A Legend Passes the Torch

 

Jim and Carol Baum have had an eventful 2011.  They traveled to Dartmouth this summer to celebrate Jim’s 50th college reunion.  In October they hosted family and friends in Vermont to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary.  On November 4th they celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary with Illinois friends.

 

And on October 20th, Jim retired as President of the Board of Directors of the Community Foundation of Grundy County after 12 years of service and leadership.

 

In 1999, ten leaders of the Morris community gathered to think about the challenges to the future of our community.  It is ironic that many of the concerns today are the same as those that faced these men and women.  The initial goal was to look at issues that local government or charities could not or would not address for one reason or another.

 

After a decade, what began as the Morris Community Foundation has matured into the Community Foundation of Grundy County.  From a volunteer organization with no staff, no assets, and very little idea what a community foundation could do, the Foundation has grown to employ a full time executive director, a part-time program director, and an accounting manager who, along with a volunteer board of 11, oversee almost $5 million in assets devoted to the maintenance and improvement of the quality of life of Grundy County.

 

This decade of impact came about because of the vision of the first board of directors.  Under the leadership of Jim Baum as President and directors Jim Peterson, Dick Schweickert, Joe Schmitz, Carol Narvick, Rev. Chuck Richardson, Dr. Ann Marie Struck, Bill Norton, Finance Advisor Ron Wohlwend, and Legal Advisor Jack Hynds, the first board of directors began the tradition of looking at the community with fresh eyes to strategize how to meet unseen and unresolved problems.

 

To say that so much of the Foundation’s success can be attributed to Jim is an understatement.  He has not only had vision, he has done much of the heavy lifting.  He has been tireless in his efforts to rally community support and assure that our impact has improved the lives of hundreds of children, helped countless disadvantaged who are in need of social services, and has brought focus to land use and planning across the county.

 

He also leads by example through the many charitable funds that he and Carol have set up here so that there will always be funding to address the issues they care about, even after they’re gone.

 

To quote one of our board members, “Jim’s vision and determination not only brought the City of Morris a quality Community Foundation that is recognized throughout the state, but Jim saw the need for the Foundation’s work in other areas of the County and today, because of his leadership, we have a quality Foundation providing services and assistance to all of Grundy County.”

 

However, life goes on and so does the Foundation.  As the “Jim Baum Era” of the Foundation wraps up, Jim has handed the leadership torch to a new Board President – Kristi Bennington.  Kristi has been serving as our Vice President for two years and has a great passion for the Foundation and our work.  Tom Tesdal has stepped up as Vice President and Ralph Wolter remains the Secretary/Treasurer.

 

But Jim hasn’t been let go – oh no!!  There’s still plenty for him to do.  He still serves on the Board of Directors and remains on the Finance and Investment Committees.  I still get to track him down to sign checks and help me think things through.

 

In addition, he has volunteered to lead two projects – one is a training and networking event for the community foundation boards in our region; the other is a new project called “Vital Signs” that can help many sectors across Grundy measure our effectiveness.

 

Jim will also continue to be a public face and voice of the Foundation across Grundy County, helping “bridge people who care with causes that matter.”  This role fits him best and we do not plan to allow him to retire from it!

 

The next time you see Jim, please congratulate him on a job superbly done. There is absolutely no way the Foundation would be as successful as we are without his leadership and hard work.

 

At this time of Thanksgiving, we are truly grateful for him!