Community Foundation of Herkimer & Oneida Counties names officers

Also appoints two new board members

UTICA — The Community Foundation of Herkimer and Oneida Counties recently announced its 2018-2019 board officers and two new members of the board of trustees.

The 2018-2019 Community Foundation officers are: 

Eve Van de Wal — Chair 
Van de Wal is regional president of Excellus BlueCross BlueShield and has more than 30 years of experience in health-care delivery and health insurance. She serves on multiple community boards including Health Workforce New York, the United Way of the Valley and Greater Utica Area, Mohawk Valley EDGE, Adirondack Bank, and Utica First Insurance Company. Van de Wal received a bachelor’s degree in nursing from SUNY at Brockport and master’s degrees in health services management and business administration from SUNY Institute of Technology in Utica.

David Manzelmann — Chair-elect
Manzelmann is Utica market president and team lead for business and professional banking for M&T Bank. He serves on multiple boards including Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute and Mohawk Valley Health System Foundation, and is chair of the Mohawk Valley EDGE board and M&T Bank/Partners Trust Charitable Fund committee. Manzelmann previously worked at KeyBank and NBT Bank, and received a bachelor’s degree in business economics from the College of Wooster in Ohio. 

L. Michael Fitzgerald — Secretary/Treasurer
Fitzgerald is a CPA at Fitzgerald, DePietro and Wojnas, CPAs. He holds a master’s degree in accounting from Northeastern University and a bachelor’s degree from St. Bonaventure. 

The Community Foundation of Herkimer and Oneida Counties also named the following two new board members.

Kirk Hinman
Hinman worked for nearly 40 years at Rome Steel Strip Company, serving as president from 1989 to 2015. As a CPA, Hinman previously worked for Coopers and Lybrand CPAs in Syracuse. He holds an MBA from the University of Chicago and a bachelor’s degree from Dartmouth College, and serves on multiple community boards, including Utica First Insurance Company, Rome Community Foundation, and Mohawk Valley EDGE. 

James A. Wallace, Jr.
Wallace is the county administrator for Herkimer County and previously served as the county’s director of employment and training, as well as youth bureau director. He currently is working with county officials, the National Association of Counties, and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to address poverty issues in Herkimer County. His community involvement includes work on multiple county initiatives, including prevention of domestic violence, suicide, and childhood lead poisoning. Wallace earned a bachelor’s degree from Alfred University.

The Community Foundation of Herkimer and Oneida Counties says it has invested more than $70 million in Oneida and Herkimer counties since 1952.