Two new members have been welcomed to the Marion Community Foundation Board of Trustees, announced president and CEO Dean L. Jacob. The new board members include: Judge Deb Alspach and Tom Clark. These new members maintain the board at its full complement of 15 members.
With this election, Alspach returns to Marion Community Foundation, having served as one of the board of trustees’ charter members (1998-2006), as well as creator of the Don Alspach Memorial Fund, established in 2008 in memory of her late husband for the benefit of the Prairie Parks Foundation. The Alspach Fund provided for the construction of the nature and visitors center at the Marion Tallgrass Trail Park and an endowment to support its maintenance.
Judge Alspach is a graduate of The Ohio State University and the Ohio Northern University Claude Pettit College of Law. She has made her legal career in family law in Marion County and, in 1988, was elected as the County’s first Family Court Judge, a position she continues to hold.
Judge Alspach is a member of the Marion County Bar Association and the Ohio State Bar Association, where she served on the Board of Governors, co-chaired the Government Affairs Committee and presently chairs the Committee on Judicial Administration and Legal Reform.
Other current professional activities include serving as co-chair of the Supreme Court Advisory Committee on Children and on the board of directors of the Ohio Chapter of the Association of Family and Conciliation Court. Judge Alspach has served Marion on the boards of directors of MedCenter and Marion General Hospitals and the Marion Speech and Hearing Center.
She enjoys spending time with her family, including daughter Megan, son-in-law Scott, and granddaughter, Vivian Joy. She enjoys kayaking, counted cross stitchery, traveling and reading.
Tom Clark is a long-time Marion native and a graduate of Marion Harding High School. He earned both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in mechanical engineering at Purdue University.
After working five years at the Dow Chemical Company in Midland, Michigan, he returned to Marion to work in the family business, Clark Metal Products Company. At Clark Metal, he worked in various capacities, eventually becoming President and General Manager.
Clark Metal Products was a manufacturer of small precision metal parts for the automotive, computer, appliance, and office products industries and other segments of the economy. The company provided steady employment for 75 associates for almost 60 years.
After selling Clark Metal Products in 1998, Clark worked as a consultant and part time employee for various local organizations and businesses, including Robot Works, HLS Racks and Marion Technical College.
Throughout his career, Clark has served on a number of local community boards, including: Marion General Hospital, Marion Area Health Services, Marion Ancillary Services, Ohio Health, CANDO, Marion Shelter Program and as a deacon, trustee and elder of First Presbyterian Church.
Tom and his wife, Jackie, have been married for 50 years. They have a son, daughter, and one granddaughter. His hobbies include duplicate bridge, flower and landscape gardening, and woodturning, specializing in creating vases and bowls on a lathe.
The other members of Marion Community Foundation’s Board of Trustees include: Dr. Charles Garvin (chair), Nicole Workman, Megan Queen, John C. Bartram, Susie Brown, Larry Geissler, Dr. Scott Yancey, Ted Graham, Dr. James Barney, Kimberly Stark, Kathy Goodman, Rev. Daniel Kiger and Lowell Thurston.
Marion Community Foundation serves as the philanthropic clearinghouse for the Marion area and is a leader in planned giving. The Foundation administers more than $41 million in more than 185 endowed funds and distributes in excess of $1.5 million annually in grants and scholarships. It is located inside the Stengel-True Museum at 504 S. State St. The Foundation’s offices are open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays. Information about Marion Community Foundation is available on Facebook, its website, or by calling (740) 387-9704.