Joellen Heatherly’s interest in local philanthropy helped lead her to service on the board of the Tipp City Foundation.

A Tipp City native, Heatherly participated in her first foundation board meeting in March.

“For some time now, I have routinely contributed to a variety of the funds linked to the Tipp City Foundation and believe firmly in supporting philanthropy locally.” Heatherly said. “Tipp City is a big part of my past and I hope to invest in a more inclusive future while retaining our small-town appeal.”

Heatherly said she sees herself working as a connector to bring people and resources together where it makes sense.

“I also consider myself to be a ‘big picture’ thinker who respects those who plan ahead and foresee how the decisions we make today impact future generations. I have good common sense, the ability for critical thinking and can conduct myself respectfully, even with difficult people,” she said.

She has focused her career in the area of public service, specifically adults with disabilities. Heatherly retired in 2019, then re-entered the workforce the same year. She now works for the State of Ohio as a vocational counselor, assisting people with developmental disabilities get jobs in their communities.

After serving four years on the Tipp City Exempted Village Schools Board of Education, Heatherly chose not to seek re-election last fall. After that high profile service, she said she “was searching for healthy functioning outlets to share my strengths.”

“The Tipp City Foundation is a community minded group of people with diverse values who seek to invest in Tipp City and the people who reside in surrounding communities. I have volunteered with several local nonprofits in Tipp City and also Miami and Montgomery County,” Heatherly said.

She is married to Jim Heatherly. Both are active in the Tipp City schools and the community. Jim Heatherly owns his own business and is a former football coach and umpire assignor in the area.

Both of their adult children graduated from the Tipp City schools. Their daughter is a Montessori teacher in Tennessee and their son is a medical cannabis cultivator in Dayton.

She said family and friends have inspired her willingness to give back to the community.

“My parents and in-laws were role models for civic inclusion and volunteerism. I also credit my high school civics teacher-turned lawyer, Tom Cochran; my professional mentor, Sue Curtis; and consider several past school board members as mentors,” Heatherly said.

She said she would also like people to know that, ‘I am proud of our community and the residents who want better for current and future generations.”

By Nancy Bowman

Sometimes a young person’s life involves more than what people see.

For area high school seniors who may have taken time away from school and extra activities to help care for a family member during a time of medical crisis, there’s the Life’s a Journey Don’t Stop Believing Scholarship.

This $1,000 scholarship was established in 2013 through the Tipp City Foundation by Kelley Seto Andary with the first scholarship awarded in 2014.

“Years ago at our restaurant, we had a young man that worked for us at Harrison’s in Tipp City. He was an excellent employee. And then, all of the sudden, he started calling off work, showing up late, exhausted etc.” Andary said. “We found out that his step-mom was going through treatments and he had to do more things at home to help the family. We almost let him go because we thought he didn’t want to work!”

With that experience in mind, Andary said the desire arose to create a scholarship that acknowledged high school seniors that maybe had to give up some things that kids do in order to be there for a loved one.

“Our scholarship is HEART-based…we don’t look at grades, extracurriculars… We felt that these kids get passed over for some of these scholarships because they could not always worry about studying for exams or making all the practices to be a part of group,” she said.

High school seniors in Miami, Greene and Montgomery counties are eligible for the scholarship. Students must be nominated for the scholarship, with nominations often coming from teachers, said Lisa Reynolds of The Troy Foundation. Students should be planning to continue their education at any college, university, trade or technical school.

“I send it (scholarship details) out to all the high schools in the counties and recommend that the information be shared with teachers and counselors, because sometimes they are more aware of these everyday rock stars,” Reynolds said. “It is one of my personal favorite scholarships although it is bittersweet knowing the student had suffered a rough time and more than likely lost a loved one in the process, but maintained their grades and attendance during the process.”

To nominate a student or for more information, visit The Troy Foundation’s website at thetroyfoundation.org and complete the nomination instructions found under the “Scholarship” tab and the Scholarships Available under Life is a Journey tab. Nominations for this year’s scholarship are due March 18.

“Our goal is to acknowledge those kids that made sacrifices and they go above and beyond for their family and/or loved ones.  We wanted to leave a legacy of our efforts and a fully funded scholarship via the Tipp City Foundation was the perfect vehicle for us to do so,” Andary said.

Andary started working or her families’ restaurants following college graduation in 1993. She opened Harrison’s Restaurant in downtown Tipp City in 2005, serving as general manager until 2014. She now is with the Blue Berry Café in Bellbrook.

By Nancy Bowman

The Rides to Work program has been helping those who need a hand getting to work in Troy and Tipp City since 2013.

The nonprofit organization is a program of the Miami County Continuum of Care, an organization of more than 30 agencies that collaborate to address the needs of homeless and lower income people in the county.

Since its beginning, the service has provided more than 36,000 rides to more than 1,000 individuals, said Jim Taylor, Rides to Work program director. In 2020, 1,149 of those rides were to Tipp City area residents.

The program expects to celebrate its 40,000^th ride in coming weeks and will be expanding the hours of available rides.

Among those helping fund the program are the Tipp City Foundation, which granted the program $2,500 last year, and The Troy Foundation.

Recently, the city of Troy awarded the program a $45,000 check from its American Rescue Plan Act, or ARPA funds, to help increase the number of rides as well as hours of service. The contribution also will allow for hiring an executive director to expand program awareness, raise more funds and work with Troy and Tipp City businesses to connect potential employees to employers.

Rides to Work today has three vans, four drivers and a program coordinator. Among employer destinations in Tipp City are Meijer and Trophy Nut.

Transportation has been identified for years as among the top needs in Troy and beyond – along with childcare and housing.

Rides to Work transportation is available Monday through Friday and accommodates rides to all three work shifts, Taylor said.

These rides are free until the rider receives their first paycheck. A $1 fee per ride then is charged for the next two weeks and $2 per ride starting in the third week.

The nominal fee is charged to encourage accountability and responsibility of clients.

The cost of providing rides is hard to compare with the long-term benefits to an individual, and beyond, Taylor said.

“What you don’t see is what it means to the family, the community,” he said. ”We have gotten letters saying how it makes a difference.”

“Few grants could have been more timely than our support for the Ride to Work program,” said Dr. Jim Ranft of the Tipp City Foundation. “This program helps hard working people remain in the work force at a time when employees are in high demand. We are fortunate the Miami County Continuum of Care fills this need.”

For more information on Rides to Work contact Taylor at 937-335-0448 extension 103.