LAEF Committees

The LAEF gets its work done because of the dedication of its volunteers. Some come forward to offer their goods, services, expertise, and/or manpower when the LAEF is conducting a project or other special event. You will find a variety of interesting non-financial, in-kind grants that are the results of some of these volunteer’s efforts listed in our grant section. Other members of our community find the time to serve as members of the LAEF board of directors. Each board member sits on at least one standing committee. Listed below are the committees with a description of their purpose and how they function.

Finance Committee
Chair: Rich Tettemer
The Finance committee has the responsibility of looking after all the financial affairs of the LAEF, from paying the bills, banking all our hard earned money and providing the board with monthly updates as to our assets and expenditures over the year. Our financial year starts on July 1 to match the school year, so towards the end of every year, as a non-profit 501 (c)(3) charitable organization, we file annual reports with both the IRS and State of New Jersey.

Fundraising Committee
Chair: Audrey Frankowski
In order to provide the children of our community with innovative programs to enhance and enrich their educational experience, LAEF's Fundraising Committee coordinates a variety of activities that generate the monies that help turn teacher-generated grants into reality. Over the years these activities have taken various forms as diverse as used book sales, computer raffles, digital book sponsorship and all-truffle dinners! Most recently LAEF fund-raising efforts have focused on four activities:

Annual Fall Wine-Tasting in which vendors present and discuss a variety of wines, and participants can also enjoy hors d'oeuvres and dessert. This intimate event provides a wonderful evening out for a good cause while joining in with other Lambertville, New Hope, Stockton and West Amwell LAEF friends and supporters.

The Friends of the LAEF fund-raising mailing serves two purposes. The first is to inform our previous supporters as to what we?ve been doing over the course of the last year for the children of our schools. The second is to infuse the LAEF coffers with monies so that we can continue to respond to teachers? grant requests through the fall and winter.

The Spring Auction Benefit is the primary source of income that has allowed the LAEF to be able to take on projects that really make an impact, such as the delivery of portable computers to LPS, WA and SHRHS over the past few years. During this wonderful night out participants can bid in live and silent auctions and obtain works of art donated by many of the area?s best artists, wares from local specialty stores, gift certificates to area restaurants and inns, and lots more! At this annually sold-out event our guests also enjoy the spectacular culinary delights served up by the owners and chefs of many of the areas finest restaurants.

The Trenton Thunder ?fun-raising? outing is really more fun, than fund raising. It provides an opportunity for the parents, children and other members of the Lambertville, Stockton, and West Amwell communities to join together at the ballpark and raise a little money for the LAEF. During the game, the Lambertville-West Amwell Youth Baseball & Softball Association players are invited to take the field with the Thunder players, our superintendents throw out the ceremonial first pitch, and the SHRHS vocal ensemble which entertains the crowd outside the stadium before the game, sings the national anthem, while the SHRHS color guard presents the American flag. The vocal ensemble then sings ?Take Me Out to the Ball Game? during the seventh inning stretch.

The Fundraising Committee also explores new avenues for securing funding, such as corporate sponsorship, for the foundation's ongoing mission of providing our children with the finest educational opportunities. The committee generates the LAEF Enewsletter in conjunction with the Public Relations Committee.

Nominating Committee
Chair: Kathy Ferry
The Nominating Committee has two main functions. The first is to recruit new board members, as they are needed, while maintaining appropriate representation from all four school districts. The second is to nominate officers at the Foundation?s annual election. For detail on how the committee nominates new board members, see our Policies and Procedures.

If you are interested in becoming a board member you may also contact LAEF directly. Please see our Policies and Procedures for the foundation?s expectations for its board members.

Program Committee
Chair: Audrey Frankowski
The Program Committee is LAEF's reason for being...it is how we spend the money on the wonderful programs for our students and bring to life those great ideas put forth by our dedicated teachers. The Program Committee is comprised of subcommittees for Lambertville Public School, Stockton Borough School, West Amwell Elementary School, South Hunterdon Regional High School, and Transition (Lambertville, Stockton & West Amwell 6th grades, plus 7th and 8th grades at SHRHS). The chairperson of each subcommittee serves as the LAEF?s contact person to that particular school.

Teachers present the subcommittees with an idea for a project, a program or a piece of equipment on a user-friendly grant proposal form that lists funding criteria. This is the way the vast majority of grants are generated. However, on some occasions the subcommittee may propose an idea to teachers for their consideration. After careful examination and upon successful determination that the grant meets the goals of LAEF and needs of area students, it is brought before the full LAEF board for a vote. If the motion to fund the grant passes, the teacher is notified, monies are then distributed to the respective superintendent for disbursement, and the implementation of the grant begins. For a listing of LAEF in-kind and monetary grants please click here. For a more technical understanding of the LAEF procedures for processing grants, please see the appropriate section of the LAEF Policies and Procedures.

Program Subcommittee: Lambertville Public School Committee
Chair: Holly Schnell-McAndrew

Program Subcommittee: South Hunterdon Regional High School
Chair: Dana Kurtbek

Program Subcommittee: Stockton Borough School
Chair: Tracy Giannattasio

Program Subcommittee: West Amwell School Committee
Chair: Michelene Assad

Public Relations Committee
Chair: Phil Mackey
We recognize that in order for our community to continue supporting the LAEF, it is incumbent upon the LAEF to keep our friends and neighbors informed about our activities. The members of the Public Relations Committee work hard to plan and implement projects to maintain public awareness about various LAEF activities. Projects may include media releases and newspaper articles about forthcoming events, recently approved grants, programs held at the schools as a result of grants, new LAEF board members and other workings of the foundation such as up-coming fund raisers. The Pr Committee works in conjunction with the Fund Raising Committee in issuing the Enewsletter. The Public Relations Committee is also prepared to respond to requests for information from other education foundations and organizations, individuals, and the media. The last function of this committee is to update the Friends of the LAEF brochure with current grant activities.

Volunteers Committee
Chair: Kathy Ferry
If it weren?t for the members of our community who volunteer to help with various LAEF activities, very little would be accomplished. Fortunately, the LAEF has numerous friends and supporters who have offered their services over the years to help LAEF meet its goals. One particular place where the LAEF volunteers have always shown themselves to be great assets is our Annual Auction & Benefit Party. It is fair to say that our volunteers are the key to success of that event. They serve a variety of functions, such as helping obtain donations, soliciting advertising for the program book, transporting food and auction items, selling tickets and helping with decorating and set-up.

Our volunteers help with graphic design, grant writing, and even in offering their talents for educational programs in the schools. If you would like to discuss the possibility of becoming a volunteer for the LAEF, please contact us.

LAEF Representative to the LPS Board: Mike Hack
LAEF Representative to the SBS Board: Tracy Giannattasio
LAEF Representative to the SHRHS Board: Audrey Frankowski
LAEF Representative to the WAS Board: Nina Cally