A Tribute to Tom Brown and Steve Rugg

Jan 2020

There are many reasons to love the Champaign-Urbana community.  Not least among them are residents who are willing to devote their time and talents to further the goals of organizations in which they strongly believe. Tom Brown and Steve Rugg are two individuals who will always be tied to the history of the Urbana Parks Foundation.  They were among the handful of people who helped organize the Foundation then stepped up to join the inaugural board of trustees when the Foundation was formally incorporated in 2007.  They have served with distinction since that time, finally leaving the board in December 2019 after 12 years of dedicated service, the maximum allowed under the Foundation’s bylaws.

From the very beginning of his time on the board Tom served as an officer, first as President, then as Treasurer.  In that position, he kept an eye on the Foundation’s assets and oversaw the growth of those assets from their modest beginnings of only a few thousand dollars in the first years, to $1.2 million in 2019.

Steve Rugg also started in a leadership position, beginning his service by taking on the responsibilities of vice president.  When the then-president left the board in April 2012, Steve stepped up as president, a position he held for two years.  In 2014 he resumed his role as vice president, but took on the responsibility of chairing the Foundation’s Fundraising Committee, a committee formed when the Foundation launched a major $2 million capital campaign.

Although leaving the board, both Tom and Steve will continue to serve the Urbana Parks Foundation.  Tom will continue as a member of the Finance Committee and Steve will continue as chair of the Fundraising Committee.

On behalf of the Foundation I would like to thank Tom and Steve for their support of Urbana Parks through more than a decade of service on the board of the Urbana Parks Foundation.  Their service has benefited not only our Foundation, but the Urbana Park District and more broadly the entire Champaign-Urban community.                  

Thank you, Tom and Steve!

Fred Delcomyn
President
Urbana Parks Foundation