By Melissa Jones—
MUNCIE, Ind. — Ball Brothers Foundation presented its annual Fisher Governance Award this year to Heather Williams, former board president of ecoREHAB. Williams was recognized with the award at Muncie-Delaware County Chamber of Commerce’s 127th Annual Meeting Celebration on Oct. 28.
The John W. and Janice B. Fisher Governance Award annually honors a non-profit board member in Delaware County for exemplary leadership, integrity, responsibility, and accountability.
“Heather Williams’s leadership of ecoREHAB does not follow the traditional constructs of board responsibilities,” Jason Haney, executive director of ecoREHAB, wrote in Williams’s nomination. “She has defined her role to fit the evolving needs of ecoREHAB, as it transformed from a Ball State University immersive learning class to a sustainable housing organization.”
During that transformation, the organization faced a void in leadership that threatened its viability. Recognizing this, Williams stepped up. Standing in as essentially “the unpaid executive director,” as board member Chris Allen said, she spearheaded the efforts to evaluate organizational structure, establish a new mission and vision centered on growth, and hire a new executive director.
“Heather’s strength is the fact that she leads by example in her commitment, passion, and plain hard work. She gets dirty, works behind the scenes, and always provides her honest opinion—and, at the same time, makes sure that it is the team at ecoREHAB, board and staff, who gets the credit.”— Chris Allen
Williams was always quick to recognize that she alone could not achieve all things. She recruited board members with diverse skillsets and was instrumental in forming relationships with foundations and partner organizations, all of which helped to ensure ecoREHAB was situated for sustainable growth.
Williams attended the Lilly School of Philanthropy’s training on fundraising for small nonprofits and used insight from the program to develop an annual fundraiser and an annual giving campaign. She also built intentional relationships with local foundations, and her grant-writing support helped to secure more than $750,000 in funding.
“From the beginning, Heather has shown her willingness to learn from experts in the field to acquire and polish the skills needed to strengthen ecoREHAB,” Haney wrote. “[Her] passion and belief in the power of people is what makes Heather Williams a natural leader both for ecoREHAB and our community.”
As Williams has said, “People have power, and when they gather together to exercise that power to affect change, they will make a difference.”
In recognition of Williams’s exceptional leadership and governance, ecoREHAB will be granted $10,000 for operations or further board training. Additionally, Williams will receive a specially designed award hand-crafted by Brent Cole, associate professor of art at the Marilyn K. Glick Center for Glass at Ball State University.
This year, Ball Brothers Foundation received 11 nominations for the Fisher Governance Award. In recognition of the outstanding volunteer contributions made by each of these nominated board members—particularly during this exceptionally challenging year—the foundation awarded a $500 grant to each organization that submitted a nomination.
Previous recipients of the John W. and Janice B. Fisher Governance Award include:
- Ron Fauquher, Innovation Connector (2020)
- James Rosema, Muncie Mission Ministries (2019)
- Leigh Edwards, Muncie Civic Theatre (2018)
- John Craddock, Community Enhancement Projects (2017)
- Ron Orebaugh, Delaware County Soil & Water Conservation District (2016)
- Juli Metzger, Project Leadership and Boys & Girls Clubs of Muncie (2015)
- Pat Botts, Greater Muncie, IN Habitat for Humanity (2014)
- Nancy Turner, Muncie Public Library (2013)
- Jeff Parsons, Youth Opportunity Center (2012)
- Teresa Willman, Cardinal Greenway, Inc. (2011)
About Ball Brothers Foundation
Ball Brothers Foundation is one of the state’s oldest and largest family foundations. Annually, the foundation makes approximately $8 million in grants to support arts and culture, education, the environment, health, human services, and public affairs. The Muncie-based private foundation gives priority to projects and programs that improve the quality of life in the foundation’s home city, county, and state.
