VERO BEACH — Two new directors have been elected to the board of the Indian River Community Foundation, a local nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the community through donor-driven philanthropy.
The new directors are long-time Vero Beach residents Lois Appleby, a retired financial advisor with Merrill Lynch, and Andrea Thurn, a partner in the accounting firm Morgan Jacoby Thurn Boyle and Associates. They were each elected in December to three-year terms.
A native of Vero Beach, Thurn graduated with high honors from the University of Florida with a bachelor’s degree in accounting. She is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Florida Institute of Certified Public Accountants. Thurn is a past president of the United Way of Indian River County Board of Directors and also served as a founding board member of the Boys and Girls Clubs of Indian River County. She has significant professional experience working with family foundations and has volunteered for three years on the finance committee for the Indian River Community Foundation.
Appleby is a Florida native, coming to Vero Beach from Palm Beach County. She is also a graduate of the University of Florida, having received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration. She was formerly Senior Vice President of Investments with Merrill Lynch, where she was a Million Dollar Producer for over ten years. She has held leadership positions with nearly a dozen local nonprofit organizations including the Vero Beach Museum of Art, the Environmental Learning Center, the VNA and Hospice Foundation and Impact 100.
Appleby said she was attracted to the Community Foundation because of the outstanding reputation of its board of directors, but also to have the opportunity to strengthen the quality of life in Indian River County through the foundation’s philanthropic work. Her professional work as a financial advisor gave her specific insight into helping donors achieve their philanthropic goals.
“I am not a fundraiser,” Appleby said, “but I enjoy being involved in helping people with strategies to achieve their philanthropic goals. For me, that is at the heart of the Community Foundation’s work.”
The Indian River Community Foundation began operating in 2008 and has since grown to hold over $10 million in assets, specifically restricted for charitable purposes. The foundation works with individual philanthropists, local advisors and community organizations to develop results-oriented strategies to achieve their charitable goals. For more information contact the foundation’s Executive Director, Kerry Bartlett, at (772) 492-1407 or visit www.ircommunityfoundation.com.
