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Annual meeting recognizes Ron Walth and outgoing board members for volunteer service

At its annual meeting on Jan. 25, the Austin Area Foundation honored outgoing members of its Board of Trustees and elected three new members to the board. Ron Walth, long-time treasurer, was praised for his dedication and service to AAF. Also recognized were Mary Anne Wolesky and Mike Tapp.

Elected to the board for a one-year term was Brian Schulz. Schulz is the president of Business Operations for the Austin Bruins hockey team. Previously, he spent 12 years with Rochester Motor Cars, the largest auto dealer in southern Minnesota. He served as a member of the Austin Youth Hockey Board and was a hockey parent. He also spent 10  years with the St. Paul Pioneers football team and was honored as the American Football Association General Manager of the Year in 2003.

Elected to three-year terms were Jacinth Smiley and Amanda Gunderson.

Smiley is executive vice president and chief financial officer for Hormel Foods. She leads all financial areas of the company including financial strategy, performance, reporting and long-range business planning, as well as several other company functions.

Previously, she was an executive with LyondellBasell, a large plastics, chemicals, and refining business. She also spent 20 years with General Electric in senior finance roles and prior to that, worked as an auditor with Arthur Andersen. She has an extensive history of service to nonprofit organizations, and is currently serving as a mentor with the Mower County CEO Program.

Gunderson is currently serving as vice president of Business and Commercial Lending for First Farmers & Merchants Bank in Austin. Previously, she was branch manager for Home Federal Savings Bank. Active in the community, she is a team captain of the ambassadors for the Austin Area Chamber of Commerce.

“We are so pleased to welcome another three outstanding individuals to our board,” said Taggert Medgaarden, board chair.  “They will add so much to our efforts as we continue to grow and provide more support to area nonprofit organizations. We thank those who completed their terms on the board for their service.”

The Austin Area Foundation is announcing an exciting opportunity for local nonprofit organizations to significantly grow or establish their endowment funds.