The United Way of Kosciusko County announced the hiring of two new staff persons and the promotion of another.
Erin Smith was hired in late February as the new community impact coordinator. Michele Bickel will start Monday as the new campaign coordinator. Also effective Monday, Monica Lyon will become the organization’s assistant director, a new position recently added.
The United Way of Kosciusko County will now have four full-time employees and one part-time employee.
United Way of Kosciusko County Board President Erin Rowland Jones explained, “For the past 18 months the board of directors has been researching staff capacity at other United Ways across the state of Indiana. After spending some time reviewing our internal structure we realized our United Way was understaffed and it was time to add to our team. We are thrilled to be growing and be better able to serve Kosciusko County.”
The decision to add another staff person was highly pursued due to the opportunity the local United Way has to obtain a grant from the Indiana Association of United Ways. The INvest 1213 grant will provide the monies needed for this salary budget increase for 2012 and then incrementally through 2016.
Smith comes to the United Way with experience in non-profit organizations around Kosciusko County. She and her husband, Gary, live in North Webster with their two girls, Abi and Ali. Smith’s role in the United Way will include working with the Vision Council process, tracking community metrics in the focus areas Education, Income and Health, leading the organization’s Day of Caring, and working with the yearlong program investments and other community initiatives.
Bickel brings 26 years of marketing/sales skills to the United Way of Kosciusko County. She and her husband, Fred, live in Warsaw and have one grown son. Bickel’s job will include leading the annual fund drive, which is used as the largest resource the organization has available for community impact. She will be responsible for coordinating volunteers to run the campaign, work on most internal campaigns, track donations and analyze data.
Lyon is now in her fourth year on staff at the United Way of Kosciusko County. In the first three years, as campaign coordinator, Lyon developed the annual drive with growth in many areas. Lyon will continue to oversee the annual fund drive with special focus for the larger employers. In addition, she will gain many new responsibilities across all parts of the organization.
Executive Director Patricia Coy said, “The ability of our United Way to create lasting change in Kosciusko County is growing exponentially with this staff increase. Monica has shown dedication, a desire to learn and high interest to further develop our organization. Michele and Erin both bring incredible skills as new employees. I am excited to see the growth and opportunities for our organization with this excellent team.”
