The United Fund of Talbot County (UFTC) announced the unanimous election of R. Michael S. Menzies, Leslie J. Stevenson and Marie R. U’Ren as new members to its governing board, Class of 2014, at a recent board of directors meeting. Fellow United Fund board members with whom they will serve include Joe Anthony, Pat Casgar, Bill Corace, Zuleika Ghodsi, Jane Kasper, Chuck Mangold, Jr., Pam Reynolds, Al Silverstein and Jim Vermilye.

R. Michael S. Menzies, President and CEO of Easton Bank and Trust Co. returns to the United Fund Board of Directors.  With a long history of involvement in the Easton community, he is presently the Chairman for the Talbot Hospice Foundation Capital Campaign, member of the Mid Shore Community Foundation Board and Finance Committee, Honorary Chair of the Oxford Community Center, and member of the Rotary Club of Easton.  He is past chairman of the Talbot Hospice Foundation.  On the national level, he is past chairman of the Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA) the only national trade association that exclusively represents community banks. Mike has an economics degree from Randolph Macon Colleges; earned his CPA certificate at Loyola College in Baltimore and attended the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Banking for advanced banking studies. He lives in Easton with his wife, Midge.

Leslie Stevenson is a long time resident of St. Michaels, relocating from Texas with her family in 1977.  As a realtor for Lacaze Meredith Real Estate, her focus is on assisting buyers and sellers achieve their real estate goals. She is ranked in the top 5% of residential real estate professionals in America.  Active in her community, Leslie serves on the United Fund Agency Review Committee, is involved in Christmas in St. Michaels, the Flower Guild, Mid-Shore Board of Realtors, Maryland Association of Realtors, and National Association of Realtors.  She is a graduate of Indiana University with a BS in Science, as an alumna of the Real Estate Institute.  She resides in St. Michaels with her husband, Tom.

Marie U’Ren is also a returning director to the United Fund.  An extremely active community volunteer, her involvement has touched more than 2 dozen local organizations, including Main Street Easton, Festival of Trees, Wye Conservatory of Music, and Chesapeake Film Festival. She is on the Provident State Bank’s Talbot County Advisory Board and is helping Thayer Entertainment produce independent films in Talbot County.  Marie is also the ‘go-to’ person for costumes, managing a collection available for use by local theatre groups, other non–profits and community members.  Marie attended George Washington University and was a founding member and group sales director for a California travel agency prior to moving to Easton in 1994 with her husband, Bill.

Your donations to the United Fund help our partner agencies serve Talbot County individuals and families in need. One example is a little girl who participates in the Talbot Special Riders (TSR) program. TSR serves a variety of clients with physical, mental, emotional and learning disabilities with the goal to build their clients’ self-confidence to interact in society. As TSR Executive Director Sandy King explains, “Several years ago, one little girl, who is very physically compromised and rides in our Hippotherapy program, was able to walk, almost unassisted, up to get her medal. That was a first for her. There was not a dry eye in the house.” It’s just one example of how United Fund support helps this agency help their clients.

The board of directors of the United Fund of Talbot County voted at their June meeting to allocate $335,000 to 22 member agencies for its 2011-12 campaign. These agencies qualified by demonstrating how the funds they requested would be used to meet the needs of the underserved in Talbot County. The original amount requested by these 22 agencies was in excess of  $419,000.

“As in the past, this year’s Agency Review Committee did an outstanding job in their reviews and deliberations,” said Zuleika Ghodsi and Charlie Leaver, Agency Review Committee Co-Chairs. Ghodsi added, “Despite the continued economic sluggishness, the just concluded 2010-11 campaign was still able to attract a little over $415,000 toward its

United Fund 2011 Agency Review Committee Members

$500,000 goal.  For the coming campaign, the United Fund board has revised the goal to $450,000, in recognition of the current state of the economy and questionable recovery over the next twelve months.”  The Fund remains optimistic, however, that strengthening fiscal conditions will enable it to meet this new goal during 2011-12. “It is regrettable that the current budget is unable to satisfy the total grant requests of the qualified agencies, but we continue to strive toward that goal,” noted Leaver. The United Fund of Talbot County is the only local philanthropic organization that for over 55 years of fundraising has raised more than $12 million to assist non-profit charities in Talbot County.

The agencies selected for the 2011-12 campaign are:

• BAAM (Building African American Minds). $12,000 to provide programs that enrich the academic and social development of young African American boys.
• Boy Scouts in Talbot County. $6,000 to deliver scouting programs to both existing scouting troop units and at-risk youth through its outreach efforts.
• CASA of Talbot County. $18,000 to provide trained volunteers to children under court protection because of abuse, neglect or abandonment.
• Channel Marker. $10,000 to maximize the healthy school adjustment of children in grades K-3 through its school-based Primary Project.
• Character Counts!. $10,000 to promote character development in the county’s public schools as well as conducting workplace ethics classes in the business community.
• Chesapeake Center. $7,500 to provide self-advocacy training, guidance and support for individuals with various disabilities looking to speak up for themselves.
• Critchlow Adkins Children’s Centers. $20,000 to offer quality childcare as well as tuition assistance to eligible local working families.
• Delmarva Community Services. $21,000 to fund adult medical daycare and intervention and travel expenses for medically dependent and frail Talbot County clients as well as general transportation services.
• Epilepsy Association of the Eastern Shore. $9,000 to provide counseling, resources and advocacy for adults with development disabilities.
• For All Seasons. $11,000 to provide advocacy, therapy and education for those needing low cost, easily accessible mental health services.
• Girl Scouts. $3,000 to provide a host of programs for local girls to build character and skills for success.
• Mental Health Association in Talbot County. $28,000 to promote mental health and prevention of mental illness through advocacy, public education and community service.
• Mid Shore Community Mediation. $3,000 to provide conflict resolution services for the Talbot County community.
• Mid-Shore Council on Family Violence. $25,000 to provide advocacy and support for victims of domestic violence.
• Mid-Shore Pro Bono. $3,500 to provide local low-income families with access to free or reduced fee legal services.
• Neighborhood Service Center. $55,000 to serve the total family, addressing housing, food, utilities, eviction and learning needs of local low-income residents.
• Partners in Care. $10,000 to empower older adults to remain independent in their homes using the concept of service exchange to provide transportation and handyman services.
• St. Martin’s Ministries. $15,000 to help to feed, clothe and financially assist impoverished clients, building their self-esteem and self-sufficiency.
• St. Michaels Community Center. $25,000 to provide services to the Bay Hundred Community, including after-school enrichment programs for local youth and teens.
• Talbot Mentors. $13,000 to provide young people with a one-on-one mentoring relationship with a caring adult.
• Talbot Special Riders. $12,000 to provide a therapeutic horseback-riding program for children and adults with learning and physical limitations.
• Upper Shore Aging. $18,000 to provide services for the frail/elderly including meals-on-wheels, advocacy, education and recreation.

This year, in lieu of birthday gifts, Gracie Hill, asked her friends to celebrate her special day with a contribution to the United Fund of Talbot County.  She carries on a family tradition, as both her parents, Brad & Allison Hill, and her grandparents, Tom & Cathy Hill, have been staunch supporters of the Fund for many years.

“We can’t thank Gracie and her friends enough for this wonderful, selfless gift,” noted Ann Jacobs, United Fund Executive Director.  “Thanks to this contribution, many needy children and their families in Talbot County, will benefit.”

Gracie Hill presents Ann Jacobs, United Fund Executive Director, with the checks she received during her birthday celebration, while her grandfather, Tom Hill, looks on.