Board chairman LaVon Ediger was given the title for 2012, allowing the ReUse It Center to receive $1,000 from the Foundation.
The ReUse It Center began with an inspiration to start a nonprofit business that would receive building material donations, sell the products, and give the proceeds to local and global charities. Ediger began formation of the center in May 2010 with a group from the First Mennonite Church of McPherson and opened the building at 1060 W. Kansas about a year later.
“He had the inspiration, a trusting creative intuition, good management skills, an ability to assess prospects of success, skill to find highly qualified volunteers, and a need to achieve goals,” his nomination form says. “His success has come from balancing his intuition with caution and being a very careful steward of time, volunteer help and financial resources.”
Once the award was announced, Ediger insisted his board members join him at the front of the room for equal recognition.
“To get a warm fire going, it first takes a spark to ignite,” he said after thanking the Foundation for its work in the community. “Then a fuel and a flame to provide warmth in a warm, cozy fire. I suppose I may have been the spark to initiate the fire of the ReUse It Center, but, and let me be very clear on this, the board of the ReUse It Center has been the fuel and the energy of this endeavor in this community.