August 26, 2000
United Way campaign kicks off with new director
By Vicki Hunker
Staff Writer
Pat DeMonte will be jumping right into the 2001 Tiffin-Seneca United Way campaign when she takes her new post Sept. 12.
She has been hired as the new executive director, replacing Suzanne Dick-Trubee, who left the job Aug. 18 to teach full time at Tiffin University.
"I'm hitting the pavement running," DeMonte said Friday. "I'll be making presentations the day I start."
"Actually, at this point, both women are working together in an effort to ensure a smooth transition," said Ken Stockmaster, president of the United Way board of dirctors.
Stockmaster said DeMonte was selected from four applicants.
"Aside from the fact that her prior training and experience made her eminently well qualified, we felt that Pat was an excellent choice because she is so well known and well-liked in the community," he said. "We are lucky to have her."
The new United Way campaign starts in October, but preparations will start right away.
"This is an opportunity," she said. "I'm excited about it.
"It's going to be the same fast pace, a lot to do in a little bit of time," she added, referring to her present job as executive director of Seneca County Agency Transportation where she's been since 1995.
She admitted she'll miss SCAT.
"I feel like this is my baby," she said. " I have labored and delivered it, but now it's time to let it go.
"It will go on and I will continue to support it," she added. "I'm not far away and I'm still supporting them in a different venue.
"It has been strenuous, the demands of creating a new agency," she added. "You learn to just juggle things and go with the flow. It can be exhausting at times.
"This opportunity came along and I believe I made the right decision," she said. "My whole reason for being in any of these organizations is helping people."
Although she'll no longer be "Pat from SCAT," DeMonte said she'll carry her knowledge from running SCAT into her new job.
"I'm not a stranger to Tiffin or Tiffin-Seneca United Way, being a director of one of the member agencies," she said.
DeMonte said she knows how vital United Way funds are to member agencies and hopes to communicate that importance to the community.
"I have a lot of knowledge about the United Way that I can bring," she said. "I have a lot to learn, but I have a good understanding of how the funds are used.
"It's been wonderful being part of that group, you're not out there alone. You have other people who understand what you're going through."
Although she hasn't had much time yet to decide on goals, DeMonte said she wants to build strong relationships with United Way's member agencies.
She already knows the directors of each agency because she's been one of them, but she plans to visit each director to gain a better understanding of their programs.
"My focus is on presenting to the community a strong campaign, of how important their contributions are," she said.
DeMonte was raised in Tiffin and graduated from Calvert High School. She left Tiffin for 10 years while husband Tim was in the military, but returned about 18 years ago.
"There's no place like home," she said.
Husband Tim is vice president of plant operations at Mercy Hospital of Willard. They have four children. Oldest daughter, Jessica, recently graduated from Ohio State University's law school and Amanda recently graduated from Bowling Green State University. Sara is attending Columbus State University and Jacob is a senior at Columbian High School.
DeMonte's working life has revolved around helping people. Prior to her job with SCAT, she worked with the Northwest Employment Services of Stryker as a job coach for people with disabiliites and with Job Coaching Services of Toledo. From 1989-1991, she worked as a program attendant at the Seneca County Opportunity Center.
DeMonte was winner of the Tiffin Area Chamber of Commerce's Athena Award in April.
She is active in the Ritz Players and is currently active in With One Voice, a suicide prevention project. She is a member of the Kiwanis Club and has served as the transportation chairperson for the Heritage Festival since 1997.
She's a member of Seneca Toastmasters and the Seneca County Homeless Coalition. In the past, she has worked on many community projects such as Tiffin Stadium Renovation and McAuley Advisory Committee.