by Dennis Dalman
editor@thenewsleaders.com
Catholic Charities recently appointed five new board members, two of whom are St. Joseph residents – Tamara Huesers and Darren Heying.
Heying is president and CEO of Sentry Bank. Huesers is an on-call social worker and community volunteer.
Catholic Charities is a non-profit organization that serves people and their needs in the St. Cloud Catholic Diocese, a 16-county area in central Minnesota.
“I am impressed,” Heying said, “by the number of programs offered by Catholic Charities and the breadth of the services provided to help those in need. Through my attendance at Catholic Charities’ benefit breakfasts and my wife’s experiences as a social worker, I am aware of the great work being done by Catholic Charities. By joining the board of directors, I feel I can provide assistance to ensure this great work continues.”
Huesers said she was humbled when she was asked if she wanted to serve on the board.
“I feel blessed,” she said, “to be asked to be part of the Catholic Charities’ Board. “The ability to hear, see, learn, participate and continue to inform our community of the multitude of resources that can be available to so many generations is humbling.”
The others chosen to serve on the board are Jill Smith of Sartell, the practice administrator for Sartell Pediatrics; Edith Hernandez-Fussy of Royalton, an attorney with the Hernandez Law Firm; and Fr. Glenn Krystosek, pastor for the Church of St. Louis in Paynesville.
There are 16 members on the Catholic Charities’ Board for 2016. Other than the five mentioned above, they are: Gary Bechtold of St. Joseph; Norm Hansen of St. Joseph; Sarah Jane Nicoll of Sartell (secretary/treasurer), Todd Zaun of Sartell (vice president), Kathleen Bernick of Rice; Marjorie Hawkins of St. Cloud, Jean Juenemann of St. Cloud (Order of St. Benedict), Jane Marrin of St. Cloud (chancellor), Andrew Steil of St. Cloud (president) and Clara Stang of Little Falls. Steven P. Bresnahan of Stanton is the executive director of the organization.
The St. Cloud-based Catholic Charities stems all the way back to when the St. Cloud Diocese was formed in 1857 when care of children and support for families and individuals was a high priority under the Benedictine mission.
Its work throughout the years included care of orphans and those whose parents for one reason or another just could not take care of them.
In its mission or care of children, it also merged in 1980 with the St. Cloud Children’s Home, founded in 1953. Later care for children included intensive treatment for children with behavioral problems, including places in St. Cloud and Fergus Falls.
Catholic Charities provides a vast array of services and help under the needs of emergency services, family and children, housing, mental health, senior health and wellness, adoption services and the Catholic Charities Food Shelf for residents in Sartell, Sauk Rapids, St. Cloud, St. Augusta and Waite Park.