Board members of the Valpo Parks Foundation unanimously voted to re-elect Jeff Lewis as Board President at their February meeting.
Lewis, Principal at Design Organization, Inc., a division of Shive-Hattery, and team leader of their Chicago office, has previously been a member of the Parks Foundation Board from 2004-2011. Lewis became Vice-president when he returned to the Board in 2012, becoming President in 2014. Lewis grew up in DeMotte, attended Ball State University obtaining a degree in Environmental Design, and has been a Valpo resident since 1998, serving in many community service and faith-based capacities, including Project Neighbors. Jeff and his wife, Kristin, live in greater Valparaiso with their three children.
Jon Schmaltz was elected Vice-President. He is a partner at the law firm of Burke Costanza & Carberry LLP, where he has practiced business and real estate law for more than 15 years. He is a graduate of Purdue University, and graduated in 1999 from Indiana University School of Law – Indianapolis. He has served on the Boards of Directors of the Greater Valparaiso Chamber of Commerce, Valparaiso Economic Development Corporation, Purdue Alumni Club of Northwest Indiana, and Purdue Alumni Association. Jon and his wife, Jenny, and their three children are residents of Valparaiso.
Tim VerSchure is the newly-elected Parks Foundation Board Treasurer. VerSchure serves as Senior Vice President of Lakeside, working with individuals and families as well as retirement plans. He was named to the NAPA Top 50 Advisors Under 40, as well as Northwest Indiana Times 20 Under 40 List in 2014. He and wife Gretchen live in Valpo with their five children.
In addition to electing officers, the Valpo Parks Foundation Board nominated three new Board members. Frank Kusbel is the Director of Operations at AM Stabilizers Corporation and has been associated with this business for 27 years. Kusbel has lived in Northwest Indiana his entire life and studied Business Management at Indiana University Northwest. He now lives in the Valparaiso area for the last 10 years with wife Lisa and three children Matthew, Lauren and Jacob.
Stephen Lunn began serving at Porter Health Care System’s CEO in March of 2014.Lunn served as CEO of Heartland Regional Medical Center in Marion, Illinois, and earned the 2012 CEO Excellence in Leadership Award from Community Health Systems Prior to Heartland Regional, Lunn was CEO of Moberly Regional Medical Center in Missouri and CEO of Parkway Regional Hospital in Kentucky. He is board member for the Valpo Chamber, Porter County Community Foundation, Empower Porter County, and the Valpo Economic Development Corp. He also belongs to the Valpo Rotary.
Melanie Trowbridge is the Graduate Enrollment & Market Analyst at Valparaiso University and a 2014 graduate of their MBA program. Originally from Michigan City, she has lived in Valpo since 1996, and earned her undergraduate degree from Purdue University. In addition to her work with Valpo Parks, Trowbridge has been a volunteer board member with Little Lamb Preschool at Christ Lutheran Church, the Flint Lake Elementary PTA and a member of the Opportunity Enterprises marathon fundraising team.
The Foundation looks forward to continue serving the Valparaiso community with these new Board members as partners in its mission. The most recent project of the Parks Foundation was the rebuilding of ValPLAYso’s playground at 1400 Glendale Blvd. After a year of fundraising, community volunteers logged over 16,000 hours from October 6 – 12, 2014, to construct the new play space. ValPLAYso now boasts a colorful design, new playground features, and rubber flooring that make it accessible to people of all abilities. ValPLAYso Park construction continues into the spring and will be completed this summer.
The next event to be hosted by the Foundation is its annual recognition event, the Friends and Legends reception, which will take place on Thursday, May 7 from 4:30 – 6:30 PM. The Malasto Legends Award and the Legendary Friend Award will be presented at the event, along with special thanks expressed to the ValPLAYso renovation volunteers. For more information or to RSVP, please go to www.ValpoParksFoundation.com or call 219-462-5144.
The Valparaiso Parks Foundation is a non-profit 501(c)3 organization that provides opportunities for the community to support the continuing legacy of high quality experiences provided by Valpo Parks. For information on how to get involved log on to ValpoParksFoundation.org call the Parks office at 219.462.5144.