Service Area
United Way of Morgan County serves several communities in and around Fort Morgan.
Board of Directors
The Board of Directors of the United Way of Morgan County consists of 12 men and women from various vocations who represent the different areas of the county. They are volunteers, receiving no payment of any kind for their many hours of service. We have representatives from education, retail, banking, engineering, health professionals, auctioneering, insurance and the religious sector. They represent Fort Morgan, Brush, Wiggins and Weldona. The Board of Directors is a three year commitment. The officers, which include: president, president-elect, secretary and treasurer serve one year terms unless requested to serve additional years.
Board President
The Board President for 2012 is Michelle Nelson.
Michelle was raised in Wiggins, CO and then attended Northeastern Junior College in Sterling. She is married to John Nelson, they have 3 children. She is employed at Morgan Federal Bank as the Savings Depatment Manager. She joined United Way of Morgan County in March of 2007. She is also a member of the Fort Morgan Rotary Club and has been elected as President-Elect for 2010-2011. She enjoys fishing and spending time with her family.
Board President - Elect
Board President - Elect for 2012 is Wendy Fritzler.
Wendy, a native of Nebraska, is a graduate of Colorado State University with an Agriculture Business degree. She is currently employed with the Bank of Colorado and has been very involved with the Brush Chamber of Commerce for the last several years as well as the United Way of Morgan Wendy enjoys spending time with family and friends, outdoor activities, shopping and riding horses.
Board Secretary
The Board Secretary for 2012 is Judy Watson.
Judy was born and raised in Fort Morgan, with a few years away to Greeley, Fort Collins and Houston. She is married to Randy and has 2 wonderful children; Molly and Garrett. She is currently employed at Morgan Community College. Judy’s hobbies are; reading, watching movies, flower gardening and crocheting. Judy says she enjoys working with the director and other Board Members.
Board Treasurer
The Board Treasurer for 2012 is Robert Allen.
Robert is a Colorado native from Brighton. He has a BSME from the University of Missouri (Rolla)and has worked in various positions within the Public Service Company of Colorado/Xcel Energy for over 30 years. Robert has been at the Pawnee Power Plant for over 20 years, and is currently the Operations Manager. His wife of more than 30 years is Sally. She works at the East Morgan County Library. Robert and Sally reside in Brush and are active with church and hobbies. Sally enjoys sewing, quilting and geneology, Robert enjoys hunting, fishing and camping.
Board Member
Board Member for 2012 is Soyna Bass.
Sonya is a Morgan County native. She was born in Fort Morgan and attended school in Brush. After graduating from BHS, she attended the University of Northern Colorado, where she attained her nursing degree. She has been employed at Colorado Plains Medical Center for 25 years as a nurse. Currently, she is director of Quality and Risk Management. She is married with 3 sons. Her husband, John, is employed by Xcel Energy, Pawnee Station. Her sons are all in college. She is a life-time member of the First Christian Church, Fort Morgan.
Board Member
Board Member for 2012 is Ben Bauman.
Ben is originally from Minnesota but spent six years teaching in South Dakota before coming to Fort Morgan. He is now in his second year as the principal of the Fort Morgan Middle School. He was the Assistant Principal at Abner Baker School for six years and taught fifth grade for three years. Ben is married to Angel and they have two daughters, Riley and Allie. Ben enjoys basketball and golf particularly but likes all sports.
Board Member
Board Member for 2012 is Deb Carlock.
Deb was born and raised in Fort Morgan. She graduated from Brush High school. She has been employed at Cargill for over 20 years and is a leader for Weight Watchers. She is married to Ray and together they have 2 wonderful girls; Makenna and Raelynn. Deb enjoys spending time with her family, fishing, collecting Mickey Mouse characters and movie night.
Board Member
Board Member for 2012 is John Karbula.
John Karbula is the Asst. Superintendent of schools andk-12 Principal at Weldon Valley School District in Weldona, CO. John is married to Julie Karbula, who is development director for the University of Colorado in Boulder. John and Julie have 2 lovely daughters – Caitlin, 21 and Lauren, 18 who are both students at Colorado State University. This is John’s 1st year at Weldon Valley but his 23rd year as a public educator. He was a high school English teacher before becoming an administrator. John has long been active in United Way and also is a long-time Rotary member. He loves the relationships built through the community that come with volunteering. In his spare time, John loves to garden, is a long time book club member and also loves taking long walks as well as hiking and camping in the mountains.
Board Member
Board Member for 2012 is Keith Kuretich
Keith Kuretich is the Chief of Police in the City of Fort Morgan, Colorado. He has more than 26 years of experience in a variety of public safety settings across the fields of law enforcement. As Fort Morgan Police Chief, Kuretich manages a complement of 24 officers that provide law enforcement services for the City of Fort Morgan, a jurisdiction of approximately 6 square miles, with a population of 12,000.
Kuretich is a graduate of the Colorado Law Enforcement Training Academy and holds Law Enforcement Executive Certification through the Colorado Association of Chiefs of Police. He attended Southwestern College in Winfield Kansas with an emphasis in Social Work and Psychology
Kuretich is very active in the community, serves on various charitable and benevolent organizations. A native of Colorado, he is single and has two grown children.
Board Member
Board Member for 2012 is Bryson Miller.
Bryson Miller was born and raised in Morgan County. He graduated from Brush High School in 2003 and from Northeastern Junior College with a Degree in Agri-Business in 2005. After college, he joined the family business buying in as a partner in Auctioneers Miller & Associates. His life has been dedicated to the agriculture field and in 2008 received the Colorado Agri-Business Person of the Year Award. He has been married to Stephanie for 5 years and they are expecting their first child in June, 2010. He is currently the President of the Fort Morgan Young Farmer’s and enjoys playing basketball on the Fort Morgan City team and takes great pleasure in playing a round of golf.
Board Member
Board Member for 2012 is Damon Mussman.
Damon Mussman is currently serving his 3rd term on the United Way of Morgan County’s Board of Directors. He has lived in Morgan County since September, 2002, joining the Board in 2003. He has a wonderful wife, Patty, and 3 great kids: Alyssa is 18, Abby is 12 and Devin is 10. He is the General Manager. of Walmart Supercenter in Fort Morgan and serves as the President of RE-3 School District School Board. His hobbies include golf, basketball and anything sports related.
Board Member
Board Member for 2012 is Robert Tolson.
Bob Tolson is pastor of Immanuel Evangelical Church in Fort Morgan. He and wife, Debra, have three children: Abigail, Melissa and Bobby. Bob was raised in Houston, Texas and graduated from John Brown University in Siloam Springs, Arkansas and Dallas Theological Seminary in Dallas, Texas. He served as Youth Pastor at Calvary Bible Church in Huntsville, Alabama before moving to Fort Morgan.
Board Member
Board Member for 2012 is Carolyn Vickers.
Carolyn Vickers is a native Coloradan having been born in Lamar, CO. She graduated from Fort Collins High School and received a BS degree in Business Administration, with a minor in Vocational Education from CSU. The next year she graduated with a Master of Arts for Teachers from CSU. After teaching at Lamar Community College and Brush High School, Carolyn and her husband Larry, raised their family in Wiggins. Carolyn was on the accountability committee for the school and her sons were active in 4-H, FFA and football. Carolyn and Larry have the Vickers Insurance Agency in Fort Morgan and live in Wiggins. United Way is a very important part of Carolyn’s life and she feels that it is an integral part of the community, especially in times when the community needs support for agencies and programs that benefit the families of our area.
Executive Director
Executive Director for 2012 is Betsy Porter.
Betsy was born in Philadelphia, PA and lived in Brooklyn for the first 4 years of her life. Her Dad went to Los Alamos, NM at the beginning of the Manhattan Project and she graduated from HS there. She married Larry after attending St Luke’s School of Nursing in Denver for a year and they moved to Topeka, KS for the 3 ½ years remaining of Larry’s Air Force duty. They moved to Omaha and it was there that United Way became a part of her life. She volunteered to be the UW store representative for the Sears, Roebuck store. Betsy’s professional life has included retail store management for Sears, Roebuck and Alco Discount Store, bookkeeping and fundraising. She has attended St Luke’s, University of Omaha and taken continuing education classes at Morgan Community College. She has held many United Way offices as a volunteer; secretary and treasurer and has been President of the Garden City (KS) United Way and the United Way of Morgan County Board of Directors. Larry and Betsy have 3 daughters and a son, 12 grandchildren (and spouses) and 7 great grandchildren. She enjoys quilting, knitting, playing bridge and fishing in her spare time.