Fund Governance & Investment
SESSION AND BOARD RESPONSIBILITY
Responsibility for the acquisition, management, investment and disbursement of endowment funds will be split between the Session and the Endowment Board as follows:
SESSION’S ROLE – Session nominates the Foundation Board members and in consultation with the Board determines how monetary grants from the endowment may be spent by considering ideas submitted by church staff and others annually.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS – the Foundation Board which is elected by the congregation is responsible for receiving, managing and disbursing the Foundation funds for the benefit of DHPC. For a specific list of the Board’s responsibilities, see this page.
INVESTMENT OF FUNDS
The Foundation Board has selected the Arizona Community Foundation (ACF) to manage the investment of endowment and other funds. Established in 1978, ACF manages over $500 million dollars in funds that provide tax advantaged giving options for thousands of Arizonians. For more information on ACF please see www.AZFoundation.org.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
The Board of Directors is composed of the following DHPC members who will be readily available to discuss any and all questions regarding the endowment.
David Bell is a retired retail executive with a BS in business ad-ministration from Illinois State University and an MBA from the University of Illinois. His career of 40 years was spent at six companies located in Illinois, Indiana, Connecticut, New York, Minnesota and Arizona. He has served on school boards and several church leadership positions in the past. As an elder at DHPC he has served as Finance Elder and chaired a fund raising drive for the mortgage and recently chaired the Dismissal Fund Drive at Desert Hills Presbyterian Church. Dave is a 2 year member and current President of the foundation board. He transferred membership to DHPC in 2001.
Ronald F. Larson, Attorney-at-Law and Certified Estate and Trust Specialist by the State Bar of Arizona with offices in Scottsdale and Sun City, is a practicing attorney concentrating in estate planning, probate and small business. An honor graduate of the University of Wyoming and ASU Law School (J.D., magna cum laude), Ron is an Accredited Estate Planner by the National Association of Estate Planners (NAEPC), a Martindale Hubbell AV rated lawyer, and is listed in The Bar Register of Preeminent Attorneys and in Southwest Super Lawyers and in Arizona’s Finest Lawyers. Ron is also a former President of the Central Arizona Estate Planning Council and of the Washington-based National Society of Tax Professionals (NSTP), where he acted as Technical Editor of The Federal Tax Alert and NSTP’s Estates, Trusts and Gift Tax Manual. Ron has served on the IRS Advisory Council and on various community boards throughout his career. Ron was a Judge of the Arizona Court of Military Appeals from 1993-2011.
Gary G. Gerlach has a professional background as a publisher, journalist, and corporate lawyer with over forty years of experience in law, business, and the media. A native Iowan, Gary graduated with a B.A from the University of Iowa (1963), and holds degrees in government and law from Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government and Harvard Law School (1970). Gary practiced law in Washington, D.C., at Arnold & Porter, a blue chip law firm specializing in corporate and communications law, and enjoyed a 12-year career as an officer and director of the Des Moines Register and Tribune Co., a diversified national media company that owned newspapers, radio and television stations. Gary’s community and charitable activities include service as President of the Iowa Public Television Foundation, President of the Des Moines Metro Opera, and a retired director of the University of Iowa Foundation. Gary is married to Dr. Karen A. Conner, a gerontologist and Professor Emeritus of Sociology at Drake University. Both Gary and Karen have been members of Desert Hills Church for two years.
Eddie is a retired business executive and consultant. His primary career focus was in human resources management where he served as VP, Human Resources for Robbins and Myers, an international industrial goods manufacturer, and as Senior Partner, Hewitt Associates, an international human resources consulting firm. Over the years he has been active in several non-profit/charitable activities holding officer level positions on several hospital boards and United Way, President of the Chaplaincy for the Homeless, and VP, Foothills Community Foundation. Following his retirement, Eddie graduated from ASU Law School and now provides free legal advice to elderly residents of Maricopa County through the Arizona Senior Citizens Legal Project. He served in the U.S. Army Reserves from 1958 to 1966 and has been a member of DHPC since 1992.
Allan has owned his own small business, had a 13 year career in corporate America with Sales, Marketing and Management experience at the regional and national levels for two international companies, and has been an Investment Advisor Representative/Financial Advisor since 2007. He holds both B.S. and M.B.A. degrees from Western Illinois University. He has over 90 total years of experience in not-for-profit leadership positions at the local, state and national levels. Some of these positions include serving one term as Deacon, one term as Trustee and three terms as Elder in the Presbyterian Church with chairmanships of Finance, Endowments, Memorials, Stewardship, and the Mission Study.
He served in the U.S. Army Reserves from 1967 to 1973. He is a relatively new resident of the area and has been a member of DHPC for two years.
Following graduation from the University of Wisconsin-Madison (School of Commerce, Finance, and Law School), John began his legal career in 1964. He had a general practice with emphasis on civil litigation and estate planning. He was elected a Circuit Court judge in Wisconsin and was the Chair of the Department of Justice & Public Policy at North Carolina Wesleyan College.
John served as an Elder and Clerk of Session at First Presbyterian in Wausau, Wisconsin and later as Clerk of Session at Crossroads Presbyterian in Mequon, Wisconsin. He has been the President of the Cedarburg Cultural Center and the first President of the Cedarburg Community Foundation. He has also served as the President of the Fellows of the Wisconsin Bar, the fund raising arm of the Wisconsin State Bar.
John and Dale joined DHPC in 2017 and recently retired from their law practice, giving them more time for their grandchildren, travel and photography.
John served as an Elder and Clerk of Session at First Presbyterian in Wausau, Wisconsin and later as Clerk of Session at Crossroads Presbyterian in Mequon, Wisconsin. He has been the President of the Cedarburg Cultural Center and the first President of the Cedarburg Community Foundation. He has also served as the President of the Fellows of the Wisconsin Bar, the fund raising arm of the Wisconsin State Bar.
John and Dale joined DHPC in 2017 and recently retired from their law practice, giving them more time for their grandchildren, travel and photography.
Lisa is a Certified Public Accountant with 35 years of experience in accounting and finance, specializing in SEC reporting and technical accounting research. She began her career as an audit manager with Deloitte & Touche and has worked for various publicly held companies, primarily in the senior living and real estate industries. Lisa graduated summa cum laude from Washington State University with a degree in business. She has been a member of DHPC since 2001 and has served as an Elder, Moderator of the Deacons, and member of the 2005 Pastor Nominating Committee.