GRAYS HARBOR COMMUNITY FOUNDATION

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Polson Museum

NELSON HIRED AS EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

 

When Sheri Nelson comes to work after Memorial Day weekend, she won't have to worry about any employees but herself.  That's because the former personnel supervisor for the new Sierra Pacific sawmill in Aberdeen will become the sole staff member of the Grays Harbor Community Foundation.
 
Nelson was hired last Thursday to become the second executive director of the 10-year-old, $6.8 million Community Foundation.  She was chosen by the Foundation's board from a field of seven applicants for the position.
 
Nelson will take over from Scott Larson, the Foundation's Executive Director since Oct 2001, who is leaving his position to get married on May 29th.  Larson will follow his wife, Noelle, to Rochester, Minnesota, where she will enter a five-year residency in orthopedic surgery at the Mayo Clinic.
 
"Sheri will take the lead at the foundation at a critical time," Larson, 27, said.  "In the last year, grants grew from $5,000 to $45,000, and we'll give $59,000 in scholarships to local students this year.  Many folks have heard our name, but most still don't know what we do.  Sheri's talents will help the Foundation grow and become a stronger source for good in Grays Harbor."
 
The Grays Harbor Community Foundation holds and manages individual funds for a variety of charitable purposes.  "The only thing all funds have in common is a focus on Grays Harbor County," Larson explained.  "Whether it's a scholarship for Hoquiam students, an endowment for an Elma nonprofit, or a grant-giving fund for all of Grays Harbor, each fund becomes part of the community foundation umbrella."
 
Nelson's job will encompass all day-to-day operations including processing of grant and scholarship applications, serving the board and committees, and engaging with the public and potential donors interested in giving to the Foundation. 
 
"I'm extremely excited to be selected," Nelson, 44, commented following the Foundation's announcement.  "The many facets of the Foundation lend themselves to both the current and future success of Grays Harbor.  To be part of it's growth now is a tremendous opportunity and privilege for me."
 
Nelson worked as personnel supervisor for Sierra Pacific from the initial construction of the new sawmill in Junction City.  Responsible for hiring and handling all personnel matters for more than 150 mill employees, Nelson probably won't exercise her human resources skills much in her new job.  When not in meetings or beating the pavement raising funds, she'll be working solo in the foundation's office in downtown Hoquiam. 
 
Nelson's past positions include work in counseling, sales, marketing, and law.  She holds a bachelor's degree from Linfield College.
 
"Sheri is especially well qualified to lead our foundation while it's still young and growing," offered Frank Larner, the current president of the foundation who helped start the organization with attorney Gladys Phillips in 1994.  "She has amazing energy and gave us no doubt about her eagerness to take the job.  We expect great things from her."
 
Nelson won't be the only executive director in her home.  Her husband, Gary, has been at the helm of the Port of Grays Harbor since April of 2000.  They have three children, Ted, age 15, Travis, age 14, and Natalie, age 10.  Sheri says her husband "imported her from the midwest," where she was raised and still has family.  Gary's roots are closer to home, in Elma.
 
"We love living in Grays Harbor, and we're each excited to be involved in two dynamic and very important organizations," Sheri remarked.  "Grays Harbor has such wonderful potential."
 
Larson predicts great things for Nelson.  "As more and more people learn about and begin giving through the Community Foundation, the more the foundation will be able to give back to local communities," he stated.
 
"We're a permanent local institution, and when we benefit, all of Grays Harbor benefits," said Larson, who says he'll miss the opportunities he's had on the Harbor.  "But I'm pleased to hand off my work to someone so gifted as Sheri."
 
The Grays Harbor Community Foundation offers grants up to $5,000 to nonprofit organizations doing work in Grays Harbor County.  Scholarships are generally $1,000 apiece and are available only to graduates of high schools in Grays Harbor County and, in one case, Pacific County.  All application materials and further information is available online at www.gh-cf.org (including the hyphen).

 

 

 

 

 

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Grays Harbor Community Foundation is a tax-exempt public charity dedicated to serving the broad needs of Grays Harbor County in Washington State.  We are a member of the Council on Foundations; we have committed ourselves to the National Standards for U.S. community foundations; we are audited annually; and we consider ourselves accountable to the public upon whom we depend for support.

We thank Darrell Westmoreland, Kevin Hong, Ellen Pickell, and the Polson Museum for providing the photographs used in this website.  We'd like to showcase the work of more local photographers and artists on this website and in our publications.  Please contact us if you'd like to help. 

Mail:        707 J Street  |  P.O. Box 615  |  Hoquiam, WA  98550
Email:      info@gh-cf.org
Phone:     360.532.1600
Fax:         360.532.8111
Last modified: 01/11/06