A Joint Initiative Between     Heart of Wisconsin     Business & Economic Alliance and     Community Foundation of     South Wood County

Home About Us B2B Club Breaking News Contact Donate Events / Programs Feedback Ideas Incubator Industry Clusters Links / Resources Progess Funds Progress Teams Public Art / Murals Publications		Breaking News April 29, 2004 - Barkers and Meads Donate $1 Million Gift to Community Foundation to Help with Progress Initiative and Other CFSWC Activities By Antoinette Rahn Daily Tribune Staff Two couples with roots in south Wood County have donated an initial $1 million to help pay for the Community Progress Initiative launched this month and future local projects. Ruth and Hartley Barker of Scottsdale, Ariz., and Gilbert and Jaylee Mead of Washington, D.C., have equally contributed to the gift and the related goals of the Barker Mead Fund of the Community Foundation of South Wood County. Inaugural distributions from the fund include a $75,000 grant supporting the Community Progress Initiative and a $350,000 contribution, over four years, to the Community Foundation's Community Grants Fund. Ruth Barker and Gilbert Mead are cousins, and both are grandchildren of George Mead I, one of the founders of Consolidated Papers Inc., now Stora Enso North America. "We both grew up there. It's our hometown, and we have a lot of friends there yet, and it really seems like the right thing for us to do," Ruth Barker said during a telephone interview Wednesday from her home in Arizona. "I think about Wisconsin Rapids before (during childhood), and there was a lot going on. I think there could be again." The fund is meant to encourage more partnerships among groups in the area, leading to combined resources that accomplish more, Barker said. "We want to provide support and incentive for all citizens to participate in their community foundation," she said. "And ultimately, we want more dollars to reach a greater number of people in need." It's an investment in the future of south Wood County, Gilbert Mead said during a telephone interview Wednesday from his home in Washington, D.C. "A good part of our intentions with the Barker Mead Fund is to try and work with other communities in the area to build up their own assets and endowments," Mead said. "In the long run, the important result of our involvement is the increased endowment that impacts nonprofits and individuals that become associated with the Community Foundation." The Barker Mead Fund comes with a three-fold strategy: Strengthen area nonprofit organizations through training and support of endowment building, increase the capacity of the Community Foundation of South Wood County to serve and provide leadership, and assure that the foundation is cost-efficient and accessible to all. The contribution from the Barkers and Meads will help current and future generations meet basic needs, said Ann Soe, a member of the Community Foundation's grants committee. "We're facing so much in the way of challenges and changes in our community and that's definitely reflected in the grant proposals we're receiving," said Soe, a Grand Rapids resident and owner of Central Wisconsin Counseling Associates. "And this kind of generosity will completely shape not only what we can do as the grants committee of the Community Foundation, but what we can do as the community of south Wood County." One of the first grants to come from the Barker Mead Fund paid for a seminar on proposal writing sponsored by the Community Foundation Wednesday at Hotel Mead. Fifty people representing nonprofit groups from across south Wood County attended. Mary Brazeau Brown of Cranmoor said the Barker Mead Fund represents the continuation of a community vision she knows well. Her mother, Mary Virginia Brazeau, gave $1 million in matching funds from the Richard S. Brazeau Family Foundation Inc. to start the Community Foundation of South Wood County in 1994. "Talk about home being where the heart is," said Brazeau Brown, upon hearing about the fund. "My mom and dad had faith, hope and love for this community, and to have other people have the same faith, hope and love to support and believe in the future in such a huge way is wonderful. "(The Barkers and Meads) are amazing people. Their gift not only strengthens the abilities of the Community Foundation, but it empowers the citizens of this community to be the best they can be." The two couples show an attitude and a vision the entire community can share, said Mayor Jerry Bach. "For people who live outside the community, they are so positive and enthusiastic about their hometown, and I think their gift and what they are doing shows they have a genuine concern for the future growth of Wisconsin Rapids," Bach said. "I can't completely express how good it makes me feel to see people come forward in this. It further supports what's already been started with the Community Progress Initiative." You can reach Antoinette Rahn at 422-6726 or arahn@wisconsinrapidstribune.com On the Web To learn more about grant guidelines for local nonprofits and other resources of the Community Foundation of South Wood County, visit www.cfswc.org. How it will be used The newly established Barker Mead Fund of the Community Foundation of South Wood County will help to support the following programs: * Community Progress Initiative - A $75,000 grant to the Heart of Wisconsin Community Incubator. Among the programs are workshops for business creation, technical support for entrepreneurs, business cluster networks, mentor programs and an investor network. * Community Grants Fund - $350,000 over four years to supplement grants to local charitable organizations or programs that address south Wood County and the town of Rome's unmet or emerging needs. * Administrative expenses support - Money to offset many expenses associated with the hiring of additional staff. Plus, the fund will support examination of the current fee structure of individual funds with the Community Foundation. This review is to assure the fee structure remains cost-effective for all donors. * Nonprofit education opportunities - Money to train nonprofit organizations and boards, and staff to support and assist local nonprofits. Experts in nonprofit issues will be brought to the area to share knowledge and experience with nonprofit groups. In addition, the fund will help to create a Nonprofit Resource Center at the Community Foundation. * Community Progress Funds - Matching grants for the communities of Nekoosa, Port Edwards, Vesper, Rudolph, Pittsville, town of Rome, Wisconsin Rapids and surrounding towns, to help them build separate Community Progress Funds. The funds will serve programs and projects identified as needs by individual citizen advisory groups. About The Donors: Ruth and Hartley Barker * Ages: Ruth is 75 and Hartley is 81. * Residence: Scottsdale, Ariz. * Family ties: Ruth is the daughter of the late Henry and Emily (Mead) Baldwin and the granddaughter of George Mead I, co-founder of Consolidated Papers Inc. She was a Consolidated board member from 1992 to 2000. Hartley is the son of the late Helen and Leland Barker. His father was president and general manager of the company now called WE Energies. Ruth and Hartley Barker will be married 54 years this year, and they have four daughters and 15 grandchildren. * Education: Both are alumni of the University of Wisconsin-Madison. * Philanthropy and service: Hartley serves on the Wisconsin Historical Society Foundation Board and Ephraim Historical Foundation. Ruth is on the board of curators for the Wisconsin Historical Society and the board of Door County Auditorium Inc. Both serve on the board of the Door County YMCA Foundation. The Boys & Girls Club in Scottsdale is named after them. The Barkers established the $4.8 million Ruth and Hartley Barker Advised Fund at the Community Foundation of South Wood County in 2001. Gilbert and Jaylee Mead * Ages: Gilbert is 73 and Jaylee is 74. * Residence: Washington, D.C. * Family ties: Gilbert is the son of Stanton and Dorothy Mead, brother of George Mead of Wisconsin Rapids and Mary LaMar of Madison, and grandson of George Mead I. He served on the Consolidated Papers board from 1974 to 2000. Gilbert married Jaylee in 1968. They met while working at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. and both retired from there. Gilbert has four children and five grandchildren. * Education and career: Gilbert holds a law degree from the University of Maryland Law School in Baltimore, a bachelor's and master's degrees in physics from Yale University and the University of California, Berkeley, respectively. He worked as a research scientist at Goddard Space Flight Center. Jaylee served as mathematician, staff astronomer, assistant chief of both the Laboratory for Astronomy & Solar Physics and Space Data & Computing Division and created the facility's computerized data bank of stars and galaxies that aids astronomers in discoveries. * Philanthropy and service: Gilbert recently joined the board of directors of the Community Foundation of South Wood County. The couple founded the Gilbert and Jaylee Mead Family Foundation, with a board that includes Gilbert's four children. The Mead Family Foundation issues about 100 grants a year, totaling $1 million. The couple serve on boards for arts and cultural organizations in Washington, D.C. and were named Washingtonians of the Year in 1999.
		Copyright © 2005, Community Progress Initiative, South Wood County & Town of Rome