DuDonne, Lange and Quarfot to serve on Community Engagement & Grants Committee
Paynesville, Minn. – The Paynesville Area Community Foundation (PACF) welcomes three new members to its Board of Directors, and three new members to its Community Engagement & Grants Committee. Megan Brick, Janell Bullard, and Joe Burbach will each serve a three-year term on the board. DuDonne Andrie, Grace Lange and Jerald Quarfot will serve on the Community Engagement & Grants Committee.
We also thank outgoing Board of Directors members, Dick Johnson, and Michelle Herickhoff, for their dedication and philanthropic leadership in our community over several years. Johnson will continue to serve PACF as a non-board committee member.
Janell Bullard is the superintendent for the Paynesville Area Schools. Her educational career began serving students with special needs over twenty years ago. She has two adult children, one who recently graduated from St. Cloud State University and one graduating in May from Whittier College. She is a proud SCSU Alumni receiving her undergraduate and master’s degree before obtaining her administrative licensures. Janell is an active member of the Minnesota Association of School Administrators and Minnesota Administrators of Special Education serving in leadership roles on the governing board at the state level for both organizations. She also serves on the executive board of Schools for Equity in Education and is a member of the Paynesville Lion’s Club. “Through my roles within schools, I have become very familiar with the value and purpose of a board and am excited to serve on the Paynesville Area Community Foundation board “, Janell explains.
Joe Burbach is a marketing strategist and entrepreneur with a passion for helping brands navigate the complexities of the digital and traditional arenas. Throughout his career, Joe has worked with familiar brands such as Harley-Davidson Motor Company, Porsche Cars North America, and Mayo Clinic, among others. In 2014, he founded PTRx, a web application designed to streamline rehabilitation assignments for hundreds of thousands of Midwest orthopedic patients through virtual online visits with their care providers. PTRx was acquired by a leading health insurance services provider in 2020 to address the sudden demand for virtual healthcare solutions during the COVID pandemic. Joe continues to deepen his roots in the Paynesville community and has a desire to contribute to its growth and development. He and his wife, Tina Lieser Burbach, recently built a home near Lake Koronis, where they spend time with their two sons, Charlie, a sophomore studying agribusiness at the University of Minnesota and Jack, a freshman at St. John’s University studying business and environmental studies. He enjoys spending time with his family and pursuing his hobbies including photography, reading, and working outdoors. “I’m excited to join the Paynesville Area Community Foundation Board to help utilize the untapped potential for growth and development for both its residents and visitors,” said Joe.
Megan Brick is a 17-year resident of Paynesville, with a passion for rural development and resilience. She serves on the Paynesville City Council, as chair of the Park and Tree Board, and on several city committees including the Library Committee. She is enthusiastic about creating opportunities for the community in these “third spaces”. She and her husband have three children who attend the Paynesville Public Schools, and she believes strongly in the connection between vibrant schools and a thriving community. As the mother of school aged children who also works in elder care, she feels uniquely positioned to see the unspoken needs of the community along the spectrum of age and economic circumstance and is thrilled to work with the Community Foundation to address those needs and have a real impact on Paynesville and the wider community. She states, “I believe wholeheartedly in the Foundation’s stated vision of ‘a vibrant, progressive community with opportunities for all generations to come’ and I’m honored to help fulfill that vision.”
DuDonne Andrie grew up in the Willmar/Atwater area and graduated from Wadena High School and Wadena Technical College. In 1998, DuDonne and her husband, Jim, and family moved to the Paynesville area and built a home on Rice Lake. DuDonne recently retired and is looking forward to spending more time with her family, especially with her 10 grandchildren in the Twin Cities and Georgia. She enjoyed several customer service careers in Paynesville including 2 years at Community First Bank, 5 years with the City of Paynesville, and 18 years with CentraCare – Paynesville. She served on the Paynesville Chamber of Commerce board for six years. She currently serves as the Chairperson for the Paynesville Area Charity Fund, Treasurer for the St. Joseph’s Nature Preserve, volunteers for CentraCare, serves in several roles as a member of St. Louis Catholic Church, and started photography assignments for the Paynesville Press. In her free time, she enjoys relaxing on the lake, camping, traveling, and doing home remodel projects. She and Jim are planning to purchase electric bicycles soon to spend more time exercising outdoors by explore our area bike trails.
Grace Lange recently moved back to the Paynesville area. She is a 2018 graduate of Paynesville Area High School and a 2022 graduate of North Dakota State University. She majored in Marketing, which led to many opportunities including starting her own marketing consulting company in 2021. She was a Managing Partner at You Flourish Company, a speaking and coaching company, where she was the head event planner, marketing leader, group coaching facilitator, and speaker. She enjoys speaking at corporate workshops and community conferences and has coached women through several groups. She is a small-town resident with big plans to spread her knowledge from her prior experiences to everyone she meets to help them uncover their true potential and who they are. “I am very passionate about bringing growth and new opportunities to the Paynesville area. I know that together, we can be a flourishing community, but we need to continue to encourage community members to get engaged and help achieve the vision,” explains Grace.
Jerald Quarfot was raised in the Paynesville, MN area and graduated from Paynesville High School in 1984. Upon graduating, he enlisted in the U.S. Air Force and served his country for 20 years. He lives in Hawick, and has four adult children and six grandchildren, all of which live out of state. While serving in the Air Force, he served on two overseas assignments and state side assignments in the desert southwest. He is a veteran of Operation Just Cause and the Persian Gulf War and was awarded the Southwest Asia Service Medal with three campaign stars. He is a Vice Commander and Gambling Manager at the Paynesville American Legion Post and is a lifetime member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars and the Disabled American Veterans. He is a member of St. Louis Catholic Church in Paynesville where he serves in several roles and represents the parish on the Christ Our Hope Area Catholic Community Board. He is a member of the Paynesville Area School District School Board and the Paynesville Community Service Center Board of Directors. For relaxation he enjoys studying history, woodworking, and HO model railroading.
The Paynesville Area Community Foundation is governed by a local board of directors which guides the organization in the mission to engage people, connect resources and build community. Other board members include Sheriff Ahmed – Chair, Angie Brick – Secretary, Kevin Wall – Treasurer, Mary Hendrickson, Leo Louis, Luella Louis, Steve Peterson, Michelle Schmitz, Maggie Utsch, and Jeremy Willner. Randy Schaefer is the Executive Director.
PACF attracts and administers charitable funds for the benefit of the local community. It has grown to over $6.9 million in assets and has awarded over $2 million in grants to non-profits in partnership with fundholders. PACF is a partner foundation of CommunityGiving, which is a collaborative of community foundations united under a single framework to create efficiencies that maximize the impact of our donors. Collectively, CommunityGiving administers over 1,100 charitable funds totaling over $225 million in assets. Learn more at CommunityGiving.org/Paynesville.