Beckley Area Foundation is governed by a 15-member board of directors, each serving a three-year term. Members can serve no more than two consecutive terms. Over the past 38 years, a total of 103 Raleigh County residents have served on the BAF board and generously given their time and talents to support the day-to-day operations of our community foundation. “While membership is certainly an honor, this is a working board; the success of our organization depends upon time-consuming efforts of these volunteers. They work without expectation of personal recognition or reward.” — Dena Cushman | Executive Director, Beckley Area Foundation Rick Lay and Robert Doug Smith were elected to fill the vacancies created when Kevin Heath Bailey and Ray Morton rotated off the board.
Rick moved to Raleigh County in 2013 with his wife while searching for an area to retire. He attended Virginia Tech graduating with a B.S. in Computer Science. Prior to retirement, he was the IT Manager at Marathon Petroleum Company. Rick is currently a member and volunteer for Carpenter's Corner, he serves on the board of directors for the WV Woodturners Association, and he also serves on the board of directors for the Glade Springs Village POA. Rick and his wife Stoya currently reside in Daniels. They have a son, Chris, and two grandchildren Caleb & Liam. Doug grew up in Southwestern Pennsylvania and graduated with a B.S. in Business Administration from Waynesburg University in 1978. He worked for three years at a regional CPA firm in Wheeling, WV and moved to Beckley, WV in 1981. He was a partner in a large local CPA firm until October 2006, when he joined Vecellio Group, Inc. (VGI) as its Senior VP of Finance. Doug semi-retired in January 2023, but still serves as VGI's Director for Compliance and Tax. He also volunteers as an online financial coach for Crown Financial and maintains various credentials including CPA, CCIFP and CKA. Doug has served on various church and community boards over the years and enjoys spending time with his family. Doug and his wife Jody presently reside in Beckley. They have four children and nine grandchildren. Doug and Jody established the Natalie Jo Smith Scholarship Fund at BAF in 2010, in memory of their daughter. Currently, BAF's Board is comprised of the following individuals:
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BAF's Community Grant Program awards annual discretionary grants to charitable organizations serving Raleigh County in the areas of animal services, the arts, civic beautification, education, health & human services, and public recreation. Fifteen volunteers representing a cross section of our community spent hours reading every grant proposal, scoring them, and discussing them to recommend grant awards. The BAF Board of Directors reviewed the committee grant recommendations for final approval. The BAF Board of Directors approved $220,553.28 to fund 44 projects between April 2023 and March 2024. Areas of Interest Breakdown: Health & Human Services - $129,040.47 Education - $36,401.61 Arts - $29,361.20 Public Recreation - $13,345.00 Civic Beautification - $7,405.00 Animal Services - $5,000.00 The Raleigh County Public Library's project in 2022 was a summer reading program called, "An Ocean of Stories" to help maintain the children’s reading levels between school sessions. Children 3-13 kept a reading log each week to show that they completed their book. The majority of children in the program read at least 8 books over the summer. Prizes and crafts were also incorporated into the program to help incentivize reading. “In Summer 2022, the Raleigh County Public Library put on a summer reading program for close to 400 children per week at our Beckley location. Thanks to area donors and organizations, our staff can help to make reading fun all summer long. We hope to see you this summer where we invite you to — Read Beyond the Beaten Path.” — Amy Stover | Director, Raleigh County Public Library Full listing of funded projects:
Anyone interested in growing the pool of unrestricted funds that are used to address emerging needs and special projects can make donations in any amount to any unrestricted fund. Mail contributions to BAF, 1210 South Kanawha Street, Beckley, WV 25801, or donate by filling out the form below. If you are interested in starting a named unrestricted fund, call the foundation at 304-253-3806 or email [email protected]. |
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