It was an evening of warmth and laughter on February 16 when longtime civic volunteer Jim Coutts was honored as the recipient of the 2012 Civic Award by the Greater Cedarburg Foundation. A crowd of more than 200 people filled the Cedarburg Cultural Center to honor Coutts for his tireless dedication to the community.

It was Jim - a devoted volunteer and civic activist for more than 40 years - who introduced the idea to start the Greater Cedarburg Foundation more than 12 years ago. “Jim has done so much for Cedarburg that it would be impossible to name all of the activities he has been involved in,” said Ben Levy, President. “He led the way on many positive initiatives for the city for a long time.”

Jim Coutts was born in Waukesha, the son of then Waukesha Mayor George Coutts. He was an avid athlete during his high school and college years, and since that time has been active as a referee for cross country and other sports. After graduating from college, he became a social studies teacher, and worked at Homestead High School in Mequon for 29 years before retiring. He was mayor of Cedarburg from 1993 to 2003 and during his tenure, Jim initiated talks to start a community foundation which eventually became the Greater Cedarburg Foundation. He was President of the GCF from 2006 to 2008. Jim has been actively involved in the Cedarburg Light and Water Commission and was recently named to the National Policymakers Committee for the American Public Power Association in Washington, D.C.

In his remarks, he thanked the many people that have worked with him along the years, and praised the Foundation for growing an endowment of more than $2 million after starting more than decade ago with a small but earnest grass root effort by several community members. “We are truly a community foundation because it was the community that came forward to support it,” he said. “It's a unique feature that sets us apart.” He also thanked the Greater Milwaukee Foundation for all of its support, including a $100,000 matching grant that was given during the early years of the Greater Cedarburg Foundation. . . Read More >>

Ben Levy, President of the Greater Cedarburg Foundation, will began the second year of his two year term beginning in June of 2011. Among the accomplishments of his first year is growing the endowment to $1.7 million which qualifies for Supporting Organization status with the Greater Milwaukee Foundation. (see related articles in the Spring 2011 newsletter)

A lifelong Cedarburg resident, Levy graduated from Arizona State University in 1985 and received his law degree from Marquette University Law School in 1988. He currently specializes in civil litigation as a member of the Levy & Levy law firm in Cedarburg and is past president of the Ozaukee County Bar Association.

As an avid civic volunteer, Levy has served as president of several associations in the area, including the Cedarburg Chamber of Commerce and Forward Cedarburg, Cedarburg's former Economic Development Board. He is a volunteer teacher in the Junior Achievement program and coaches youth basketball in Cedarburg. In addition, Levy was a board member of the Cedarburg Community Pool Association and was involved in the fund raising efforts for the Ozaukee County YMCA facility in Saukville. He is currently a member of the Cedarburg-Grafton Rotary Club and serves on the Community Scholarship. . . Read More >>

The Greater Cedarburg Community Foundation’s mission is to promote and encourage private funding in support of projects and programs that enrich the quality of life for the residents of the Greater Cedarburg Community. The Foundation awards grants to non-profit organizations within the Greater Cedarburg Community.

Foundation disbursements will be used as seed money for new efforts, sometimes as matching funds for projects, and occasionally as challenge grants.  Ordinarily the Foundation will not extend funds to cover an organization’s routine operating expenses.

 

 

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