As Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Northwest Indiana began their inaugural year as a new, merged entity, the board of directors elected their new officers slate at the first Board meeting of the year. Serving as officers for the organization include:

Christopher T. White (The Times Media Co.) - board chair; Christopher D. Campbell (Centier Bank) - vice chair; Tanya Leetz (Peoples Bank) - second vice chair; Roosevelt Haywood III (Haywood & Fleming Associates) - secretary; Timothy D. Rice (Lakeside Wealth Management) - treasurer; Benjamin Ballou (Hodges & Davis, P.C.) - legal counsel

Outgoing Board Chair for Boys & Girls Clubs of Northwest Indiana Julie Bieszczat (Barney Enterprises) and outgoing Board Chair for Boys & Girls Clubs of Porter County Michael Simpson (M.E. Simpson Company Inc.) will both serve as officers as past board chairs.

Additionally, leadership was announced for board committees including: Jeffrey Strack (Strack & Van Til) and Bonnie Coleman (Hodges & Davis, P.C.) - co-chairs of board governance; Michael Hooper (NIPSCO); Jeff Leetz (Indiana Beverage) - chair and vice chair of resource development; Roy Hamilton (Purdue University Northwest) - chair of programs; J. Michael Baird (retired, BMO Harris) - chair of finance; Daniel Killeen (U.S. Steel) - chair of safety; Robert Gardiner (Horizon Bank) - chair of audit.

“We have a very strong board of directors that is going to lead our new organization, Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Northwest Indiana, to new heights. Each individual serving on our board is committed deeply to our club members and ensuring we have the resources to provide the best possible club experience. I am honored to work for this group of dedicated volunteer voard members,” said Ryan Smiley, president and CEO.