Steve and Becky Skillman

“Steve and I are pleased and proud to have established the Steve and Becky Skillman Community Fund,” shared Becky. “No matter where life’s journey takes us, Lawrence County will always be home.”

Steve and Becky Skillman’s story is deeply rooted in Lawrence County, where they both grew up as “rural kids.” Steve graduated from Fayetteville High School, and Becky from Tunnelton High School. Their paths first crossed when Steve was 16 and Becky just 12. Steve worked after school carrying out groceries at Louden’s Supermarket, often helping Becky’s mother with her groceries while Becky tagged along. Years later, their friendship blossomed into romance, and they married in 1969. Their son, Aaron Burke Skillman, was born one day before their tenth anniversary.

Steve built a career in management at General Motors, retiring in 2006. A natural athlete, he played high school basketball and spent two decades playing slo-pitch softball. His true passion, however, is golf—he’s been “shooting his age” since turning 66.

Becky’s early involvement in 4-H sparked a lifelong interest in community service, politics, and government. At just 25, she won her first election and went on to serve Lawrence County for 16 years, followed by 12 years in the Indiana Senate and eight years as Indiana’s Lieutenant Governor. Becky broke multiple barriers, becoming the first woman elected as State Senator for District 44, the first woman in Senate Majority Leadership, and the first woman elected as Indiana’s Lt. Governor. Today, she continues her public service through board leadership and volunteer work, including with the Lawrence County Museum of History.

“We want to give back to the community that has been so supportive of our family. It was the wonderful and constant support of the people of Lawrence County that allowed me to pursue my passion for helping our smaller cities and towns and rural communities thrive and grow,” explained Becky. “We want the best quality of life for our friends, family, and all residents of Lawrence County. We know no better way to provide a lasting contribution than partnering with the Community Foundation. Although we may know the needs of the community today, we trust the Community Foundation to understand and address the needs of tomorrow.”

Wilbur C. Dollens

Wilbur C. “Web” Dollens grew up in Lawrence County. He spent his adult life in Indianapolis where he worked for more than 30 years in pharmaceutical sales for McNeil Laboratories. In planning his estate, Mr. Dollens’ first concern, of course, was his wife, Eileen. But he also wanted to help the community where he grew up.

In early 1992, Mr. Dollens’ advisor reached out to Reverend Stephen Braden explaining that Mr. Dollens was considering making a large gift to Lawrence County and encouraged creating a community foundation to receive the gift.  In response, a small group of community minded individuals led by Rev. Braden, founding board president, established the Lawrence County Community Foundation.

With the formation of Community Foundation complete, Mr. Dollens established the Wilbur C. Dollens Charitable Remainder Trust, the first planned gift of LCCF. His wife, Eileen, was listed as the primary beneficiary. The Lawrence County Community Foundation was named as the remainderman of the trust.

Mr. Dollens passed away in 1993. Mrs. Dollens benefited from the trust until her death in 2005. After her death, the remaining funds were bequeathed to LCCF to establish the Wilbur C. Dollens Fund for Community Grants, an unrestricted, permanent endowment fund held by LCCF.

By designating the Lawrence County Community Foundation as the remainderman of his Charitable Remainder Trust, Mr. Dollens knew that the financial resources he worked hard to acquire would benefit his community…our community, forever.  He could have specified a particular charitable organization to receive distributions from his gift, but he preferred to allow the LCCF Board of Directors to make that decision each year based on the community’s current needs.

Through thoughtful planning Mr. Dollens was able to provide for his wife and benefit Lawrence County for generations to come. Mr. Dollens’ legacy, however, is not only the permanent, unrestricted endowment he established, but the creation of the Community Foundation itself. He helped create an avenue for other charitable individuals to leave their legacies in our community. We are so thankful to Mr. Dollens for his generosity and commitment to helping Lawrence County prosper.

Brandi Weyer

Brandi Weyer’s first encounter with a community foundation was the Spencer County Community Foundation. When she worked as the Communications Director for the Lincoln Amphitheater, they applied for and received grants from the Community Foundation. As a result, she knew the Community Foundation as a granting organization but had no idea how it worked. 

When she started her career with WBIW, she became acquainted with the Lawrence County Community Foundation (LCCF) and its campaign. She now understood that the Community Foundation could award grants because of the generosity of local donors who gave to LCCF. Furthermore, those gifts would impact the community for many generations because they were invested in permanent endowments. At that time, Brandi was in her early 30s and starting to think about ways to give back to the community. She had limited funds and wasn’t sure where to start. Then she thought about the Community Foundation. “With the Community Foundation, it warmed my heart knowing my $30 per month investment, what I could afford at that time, would benefit many local nonprofits and help meet the community’s immediate and future needs. The Community Foundation has the pulse of the community and understands what the needs are in real time, year after year,” explained Brandi. 

As Brandi became more involved with the Lawrence County Community Foundation, serving on the PR Committee and eventually as a Board member, her admiration for LCCF’s good work deepened. She knew that when she could, she would create her own community fund with LCCF. 

Even though Brandi isn’t from Lawrence County and doesn’t live in Lawrence County, she still wants to support Lawrence County as it is the community where she built her career. The people and business owners of Lawrence County have welcomed her with open arms and have trusted her to help them market their businesses. As a result, she wants to leave a lasting, positive impact on the community that has treated her so well and put food on her table and shelter over her head. 

Brandi shared “It’s my personality to not be just a survivor but a thriver. So, I created the Thrive On Community Fund. I want this community to thrive in the same way it helped me thrive.” Brandi found the Community Foundation made it easy to set up her fund. She chose to establish an unrestricted fund because it will have the ability to support many organizations and a variety of community needs. And this support will continue forever.  “What I love about the Community Foundation,” said Brandi, “you can give $5 or $50,000! It doesn’t matter. You’ll be able to benefit the community where we live and work forever and in a number of ways.”

Joe & Sharon Collins

June 7, 2022, would have been Charles Eugene “Joe” and Sharon Collins’ 56th wedding anniversary.  Joe passed away in December 2019. Sharon Kay Collins was a resident of Autumn Trace Assisted Living in Bedford when she passed in April, 2022.

To honor and continue Joe and Sharon Collins’ strong legacy of community and charitable work, the Joe and Sharon Collins Community Fund was established by their children (Tammy, Kevin, Doug, and Debbie).  Tammy said, “my parents would want their giving to continue long after they have passed.  They were God-loving people and gave us kids everything, so we want to give back to those in need in their memory.   I definitely want their passion of serving to be remembered and, in fact, to be magnified in the future for the benefit of the community.” 

Joe and Sharon Collins were born in 1944 in Bauxite, Arkansas, and Kansas City, Missouri, respectively. They both spent a lifetime serving and caring for others.

Joe Collins was an athlete who played high school football, basketball, and tennis.  He went on to serve in the United States Navy during the Vietnam War on the USS Cunningham.  Upon return from active duty, Joe was employed with Reynolds Metals Company, which is now part of ALCOA. 

While raising his three kids, Joe could be found on the softball or baseball diamond coaching, or in the gym “coaching” from the bleachers.  He was an avid sports fan; the Chicago Bears and St. Louis Cardinals were his favorites.

Joe had a passion for sports and a passion for helping others. When he retired at the young age of 48, after having traveled to Nigeria to open a plant for ALCOA, Joe found himself serving others in a local soup kitchen in Hot Springs, Arkansas. He loved to cook as that was his job on the USS Cunningham.  He could host the best backyard picnics and was very creative with his food display.  He was always the church luncheon coordinator and when the local sports teams needed a meal, they could count him in. 

He always cared for the betterment of society. When a family needed assistance with their electric bills, completing their taxes, or just mowing their lawn, Joe would be there.  He was hard-working, dependable, caring, and most of all humorous. Joe would regularly tell jokes or stories that would grab your attention.

Sharon Collins spent her entire life serving others as well. She was a registered nurse, who paid her way through college while Joe was in the Navy. She began her career in the emergency room, transitioned to orthopedics, and, later in her career, worked in geriatrics. Sharon was a hard-working, proud, selfless, managerial supervisor for many years.

When not at work, Sharon could often be found in her sewing room. She made hundreds of quilts, afghans, Christmas stockings, and dish towels for friends, family, and complete strangers. She loved to use her talents and treasures to give to others.

During her employment with the Arkansas State Psychiatric Hospital, she was struck in the head by a patient and her then poor eyesight became progressively worse. In 1992, Sharon received the devastating diagnosis of legal blindness. Sharon retired after 25 years as she transitioned from caring for others to relying on others.

Sharon loved to worship her Lord Jesus Christ and could recite many passages from the Bible even after becoming legally blind because the words were cemented in her heart and mind.

Knowing how difficult it is to ask for help, seeing despair in family members, and witnessing orphaned children in need of bare necessities formed a forever helping hand attitude in Joe and Sharon Collins.  Although Joe never lived in Lawrence County and Sharon only lived here for the last eighteen months of her life, they knew the need for taking care of others exists in every community.  For Joe and Sharon, the gift of giving is not about the who or where, it is about the what.  The what is assisting others who just need help.  That is what the Joe and Sharon Collins Community Fund will do.

Harold "Mac" & Shirley McReynolds

To honor and continue "Mac" and Shirley McReynolds’ strong legacy of community and charitable work in Lawrence County, their son Mark established the Harold “Mac” and Shirley McReynolds Fund.

Mac and Shirley McReynolds moved to Bedford from Wisconsin in 1973.  Mac was a managerial Fisheries Biologist with the U. S. Forest Service in Milwaukee and had sought a transfer to southern Indiana where they had both grown up.

Mac was raised in Milan, Indiana. He attended the tiny Milan High School which won the Indiana High School Basketball Championship in 1954. This achievement is known as the “Milan Miracle.” Although Mac had already graduated by 1954, he was well acquainted with Bobby Plump and a few others from that Milan team. 

Shirley was a native of Orange County, Indiana. She attended grade school with Larry Bird’s father, Joe Bird. Upon their return to Indiana, Shirley was selected for a faculty position with the IU School of Business after having taught business subjects in high school for many years.  

During their working years in Bedford and Bloomington and after their retirement, they were very involved in the community and gave generously of their time.  Mac served for many years on the Board of Directors of the Lawrence County Museum of History.  He created the ongoing “Brain Games” project as a fundraiser for the Museum, and since the first Brain Games in 2002, it has continued to be a fun and successful fundraising event for the Museum.

Shirley served for many years on the Board of Directors of the Bedford Regional Medical Center, including several years as Chairperson. She served on the LCCF Board where she chaired the Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship selection committee for several years. She also held leadership positions in their church, Bedford First United Methodist Church. In 2006, Shirley received the LCCF “Walk with Excellence” award in the category of Business.

In 2001, Mac and Shirley organized a very successful Elderhostel program at Spring Mill. This program introduced visitors from all over the U.S. to the attractions of Lawrence County.

Shirley passed away in 2011 and Mac passed away in 2013. Their son Mark, an IT Project Manager in Bloomington, Illinois, established the Harold “Mac” and Shirley McReynolds Fund to honor his parents because, as he says, “the amount of effort and dedication that each of my parents put into the Lawrence County community and other charitable organizations was astounding, both to me and to their many friends and acquaintances.  They were fantastic people and great parents.  I definitely want their efforts to be remembered, and in fact to be magnified in the future, for the benefit of the local community.”

The Harold “Mac” & Shirley McReynolds Fund is a permanent, unrestricted endowment. It is permanently invested and will continue to fund grants in the community for many generations. Because it is an unrestricted fund, it can support programs and charitable organizations doing good work in many different areas and will fund local needs that might not be evident today but certainly will be in the future.

Through this fund, Mac and Shirley McReynolds’ dedication to their community is being magnified throughout Lawrence County and will be well into the future.

Dave Jacobs

Growing up in Bedford in the 1920s and 30s, Dave Jacobs learned early in life about the value of community and the importance of giving.  “We were always taught that this community is our home, and you need to participate in it and understand it and enhance its value by what you can do for it,” Jacobs said.  His parents led by their own example of community involvement.  Scouting reinforced the idea for this young man that he should “help other people at all times.” 

Jacobs continued to manage the business his father opened in 1909, Bedford Furniture Galleries.  And he carried on the family tradition of community involvement with gusto, until he passed away in 2020.  He volunteered for the local Boy Scouts council and the Lawrence County Community Foundation.  Jacobs also served on the boards of the North Lawrence Scholarship Foundation as well as the Lawrence County Historical and Genealogical Society.  He was active with public bodies like the City Plan Commission too. 

In addition to giving his time, Jacobs provided financial support for a variety of causes that spoke to his values.  Three endowment funds at the Community Foundation helped him achieve some of his charitable goals.  In 2000, he founded a designated fund for the Hoosier Trails Council of Boy Scouts.  Each year the Hoosier Trail Council receives a designated grant from the earnings of this fund.

Before that, in 1996, he started the Jacobs Family Fund, a donor advised fund. Mr. Jacobs has a strong respect for the environment and envisions this fund helping to protect the environment by funding a variety of projects, such as planting trees for clean air and preserving agricultural land.  “I’ve always appreciated the way American Indians feel about life. . . they were caretakers for the land,” he explains.  “We have wonderful natural resources here in Lawrence County, and we need to take care of them.” 

In 2016, Mr. Jacobs established the David Alan Jacobs Community Fund. This unrestricted fund has the versatility to meet a wide variety of community needs.

Mr. Jacobs said, "Whether I'm here or not, I want the community to be a strong community." Though this kind and generous man passed away in 2020, the permanent endowments he established will continue to grow and strengthen this community through the grants they fund generation after generation.