please remember to renew now, in order to vote in this grant cycle and enjoy in-person gatherings next year. Click here for the renewal form.

I wish you and yours a healthy Thanksgiving

Until next month –
Terri Bullock

It’s Time to Renew Your Membership!

Future Forward member Carol Hoffman and our Membership Chair Kathleen Eder urge you to renew your membership today!

New and renewing members of the WRWF may now use our convenient online form to complete the membership process. Simply click on the below link and fill out the form. You may submit your payment by credit card or check. If paying by check, make payable to the Wood River Women’s Foundation and mail to: WRWF, P.O. Box 3686, Ketchum, Idaho, 83340.

Grant Update: Grant Season Begins!

November is a big month for the WRWF as it marks the start of our 2022 Grant season. Nonprofits throughout Blaine County will be working on their applications which will be due December 1st. It’s always an exciting time as the work we do evaluating applications as a women’s collective giving organization is the cornerstone of our mission. The news was picked up by The Idaho Mt. Express, which can be read here and Eye on Sun Valley, which can be read here. WRWF also ran small ads in both papers as we worked together with these important publications to get the word out.

Grant Season Opening ads that ran in the Idaho Mt. Express and Eye on Sun Valley

There’s also news on the Focus Grant 22 (FG22) front as those applications are due December 1 as well. Invitations to submit RFPs stemmed from the FG22 Committee’s October review of the Letters of Inquiry (LOIs). We are encouraged by the process to date and anticipate having some strong proposals to review!

Recent Event: 11/3 New Member Orientation

Several new members participated in the November Orientation Zoom hosted by our esteemed Board of Directors

Click here to watch the New Member Orientation

Calendar:

  • November 16, Meet & Mingle, Sun Valley Culinary Institute, 5PM to 6:30PM (MT)
  • February 15, State of the Valley Forum, The Community Library, 3PM to 6PM(MT)

New Events:

Meet & Mingle

Join us for a Meet & Mingle

at the Sun Valley Culinary Institute 11/16/21
5:00 – 6:30

Here’s an opportunity to meet some of our newest members, tour this great addition to our community and raise a glass to our upcoming holiday and grants season!

No host bar

Renewal forms will be available, so bring your check or credit card to make your annual contribution!

Save the Date:

Mark your calendars for the State of the Valley Forum

at the Community Library in Ketchum 2/15/22
3:00 – 6:00

The theme is “Maintaining Community Values while Balancing Growth.” The Forum will feature speakers across 4 sectors:

Education – James Foudy Blaine County School District Superintendent
Environment – Josh Johnson, Acting Central Idaho Director for Idaho Conservation League
Health – TBD from St. Luke’s
Housing – Michelle Griffith, Executive Director of ARCH.
The Forum takes place 3-6pm at the Community Library in Ketchum.

Christina Had a Baby!

A warm Wood River Women’s Foundation congratulations to Christina and Ryon as they welcome their new baby boy, born early in the morning on November 5th! The new little bundle is a healthy 9.5 pounds and 23” inches, and arrived with a full head of hair!

Christina is doing well and is enjoying resting with her new son! We wish them all the best during this exciting time!

A Warm Welcome to New WRWF Members

We are delighted to welcome our newest WRWF members who joined this month!

  • Brittany Barber
  • Debbie Scully
  • Katie MacCarthy

Each new WRWF member is invited to provide a photo and a brief introduction about themselves to share in the News Brief. We have so many interesting members and it is fun to read about everyone’s background. Thanks so much and we look forward to meeting you soon!

Meet two of our newest members, Megan Pepin, and Bev Robinson who recently joined WRWF and graciously submitted their bios and images. Thank you Megan & Bev and welcome to WRWF.

Megan Pepin Bio:

Megan Pepin has lived in the Valley for 8 years, and now lives here full time. She is married and has two daughters, Ella – age 23, and Grace – age 21. Both daughters attended Community School (CS) for high school and were alpine ski racers with Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation.

Megan was active in the parent association at the CS while her daughters were there. She was the parent volunteer for the annual fund for 2 years and was on the board of the parent association for 4 years.

Megan has been a Meals on Wheels volunteer every Monday for the past 6 years. She has coached for Girls on the Run and is currently a sub for the Hemmingway program. Megan and her family are members of the Valley Club and love to play golf and tennis. She enjoys the countless outdoor activities in the valley like hiking, biking, running, skiing, etc.

Megan’s mom, Marcia Fosberg, lives in the Valley part-time and has been a member of WRWF for one year.

Bev Robinson Bio:

Bev and her husband were both born and raised in Idaho. They lived about 24 years outside of Idaho in Southern CA and Toronto. They have had a house in the Valley 40+ years but have only lived full-time the last 12 years. Until COVID, they traveled extensively, including three trips around the world and have visited 104 countries.

Bev has volunteered with The Senior Connection, American Cancer Society, The Hunger Coalition, Ronald McDonald houses, and “I Have a Dream” Foundation (IHDF). She is currently the Vice Chair of IHDF and loves working with the kids. Besides the wonderful year-round outdoor activities available here, Bev enjoys reading and quilting. They are a blended family with 6 kids, 31 grandchildren, and 12 great-grandchildren.

Board Member Updates

Please join us in congratulating our two newest Board Members-At-Large!

Karissa Price-Rico:

The Board approved Karissa Price-Rico as a Board Member at Large during October’s Board Meeting. She will fill an important role in our organization and bring in a unique outlook.

Karissa Price-Rico grew up in the Wood River Valley. After graduating from Wood River High School, she was off to college, then graduate school before ending up in Los Angeles, where she worked for twenty years. Karissa returned to the Valley full-time five years ago with husband Juan Rico, a native of Madrid, Spain, and their thirteen-year-old son, Santiago. Two adorable Golden Retrievers, Messi and Enzo complete the family.

Karissa is a strategic leader with broad industry experience as well as deep healthcare experience focused on improving the healthcare experience of consumers and clinicians. Karissa currently leads Marketing Strategy for the Food, Consumables and Health and Wellness businesses at Walmart. She is passionate about driving sustainable change in the US healthcare system and empowering people to live their best lives one day at a time.

Dianne Tibbs-Johnson:

Dianne Tibbs Johnson moved from Seattle to the Wood River Valley in December 2020. She quickly joined the WRWF in January 2021 and immediately immersed herself within WRWF by diving into Membership to support Future Forward as well as the Grants Committee by reviewing and updating processes and procedures.

Dianne currently works as a Senior Paralegal for a boutique law firm specializing in trademarks and branding. Prior to this, Dianne spent 8 years at Amazon in Branding, Marketing Operations, and Trademarks. In her spare time, Dianne can be found fly fishing, skiing, hiking, and upland bird hunting with her two German Shorthair Pointers, Iris & Stanley.

Thank you, Sponsors.

And, thank YOU for signing up with Amazon Smile

Many thanks to members who have designated WRWF as their selected charity on AmazonSmile! To link Wood River Women’s Foundation AmazonSmile to your Amazon account, click here and get signed up. Then, whenever you shop Amazon, use the AmazonSmile website.

Thank you to Little Caesars and Zions Bank for generously supporting WRWF!

Thank you, Contributors!

Thank you to this month’s News Brief contributors:
Terri Bullock, Jill Grossman, Carol Hoffman, Emily Jones, Deb Prost, Sarah Shepard, Renee Spooner, Rebecca Ybarra