If you are from Greensburg and Decatur County, then you are not shocked and surprised at the efforts of many, especially in times of crisis. This won’t surprise you either, but I am going to tell you about it anyway.
In her sixth year as the Executive Director of the Decatur County Community Foundation, my friend Tami Wenning wasted very little time in stepping up to the plate during the current COVID-19 health crisis.
The Decatur County Community Foundation quickly put together plans for a Rapid Response Grant consisting of $25,000 and they established the Decatur County Community Disaster Relief Fund. The Foundation put in $20,000 to use as a dollar-for-dollar match meaning any dollar donated into that fund is matched and it goes back into the community providing much needed assistance during this crisis.
Within one week of rolling out the RRG, the Foundation sent out checks for nearly $22,000 to provide additional funding for Meals on Wheels, Human Services, Gleaner’s Food Bank, Carousel Play and Learn Center, AGAPE, Letts Ambulance Service, the Decatur County Family YMCA and others providing immediate and tangible relief to the community.
And how about this – the Disaster Relief Fund received $30,000 from First Financial Bank and $9,000 of that went immediately to assisting the Decatur County School Corporation to implement mobile hot spots to facilitate e-learning, a critical asset for the school year since school instruction as we have known changed in an instant.
The DCCF is also discussing ways to help small businesses in our community and planning continues with that project. Of course, all of this has the blessings of the DCCF Board of Directors lead by retired banker Daryl Tressler as President of the Board. I am told that Daryl just gets things done and I believe it, having seen him in action many times since I came to this county in 1995.
And all this good doesn’t happen just because of one person. While Tami Wenning is in the big chair, she has built an excellent staff including Jenny Nobbe Schebler who keeps the bills paid and continues to work with the scholarship committee so graduating seniors can plan for their continuing education. Also, Daniel Fayette keeps up the website for the DCCF including the correct information on applying for grants and how to donate to the COVID 19 Disaster Relief Fund. That website can be found at https://dccfound.org/
Then there is public relations guru Alex Sefton who keeps things flowing by cutting checks for the RRG and by being the tech expert for Zoom video meetings, while Darin Miley continues checking in on regular grant applications and keeping the scenes moving behind the scenes. Last and most certainly not least is the ever-fun loving Sue Feaster who is waiting in the wings for any assignment Tami can give to her.
As a side bar, many moons ago, I hired Tami to be a stringer writer (this means part time with very little pay, if any) for the Greensburg Daily News. Knowing she lives near the Westport area, I asked Tami to be my southern connection to the community and provide good news happening in that area. Her column, Southern Comfort, was responsible for dramatically increasing our circulation numbers and subscriber base in the Westport area.
Tami also saved me one ice-covered day, when my boys and I made a Cheer Fund deliver near her home and could not get out of a steep driveway due to the ice. Of course, Tami had a small hand in coming to my rescue and it did not surprise me
Keep your eye on Tami Wenning and the Decatur County Community Foundation as they continue to review what works and what doesn’t, so they can be even better prepared for future events impacting our Decatur County community.
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