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THE AUGUSTA CHIWY

FOUNDATION

Board of Directors

Officers

Steven E. Croft is Chairman of the Board for the Augusta Chiwy Foundation. He has more than 35 years of domestic and international experience in corporate management within the technology, financial services, consulting, sales & marketing and software industries. He has extensive experience in corporate mergers and acquisitions, business development, public speaking and corporate growth. Steve also assists in developing and implementing regional, national and global strategic business programs for major organizations. Since 2013, he has served as Chief Operating Officer and member of the Board of Directors of AviaSphere, Inc., of Fort Worth, TX, an international software company providing specialty programs and related products for the airline industry. He is also President and CEO of Sterling Group International, which he founded in 1998. Over the years, he has held leadership positions in numerous other technology-related companies. With his keen understanding of business operations and management techniques, Steve will be an important asset to the Foundation.

 

Mark Rowland is Secretary of the Foundation. He has a B.S. in Geology from the University of Dayton and an M.S. in Hydrogeology from the University of Toledo. He served 13 years as a Managing Partner for a large Midwestern engineering firm, where he held the offices of Secretary, Treasurer and Vice- Chairman. He presently serves as Chairman of the Ohio Geology Advisory Council and Vice-Chairman of the Recreation and Resources Commission of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources. He is a past member of the Board of Directors for the National Union Veterans Foundation of Ohio and presently serves on the Natural Sciences Technologies Advisory Committee for Zane State College. Mark brings a wealth of business management experience to the Foundation.

 

David Whitta is Treasurer of the Foundation. He is Vice-president of Whitta Construction, Inc., an industrial/commercial, general, site and paving Construction Company. He is also Founder of the Whitterra Company, a real estate development company, President of D&D Properties, a real estate holding company, and President of Fostoria Renovation, LLC, a real estate renovation company.  Dave has served on the Ceco Building Systems Regional Advisory Board and on the St. Wendelin School Board. He has served as Chairman of the Fostoria Economic Development Corporation and as Chairman of its Executive Board. He is a member of the First Federal Bank, Midwest Regional Advisory Board. Dave brings a mature view of business matters

to the Foundation.

Members

The Hon. Kimberly Cocroft has been a judge on the Franklin County, Ohio Court of Common Pleas since April 2009. Prior to joining the Court, Kim was Deputy Legal Counsel, Civil Division, for the State of Ohio. She holds a Bachelor of Arts, Master of Arts in Sports Management and Juris Doctor Degrees from The Ohio State University.  Kim has served as Chair of the Commission on Continuing Legal Education for the Supreme Court of Ohio, as well as being a member of on the Franklin County Justice and Planning Board, the Commission on Professionalism, FirstLink, the St. Joseph Montessori School, and the Gloria S. Friend Christian Academy.  Kim brings valuable insight into the civil and education needs of today’s society.

Steven Fields

Steven previously served as a Senior Consultant at Cramer & Associates, specializing in nonprofit executive leadership and development from 2020-2022.  Prior to joining Cramer, he served eighteen years as Vice President, Director of Community Engagement for Huntington Bancshares, Inc. As a member of Huntington’s Community Engagement Department, he worked intimately with Huntington’s Corporate Giving and Community Involvement programs.  

 

Steven received a Bachelor of Animal Science degree from The Ohio State University and a Master of Marketing and Communications degree from Franklin University. Steven also earned certification in Corporate Community Involvement from the Boston College Center for Corporate Citizenship and is a graduate of Leadership Columbus. Before joining Huntington, he was a faculty member of the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, specializing in youth development in Hamilton County, Tennessee.

 

Steven is actively involved with several nonprofit, educational, and collegiate organizations including serving as a board member for The Catholic Foundation, and DownSyndrome Achieves.

 

He has received several awards and recognition for his community involvement. Steven was selected as a Columbus Business First 40 Under Forty member 2009. He received the St. Vincent Family Center Corcoran Award for Charity and Social Justice 2017. Most recently, Steven led the successful fundraising campaign for the new Choices for Victims of Domestic Violence shelter in Columbus.

 

 

Charles L. Kissling, CPA

Chuck has been with Tucker, Kissling & Associates since 1973. A graduate of the University of Toledo, he received his Bachelor of Science in Business with a major in accounting in 1973. He is a Certified Public Accountant and is licensed to practice in Ohio. He has been in public accounting for over forty years.

 

Chuck is a member of the Ohio Society of Public Accountants and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. He is an active Rotarian and is the Finance Chairman of his church. Chuck spends much of the year in Florida but returns to Ohio each spring during tax season to serve his long-time clients. He serves as Assistant Treasurer for the Foundation.

 

James D. Edwards

Mr. Edwards graduated from Ohio University in 1970 with a degree in Chemical Engineering. He was employed by Burgess and Niple, a nationally recognized consulting engineering firm where he managed the industrial, structural, mechanical, and electrical engineering and architectural groups. He was an owner of the firm for 22 years. 

A guest speaker at Ohio University, Purdue University, Bucknell University, and the Columbus and Cleveland Bar Associations, Jim also held public service committee appointments by former Ohio Governor Voinovich and Columbus Mayors Lashutka and Coleman.

He is a member of the Ohio University Russ College Academy of Distinguished Graduates and is a current member of the Ohio University Russ College Board of Visitors and of the Ohio University Inn. He is an emeriti member of the Ohio University Foundation board and is the past board chair of Finish Line Ministries and of the Worthington Christian PTF Endowment Fund. He was one of the founding members of Jasmine Avenue Holdings, LLC, who produced the EMMY Award winning film “Searching for Augusta”. He also has served as an advisor for the Chiwy Foundation since its founding. He serves as Treasurer for the Foundation.

 

James Hilborn is a retired Partner in an international human resources consulting company, where he served as the Managing Partner for their Pittsburgh, PA office.  He holds a B.A. Degree from Ohio Wesleyan University and is a Chartered Life Underwriter from the American College of Underwriters.  He has served as Chair of the Greater Pittsburgh Employee Benefit Council. Since his retirement in 2005, Jim has continued to provide human resource consulting services to small businesses.  Jim brings the perspective of professional management and service to the Augusta Chiwy Foundation Board.

 

Brian Dunhill is co-founder and Managing Director of Dunhill Financial, whose headquarters is in Brussels, Belgium. He holds an MBA from the University of San Francisco and a BSBA from the University of Central Florida. He is an Accredited Asset Management Specialist and has work experience with several major banking and investment companies. Brian is Vice President of the American Club of Brussels.  He is a respected member of the Brussels business community and brings a European perspective to the Augusta Chiwy Foundation Board..

 

Michael O’Neil is a professional educator with 33 years of classroom experience teaching history to middle school students.  Mike has a B.A. in Education from The Ohio State University and has completed additional graduate studies at The Ohio State University, Cedarville University and Grace College. Mike was selected “Teacher of the Year” by a vote of his professional peers. He is a Guardian for Honor Flight Columbus and works for Prodigy Travel as a guide for trips to Washington, DC.  Mike is a founding member of the Board of Directors for Finish Line Ministries, an international mission organization. He brings to the Foundation the perspective of teaching and learning needs for middle school children.

 

Otis Winston is Owner and CEO of Fo’CUSED Productions a video production company. He has been featured in the TV sitcom The Game and movies including “Oz the Great and Powerful” and “Think Like a Man2.” He is presently filming an hour-long weekly drama entitled “School of Hard Knocks.” Otis has a B.A. from The Ohio State University. While at OSU he was Captain of the Men’s Basketball team and a four-time Big Ten Champion and two-time All American in the high jump. He still holds the high jump record at The Ohio State University. His motto--Never Allow Your Talent to Take You Where Your Character Can’t Keep You—drives him to continue to excel. He is girls track coach at New Albany, Ohio High School. Otis brings a deep perspective on youth and racial issues to the Foundation.

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