As the Plumb Place property moves towards a potential auction, the steering committee in charge of recommendations for its future has announced the desired qualifications for the new Board of Directors to keep the agency moving forward, regardless of who owns the building.
United Way of the Flint Hills Director Mickey Edwards says the Plumb Place Steering Committee is in the process of building a new board, which could be as large as 10-15 members. The committee will oversee the application and selection processes.
Edwards says board members are being sought with experience in a number of areas, including grant-writing, fundraising, accounting, legal, property management, communications, nonprofit and/or congregant housing and personal experience with housing services or homelessness.
Plumb Place ended operations on Dec. 31, 2020. Financial issues had been in place for several years. Emporia Police announced an investigation into over $50,000 in missing funds dating from 2014 to mid-2017. Issues continued until Plumb Place made the ultimate decision late last year to close by New Year’s Eve after a century of helping women in crisis situations.
Interested people can find information at www.uwfh.org/plumbplace. Applications should be emailed to plumbplace224@gmail.com by Aug. 27. People can also call Edwards at the United Way at 620-342-7564 or email mickey@uwfh.org with questions. An auction date is pending.
Last month, Lyon County Judge Lee Fowler approved the sale of the Plumb Place property, 224 East Sixth, as one of the core recommendations from the Steering Committee. Another signature recommendation was the organization, Plumb Place, Incorporated, should not be dissolved. The thought is the nonprofit could be revived under a new name or branding and maintain the same general mission as the original agency.
