Cure Hunger Blog

Here is a shout-out to Brad Condon, a VP at First Merchants Bank in Anderson. Brad rotated off the board of Second Harvest Food Bank of East Central Indiana this year. We hope it is only a yearlong furlough and that we’ll see him back.

Brad provided strong leadership beginning in 1994 when he began his first term on the board.

That was the year after First Federal Savings Bank in Marion donated the building at 1417 Meridian St. in Anderson to Second Harvest. It was the year we started our Kids Cafe program and the year we moved from being an affiliate of Gleaners food bank in Indianapolis to being a member of the national body now known as Feeding America.

Brad’s tenure spanned a time of tremendous growth in food distribution. In 1994, Second Harvest distributed just over 860,000 pounds of food for hunger relief in our eight counties of East Central Indiana. Last year we passed the 5.5 million-pound mark.

Other milestones include a six-year long AmeriCorps program, Beach Volleyball at the Sands, Tips for Hunger at Hotel Roberts, our first e-mail address, the first floor scale for the warehouse, and a budget that grew from $274,231 in 1994 to over a million dollars in 2009. During his service, the annual Dream Ball was created and has netted more than $300,000 during its 14-year history.

Brad sat out for a few years and then came back on board at the time we changed from traditional board governance to governance through policy.

He is a funny man and his quick wit and good humor helped us through many irritating situations as we learned how to set policy and stick to the policy we set. He attended policy governance seminars in Atlanta and faithfully led the board forward.

It wasn’t long after his return that we discovered in August 2005 that our beloved building at 1417 Meridian St. had critical structural problems. In 2006, Brad became chair of the board and a year later agreed to co-chair our Second Harvest on the Move campaign with Jeanne Lee. By the end of 2006, Brad and Jeanne were leading the charge to raise the money for relocation of Second Harvest Food Bank. Their success resulted in meeting the Kresge Challenge at the end of last year and raising nearly $4 million total. We celebrated at our new location in Delaware County — a 36-acre site with a fabulous warehouse.

Our organization has been fortunate to have exemplary board leadership such as Brad Condon has provided. He is not alone on the list of passionate, knowledgeable people who volunteer their time and expertise to set the direction for Second Harvest and see that we stay on track. I applaud Anne Muterspaugh serving as our current board chair, Chris Caldwell our vice chair, Roger Miller our secretary treasurer and returning board members Coco Bill, Troy Brown, Sue Errington, Tom VanOsdol, and Jack Peckinpaugh along with newly elected members Dan Gibson and Kaye Whitehead. I know that they join me in congratulating Brad on a job well done!

In the pre-dawn hours of Dec. 4, a truck drove into a park by the river. Men in Carhartt coats, warm hats and work gloves used hand jacks to roll pallets of food onto the truck tailgate and down to a roadway glazed in ice. Although the sunrise was still an hour away, cars lined up beyond the traffic barrier. They sat there cold and dark while occupants huddled under blankets waiting for the start of the food distribution still hours away. The sky gradually lit up. Dozens of people funneled into the park. Many were there to lend a hand and many where there to find food for their families. The Amazing Share set records that day for the monthly Second Harvest tailgate distribution. With the help of the good people of east-central Indiana, 955 families received groceries, including a small boy on a bike who was delivered to his mother, bike, groceries and all, in a fire truck with the mayor at his side!
On the sunny morning of Dec. 12, my husband and I took our grandson to the Christmas tree farm to cut our tree. We came back with a dog. The yellow dog had been noticed in the woods by neighbors who said she didn’t belong to anyone in the area. Our hearts were open and ready and she must have sensed it! She had made her way to the tree farm and was warming up to the employees when we drove through to get our tree loaded. She ran to the truck, jumped up to the window, looked at Erv and wagged her tail. Two minutes later she was in the truck, on my lap. It is a perfect match. She is a wonderful dog. So many families have to relinquish their pets because they don’t have the money to feed and care for them. Millie may have been in such a situation. We are so glad that we found each other.
The big deadline for Second Harvest Food Bank of East Central Indiana is Dec. 31. That is the day the last check must be in and the last pledge signed to guarantee the 50 percent Kresge match for the $400,000 challenge grant. The $4 million Second Harvest on the Move Campaign has been running for three years and it has been hard work. With that hard work has come deep gratitude. Jeanne Lee, Brad Condon and Steve Anderson have heroically led this campaign in an economy that has thrown many off financial balance. We have witnessed generosity and sacrificial giving among the thousands of people who have contributed. From the dollar bill tucked in the envelope to the $300,000 grant from the Ball Brothers Foundation, each gift makes a difference.
With the deadline close at hand, gifts continue to be accepted. We plan to hit that goal as scheduled and invite you over for the big announcement Jan. 19 at 11 a.m. Call in a reservation at 287-8698, ext 100.