Friends of Lake Panorama is governed by a volunteer, seven-member board of directors. The board held its 2020 organizational meeting December 2.
Two new members were appointed to the board. Jim Tibbles will complete the final year of Dave Furbush’s three-year term. Furbush, who has his Lake Panorama home on the market, resigned from the board in December. He has been a member of the Friends board since December 2014, and had served several years as vice president.
Tibbles and his wife Julie have owned property at Lake Panorama since 2012, and moved here from Perry as full-time residents in 2014. Tibbles was raised near St. Louis, and graduated from Northeast Missouri State University in Kirksville. After graduation, Tibbles spent four years working in Des Moines in public accounting. The family moved to Perry in 1983 when he joined Osmundson Mfg. Co. Tibbles retired from full-time work at Osmundson at the end of 2018, and currently works as a consultant. The couple has three adult children and three grandchildren.
The other new member of the Friends board is Galen Johson, who was appointed to a new three-year term. He replaces Bob McCleeary, who had served on the board since it was founded six years ago.
Johnson and his wife Pam have owned property at Lake Panorama since 2008, and built a new home in 2014. Galen and Pam both were raised in Nebraska. Johnson earned bachelor’s and master’s of science in engineering degrees at Wayne State College. He was a teacher and administrator in the Des Moines Public Schools for 30 years. He later was director of the Midwest Region for the College Board from 2000 to 2004, and Midwest Region Director and Assistant Vice President for ACT—the Iowa-based testing company—from 2004 to 2016. He retired in 2017. The couple has three adult children and six grandchildren.
Two current board members were reappointed to new three-year terms. They are Jan Reinicke, who has served on the board since 2013, and John Muenzenberger, who has been on the board for one year.
In officer elections, Reinicke was elected president, Muenzenberger vice president, and Emily Spradling secretary-treasurer. Other board members are Jody Muench and Tricia Steffen. Susan Thompson is the non-profit’s executive director.
The Friends of Lake Panorama’s current priority project is raising $70,000 for playground equipment, to be split evenly between Boulder and Shady beaches. No LPA funds are available for this project led by Friends. A sign recognizing all donors of $500 or more will be installed near both playgrounds, with those donors also recognized on the Friends website.
A Beach Ball fundraising event, similar to ones held in 2016 and 2017, is scheduled for Saturday, April 18, 2020, with all proceeds going to this playground project. The planning committee is seeking 30 table sponsors, for a $125 donation. Meal tickets will be $40, with half of that cost a donation.
Donated items for both live and silent auctions and a raffle also are being sought. More specific details on this event will be available in the coming months. But for now, anyone interested in sponsoring a table or donating an item can send details or ask questions by sending an email to staff@friendsoflakepanorama.org.
By December 6, more than $5,500 had been donated to the playground project. More tax-deductible donations are anticipated before the December 31 deadline for 2019 tax filing purposes.
Donations can be made by checks payable to Friends of Lake Panorama, and mailed to Friends of Lake Panorama, PO Box 488, Panora, IA 50216. Donations also can be made by credit card on the Friends website at friendsoflakepanorama.org.
Donations of securities (stocks, mutual funds, etc.) are welcome, as are direct IRA qualified charitable distributions—for donors over age 70 ½ that are required to take forced IRA distributions. There are potential tax-saving benefits when considering either of these direct donation strategies. For information, contact Kristen Crouthamel, financial advisor at GCSB Investment Center, at 641-755-2799 or kristen@investgcsb.com.
If donors prefer to direct their charitable contribution to another Friends project, donations can be designated to Sunset Beach, the Friends general fund, or golf course beautification at either Lake Panorama National or Panorama West. Money donated to these funds will be used for targeted projects approved by the Friends board.
Friends of Lake Panorama has a Facebook page. Those interested in keeping up-to-date about Friends fundraising and activities are asked to “like” and “share” the Friends page on Facebook.