Saturday, September 16th was an evening of celebration and commemoration for the Northern Chautauqua Community Foundation (NCCF). The NCCF acknowledged its 20 years of service to the northern Chautauqua community with a gala event held at the Clarion Hotel. The “Monopoly Game” themed event was the culmination of a year-long celebration marking the NCCF’s 20th Anniversary.
“We have a lot to celebrate here tonight,” Diane Hannum, NCCF Executive Director said in an address to the crowd. “It has been 20 years since the incorporation papers establishing the NCCF were signed and we have had momentous growth and achievement since,” she added.
The evening included a special presentation of the NCCF’s Footprints Award. The Footprints Award is given to an individual or group that creates footprints in the community for others to follow in the spirit of the mission of the NCCF. Past recipients include George B. Weaver, Jr., Dallas Beal (posthumously), the late Robert Maytum and Jim and Carol Boltz.
The award was presented to two groups of individuals that were instrumental in the establishment of the NCCF: the founding members and the first elected board of directors. They were selected because they had the passion to imagine what could be and the perseverance and intellect to make it happen. The founding members, which signed the incorporation papers, were Louis P. DiPalma; David J. Doino; Rocco Doino; Andrew W. Dorn Jr., Richard S. Johnson; and George B. Weaver Jr. The first elected board of directors included: Richard S. Johnson, John D. Koch, Ann Manly, Malcolm C. Reed, Rocco Doino, Andrew W. Dorn Jr., Donald MacPhee, James H. Mintun Jr., Douglas Newman, Horace Pantano, Perry Reininga, George B. Weaver Jr., the late William M. Wells and the late H. K. Williams III.
“In 1986 there was an enthusiasm brewing in our community. The enthusiasm was for a unique organization that would permanently keep money in our community to benefit local charities forever,” said Hannum. “Many people felt this enthusiasm and many individuals and organizations rose to the call in helping to establish the NCCF, but these two groups stand out,” she added.
The evening’s festivities continued with dancing to music by the jazz band The Swing’n’Jazz Quartet, food and bar services from the Clarion and desserts from In the Making.
The Northern Chautauqua Community Foundation was incorporated in 1986 as a tax-exempt charitable organization. This year, 2006, they are celebrating their 20th Anniversary with the slogan: “Making a Difference for 20 Years.” Since its establishment, the NCCF has distributed almost $6 million within the community through its various grant and scholarship programs. It is an organization inherently committed to furthering its mission to enrich the northern Chautauqua community and encourage local philanthropy.