OLEAN, N.Y., July 28, 2016
– At its 10th annual Friends of the Foundation Luncheon, the
Cattaraugus Region Community Foundation honored two of its closest
friends, Carol
and James Stitt, for their long-time dedication to the foundation.
“The
Friends of the Foundation award is CRCF’s highest honor for those
people who’ve been true friends of the foundation on a number of
different levels,” said Executive
Director Karen Niemic Buchheit. “The award is for those who’ve been
dedicated to a cause and worked closely with the foundation as well as
generously supporting one or more foundation funds. In that respect,
Carol and Jim are two of the foundation’s most enduring
and closest friends.”
Wendy
Brand, CRCF board president, presented the honor to Carol Stitt, the
foundation’s first executive director, and words of appreciation about
Ms. Stitt.
Describing
the evolution of CRCF, Ms. Brand said “With little more than a desk and
some paper files to start, Carol laid the groundwork not only for what
the foundation
was at the time, but for what it would become. She was and is CRCF’s
biggest ambassador.”
Carol’s
stepping down from the Executive Director position did not end her
service to the foundation. “When she retired as Executive Director,
Carol was more than your
typical board member. She quickly took on leadership roles. She served
as board president and chaired the executive, finance and strategic
planning committees,” said Ms. Brand.
Ms.
Stitt acknowledged that Ms. Brand’s remarks were not hyperbole. She
said that she indeed thought of the foundation as her “third child.”
It
is a child that she’s nurtured for 22 years, since the foundation’s
establishment. “She grew the foundation from its infancy to the strong
organization it is today,”
said Ms. Brand. “She truly saw the potential of a community foundation
and the good it could do for our region when it was just a seed of an
idea in the Olean area.”
Together,
Carol and her husband, James, established the Stitt Family Fund at the
CRCF. Today, they still regularly donate to other foundation causes. Mr.
Stitt has also
volunteered to speak at CRCF’s annual Nonprofit Networking Day.
James
Stitt, Cutco CEO, has shared his expertise and resources to further the
foundation’s visions and goals, said Brand. “The foundation has
benefited from the advising
of Cutco’s marketing, HR and IT staff,” she said. “So with Jim on your
team, you don’t get just one person, but a whole crowd behind you.”
Mr.
Stitt, who also serves on the St. Bonaventure University board of
trustees and the Dresser-Rand Challenger Learning Center’s board, spoke
about “keeping the lights
on,” meaning that community members should focus on making the region
the best it can be so that anyone who goes away has a strong community
to return to.
It’s that shared vision of building a better tomorrow for the Greater Olean area that has driven the Stitts do so much good. It’s that shared vision that makes them the
perfect 2016 Friends of the Foundation honorees.
Ms.
Brand also recognized some of this year’s new funds, which included the
OHS Class of 1961 Scholarship Fund, established by Duane A. Geuder and
members of the Olean
High School class of 1961; the St. Mary of the Angels Future Fund,
established by parishioners at St. Mary of the Angels Church; and the
Hamburg Track Scholarship Fund, established by William V. Malican III.
All
students who received scholarships managed by the CRCF in 2016 were
also honored at the luncheon. The foundation managed and distributed 80
scholarships this year,
totaling $112,730 for area students.
Ms.
Stitt reminded the recipients of the generosity that made their
scholarships possible. “In many cases you’re receiving scholarships from
people you’ve never met,”
she said.
She
said that fact should encourage them to embrace the vision of her and
her husband, James. “Please, take that to heart, and when you are out
making your way in the
world, make sure that
the community in which you are living is a better place.”
In other words, help to make sure that the light stays on in the community.
As
an afternoon of touching stories and companionship among friends came
to a close, one thing was clear; CRCF plans to continue keeping the
lights on for its scholarship
and other grant recipients. But even more, they plan to join the Stitts
in their mission to keep the lights on all across the region.
Established
in 1994, the Cattaraugus Region Community Foundation is growing good by
connecting donors to the causes they care about most in the
region. Grants from the foundation support many areas, including
education, scholarships, health care, the arts, community development,
human service, and youth development. To learn more, call (716) 301-CRCF
(2723), email
foundation@cattfoundation.org, or visit online at
www.cattfoundation.org. CRCF is also on Facebook (facebook.com/cattfoundation) and Twitter (@CattFoundation).
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