October 2009 Vol 2, Issue 7
October
Giving Matters
Door County
Community Foundation

Greetings!

 
DCCF LogoIn many places the crispness in the air signals the start of the Fall Season.  Or perhaps the Football Season.  In Wisconsin, this most clearly is the start of Deer Hunting Season.
 
But in Door County, it's the only excuse you need to put on a musical.
 
The American Folklore Theatre is now presenting "Guys and Does" - The Deer Hunting Musical.  They describe it as "a wacky and wonderful excursion into the world of Wisconsin deer-hunting."

"Guys and Does is one of AFT's most constantly funny and entertaining shows. My wife even said that it seemed like late AFT co-founder Fred Alley was back. It's that good," writes Marty Lash in the Door County Advocate.
 
The show runs through October 24th at the Ephraim Village Hall.  Visit AFT onlin AFT online or more details and ticket information.  Enjoy Door County's own unique take on Deer Hunting Season!
Bret Bicoy 
 
 

 

 Bret N. Bicoy, President & CEO
Door County Community Foundation, Inc.
In This Issue
Greene and Johnny G Scholars Begin Colleg Career
Financial Literacy for Door County Youth
Dick Egan Gives Back as Community Foundation's Chairman

Our Board of Directors

Dick Egan, Chairman
John Herlache, Vice Chairman
Polly Alberts, Secretary
Mark Jinkins, Treasurer
Ruth Barker
Bill Boettcher
Michael Brecke
David Eliot
Michael Felhofer
William Goldammer
Marcia Peterson
Jane Stevenson
Tom Torinus
 
Greene and Johnny G Scholars Begin College Careers
Joe StawickiEach year several talented young people from Door County are awarded scholarships that were created by generous families in our community.  The Door County Community Foundation takes care of the administrative details of scholarships while still keeping the family involved in the decision making process.
 
We are honored to be able to tell you about a few young people who recently received a scholarship from a Fund at the Community Foundation.
 
The Stanley Greene Scholarship was created by his late wife Jane to celebrate her husband's memory.  Greene, a graduate of Sturgeon Bay High School, served a record six terms as Mayor of Sturgeon Bay.  This year's Stanley Greene Scholars are Joe Stawicki (right), Mary Hanson (below) and Ellen Baker - all graduates of Sturgeon Bay High School.
Mary HansonThe Johnny G Scholarship was founded to honor the memory of Johnny L. Gonzales by his family and friends.  Johnny was a fixture of the northern Door County community and loved by many.  He was a graduate of Gibraltar High School and worked in the Door County restaurant business most of his (all too short) life.
 
Johnny spent 20 years at the Sister Bay Bowl, until starting his own restaurant "Johnny G.'s" in downtown Sister Bay.  He was the father of four children, Jordan, Dana, Lauren and Will Gonzales.  He played County League baseball, softball, broomball, golf and loved to fish - no matter the season.
 
This year's Johnny G Scholars are Emily Johnson and Andrea Bosman, both graduates of Gibraltar High School.
 
Establishing a Scholarship Fund can be a wonderful way to provide an opportunity for a young person to realize their potential.  To learn more about how you can create a Scholarship Fund today, or as a part of your estate plans, contact the Community Foundation.
Financial Literacy for Door Count Youth
Americans are accumulating higher levels of debt, deferring retirement planning, and filing for bankruptcy at an alarming rate.  A contributing factor to this acceleration is a generation of young people that lack the basic understanding of financial concepts like money managementFISC and financial planning.
 
Though we widely assume children learn financial concepts and skills from parents or teachers, evidence shows that most American adults do not have strong knowledge themselves, and financial literacy is absent in most school curricula.  Introducing formal financial management lessons at a young age has been show to be an effective way to address this problem.
 
To deal with this issue right here in Door County, the Community Foundation provided a grant to help support the MonKY! initiative at FISC.  MonKY! stands for "Money, Kids, Yikes!" and is designed to teach financial literacy skills to youth ages 9-18 enrolled in the Door County schools as well as to home-schooled youth.  FISC also provides education for parents and children together  in their Teaching Kids about Money workshops held in collaboration with the Family Centers of Door County.
 
This grant comes from the Community Foundation's Children & Youth Fund - one of the five Community Impact Funds that were made possible by contributions from both seasonal and year-round residents.  Contact us to learn how you can incorporate a gift to support children's education - or any cause that's important to you - through a gift in your estate plans.
Dick Egan Gives Back as Community Foundation's Chairman
Dick EganDick Egan serves as Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Door County Community Foundation because he is convinced that the spirit of giving can be a unifying force in our community.  
 
"I firmly believe the Community Foundation has the potential to draw the diverse segments of the county together as a focal point for philanthropy," says Egan.  "It has the potential to build important bridges between disparate segments of the population and to really build a sense of community."
 
"The predictable tensions between very wealthy seasonal people and the folks who make a living working with them create a unique set of social issues that require more attention and nurturing than a more typical county of 28,000 permanent residents," says Egan. "People who work three jobs and 14-hour days for six months of the year and have no work or dependable income for the rest of the year put tremendous pressure on the social services providers of Door County."
 
Egan feels passionately about fostering the spirit of community because he and his family have such deep ties to Door County.  The Egan family began vacationing in Door County almost 60 years ago, with Dick's father buying a house in Egg Harbor in 1956 that members of the Egan family still own today.
 
Dick's wife followed a similar path to Door County.  "Annie's parents began camping at Spikehorn Camps near Cana Island in the mid-fifties and retired to a home they built nearby in 1975," says Egan.  In 1988, the Egans built a home on Beach Road in Liberty Grove which became their permanent residence nearly 15 years ago.
 
Egan notes that one of the great strengths of Door County is that we are all here by choice.  "Although we live on a peninsula, the place seems to me more like an island.  There's really only one way in and one way out so just getting to the place has to be intentional.  Nobody just stumbles upon Door County.  You have to want to be here." 
 
Egan hopes to use the Community Foundation as a mechanism that "will draw together those of us who call this place 'home' and inspire us to work together to support the place that we love so much."
 
Please join us in thanking Dick Egan for his leadership at the Door County Community Foundation.
The Door County Community Foundation, Inc. is a collection of separate charitable funds set up by individuals, families, non-profit organizations, private foundations and businesses that are managed, invested and disbursed for the current and future good of Door County.

Inspiring People to Give Back to Sustain the Community We Love.