News Release

WABASH — Grow Wabash County would like to thank the many organizations that contributed funding to provide scholarships to four emerging leaders in Wabash County to allow them to attend the 2024-2025 Leadership Development Wabash County program.

The recipient of the 2024 Jim Smith Scholarship is Jon Gaskill, the newly minted executive director of the Wabash Carnegie Public Library. This scholarship is sponsored by Hoosier Jiffy Print and was established to recognize the incredible work done by Smith who retired from his role as LDWC program director in 2020.

In addition to the Jim Smith Scholarship, Grow Wabash County also successfully connected three additional emerging leaders with funding to attend the 2024-2025 LDWC program. Transform Consulting Group agreed to sponsor tuition for one attendee from a local non-profit organization. This sponsored spot was awarded to Orion McCormack, who serves as the director of annual giving for Pathfinders.

Additional funds were leveraged through the Grow Wabash County scholarship program to fund two more participants: Mackenzie Coulter-Kern, director of the Wabash County Diversity Coalition; and Marlee Cockrell, HR manager for BioNutrients Ag, LLC.

“We are thrilled to see such strong community support for the Leadership Development Wabash County program,” Tenille Zartman president and CEO of Grow Wabash County and facilitator for the LDWC program said. “These scholarships not only provide invaluable opportunities for emerging leaders, but also reinforce the collective commitment of local businesses and organizations to invest in the future of Wabash County. It’s inspiring to witness how these partnerships enable us to empower the next generation of leaders who will shape our community’s growth and success.”

Grow Wabash County would also like to extend a thank you to all of the businesses and organizations that signed on to sponsor this year’s LDWC cohort.

Core Sponsors: Beacon Credit Union, City of Wabash and Wabash County Commissioners.

Lunch Sponsors: Duke Energy, Ford Meter Box Company, Inc., Heartland Career Center, Intertech Products, Inc., Josiah White’s, NIPSCO and Ruoff Mortgage.