As many of you know, Rainbows United is fortunate to have an outstanding engaged Board of Directors. They care deeply about Rainbows’ Mission, staff, children and families we serve, and the overall stability of the organization. Rainbows’ Annual Board Meeting was December 11, 2018. It was a time to celebrate successes from the past year and welcome Board Members for 2019. Janeen Hughes began her two year term as Board Chair and Gail Johnson moved into the Past Chair position. Other officers elected include Jeff Jabara as Treasurer, and Lisa Farris as Secretary.
We recognized a number of individuals: Steve Hohl and Old Chicago East for their support of Blarney Breakfast; Neil Guthrie, recently retired from the Wichita Public Schools, for his longtime support of Rainbows; Sue Leisman with The Miller Group who is an essential partner of Rainbows assisting us annually in getting the best pricing for the best health insurance coverage and other benefits for our employees; Kansas Senator Carolyn McGinn for her leadership in helping us secure an additional $2 million State funding for the statewide Infant/Toddler system known as tiny-k; and to the Super Hero Project team of Jake Ramstack, Meghan Polk, Hayley Lunn, and The Justin McClure Team who with a little inspiration and a lot of determination, four friends turned a social media share into a powerful film with a lot of heart.
The recognitions concluded with Rainbows’ Prism Award. Each year a Rainbows employee is selected for this honor who has shown exemplary service and whose work demonstrates all of Rainbows Guiding Principles. The winner in 2018 is Peggy Burns. Peggy is a member of Sedgwick County Infant/Toddler Services. She has worked for Rainbows for 13 years as a speech language pathologist. Peggy is a hardworking, dedicated, kind, intelligent staff member who remains positive and inspires others even in the most challenging circumstances.
Some of the accomplishments in 2018 include: serving 3842 children ages birth to 21 and their families; completing the development of our Agency Strategic Plan and implementation began; involving 481 volunteers who put in 7,987 volunteer hours; raising significant funds for services through 5 special events; engaging a talented and generous group of volunteers who developed the Super Hero Project; producing 3 videos to help describe Rainbows services in the community; and submitting 42 grant applications with a 69% approval rate.
We look forward to building on these achievements in 2019!
-Deb Voth, President
