Board of Directors

Jeff Koonce
Chair

Jeff brings more than 20 years of banking management experience to the ITNBluegrass board. He is currently Market CEO of Cumberland Valley National Bank, which serves Fayette and most contiguous counties and which is also a charter business member of ITNBluegrass. Jeff is and has been involved in numerous non-profit boards, so we are lucky to have him! Besides serving as our chair, he is vice chair and chairman elect for 2009 for the board of REACH (Resources, Education and Assistance for Community Housing), a consortium of organizations who help low- and moderate-income Central Kentuckians become first-time home buyers. He is also on the local board of the American Heart Association and served for three years as board chair for a private Christian school.

Jeff's work with elders includes five years of teaching computer literacy through a county adult education program.

Miles Phelps
Vice Chair

Miles has several years of experience working with elders as coordinator of Lexington's Community Action Council's Retired Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP) since 2003. In this role, he recruits and places volunteers from ages 55-90, forms partnerships with nonprofit organizations (over 90 now), and he has created a network of over 400 local businesses for volunteer recruitment. He also plans an annual recognition event, orientations and quarterly social gatherings for more than 500 volunteers.

Prior to his work with Community Action, Miles worked with teenagers at the Salvation Army (Lexington) and the Greater Dallas Boys & Girls Clubs. He is president of the Central Kentucky Association of Volunteer Administrators and a member of the Bluegrass Young Professionals of Aging. He is also an ordained minister through New Horizons Church International and serves as an associate minister with New Horizons Church in Lexington.

Donna Baker
Secretary

Donna retired from Lexmark International (a printer manufacturer) in 2000 after 34 years of service, the majority of them in management, including Selectric typewriter manufacturing, electronic board assembly, production control for printer manufacturing and transitioning of warranty and service parts operations from IBM to Lexmark during its leveraged buyout in 1991. Most recently she served as manager of Lexmark's Worldwide Service Parts Operations, which included engineering support, forecasting, pricing, distribution, inventory management and customer sales for all service parts.

Even though Donna is retired, she is in no way retiring! She is a professional drag racing enthusiast and at one time used to drag race herself. She also displays her 1948 red Ford pickup "street rod" at car shows. Donna says that she loves solving problems, enjoys giving back to her community and "likes older people even better than babies," so ITN is a great fit for her!

William H. Fortune, J.D.
Board Member

Bill has been affiliated with the University of Kentucky's College of Law since 1969 and a full professor since 1981. He specializes in civil procedure, criminal law, criminal procedure, evidence and professional responsibility. Bill has co-authored several books, including "Wrightsman's Psychology" and "The Legal System," now in its sixth edition.

In addition to his work at the university, Bill has volunteered his services as a mediator with the Mediation Center of Kentucky and as a pro bono lawyer for the Kentucky Bar Association. He also was incorporator and first president of Central Kentucky Legal Services, which provides legal help for low-income people. Bill is an avid cyclist. He commutes to work by bike and rides recreationally.

Roger Parry
Board Member

A licensed nursing home administrator for more than thirty-five years, Roger has worked with elders in nursing homes, assisted living facilities and retirement communities. In 1969, Roger opened and operated Mayfair Manor, a 98-bed skilled nursing facility in Lexington, and in 1985, opened and managed Mayfair Village, a retirement apartment community in the same city. Director positions at two church-affiliated continuing care retirement communities later took him to North Carolina and Virginia, but he is back in Kentucky and until recently, served as interim administrator of Cambridge Place Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Lexington. Other activities through the years include delivering Meals on Wheels and building homes for elders through Habitat for Humanity.

Emma Tibbs
Board Member

A self-described "neighborhood activist," Emma is interested in serving as a positive community force by bringing neighborhood issues before the public and before the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government. As a recipient of a Daily Points of Light Award in 2000 (awarded by the Points of Light Foundation), she was recognized for her volunteer work as president of the Fayette County Neighborhood Council, an umbrella organization of county neighborhood associations. Her achievements in this role included a Sewer Study of sanitary sewer overflows in Fayette County and a resulting health department pamphlet for safe cleanup; the institution of a Mediation Ordinance for Lexington; and the formation of the Community Police Action Committee, a board of citizens that fosters cooperation between the public and the police.

Emma continues her involvement with the Fayette County Neighborhood Council as a board member and also serves on the board of Fayette Alliance, which is concerned with preserving Central Kentucky's agricultural and equine industries. At one time she served as neighborhood coordinator of Lexington's Aging in Place Initiative and says she is interested in aging issues as her mother worked until she was 84 but never drove! Before her work with neighborhoods, Emma worked for many years as a music and social studies teacher and as a realtor.

Theresa Thomas
Board Member

Theresa is excited about the startup of an ITN affiliate in the Bluegrass both as Community Building Coordinator for United Way of the Bluegrass and as a visually-impaired person. As Community Building Coordinator, Theresa mainly assists with the United Way’s 2-1-1 information and referral helpline – where callers in need are linked with health and human services – by locating, researching and updating agencies and programs available in a seven-county area for its 2-1-1 database. Currently, there are 3,500 of these offering services ranging from employment counseling, substance abuse treatment and legal aid to basic needs like food and shelter. We are glad to add ITNBluegrass to the list!

At the age of 16, Theresa received United Way-funded services when she attended a seven-week summer program at the University of Evansville for blind and visually impaired persons interested in attending college. Theresa is often asked to speak during United Way campaign kick-offs. She is also the Lexington Advisory Board President for VIPS (Visually Impaired Preschool Services), offering blind and visually impaired children appropriate services to maximize their potential. As a member of the Bluegrass Parrot Head Club, she helps raise money for all types of charities.

Sheri Trail-Likoy
Board Member

Sue Weant
Board Member