Relle to Retire at Mid-Year

Wooster, Ohio: Ferenc M. Relle, Jr. announced his retirement plans at a recent meeting of the Wayne County Community Foundation (WCCF) Board of Trustees.  He began in March of 2007 and is the fourth executive director in the WCCF’s 34 year history.

“Over those years, the WCCF has been very fortunate in having the right director at the right time, beginning with Bob Seiwert,” said J. C. Johnston III, WCCF President of the Board of Trustees. “Each brought their own skill sets at a time in our evolution when we needed them most.”

“Ferenc has been an excellent spokesperson for local philanthropy and has become the face of the Foundation. The community’s awareness of the Foundation has steadily grown with improved PR, vibrant and informative promotional materials, and a new well-designed and interactive web site. His marketing skills brought the Foundation into the 21^st century and greatly enhanced its profile in the community, which helped assets of the Foundation to grow to nearly $50 million in 335 separate funds. We asked Ferenc to remain, but he and his wife, Candy have some well-deserved retirement plans,” Johnston added. 

While Relle will officially retire as the WCCF’s full time executive director at the end of the WCCF’s June 30 fiscal year, he will remain on staff as the part time youth advisor for a newly created Wayne County Community Youth Foundation, within the WCCF.  It will provide local high school and college students with practical experiences on the benefits of community-based foundations for the purpose of getting students involved in local structured philanthropy.

Relle is co-founder of Embracing Our Differences Ohio, helped create the WorthyWorks Award, serves on the Jr. Leadership Wooster steering committee, is a graduate of Leadership Wooster, Leadership Orrville, and a recipient of the Wooster Chamber’s Mike Lezak Volunteer Service award. 

“Since I was hired before the great recession of 2008, I’ve experienced the highs and lows of our economy and its impact on local non-profit service providers,” Relle said.  “But despite all the challenges of the soft economy, I am especially proud of our Board, who continued to support our grant making efforts.  In fact, since fiscal 2007, we have made nearly 3,700 grant and scholarship awards valued at nearly $21 million.”

A search committee, led by Johnston, is actively engaged in finding Relle’s replacement.

The WCCF is a nonprofit charitable community organization that connects donors with causes that help our community. Since inception, WCCF has awarded over $53 million in grants and scholarships.