Edison is pleased to announce George Atkinson as the Chair of the 2012 15th Annual Holiday Evening to benefit The Edison Fund, which provides scholarships that help make the dream of college possible for many local students.
A member of the Piqua community for more than 30 years, Atkinson first joined the Foundation Board three years ago at the urging of past president Dr. Kenneth Yowell and board member Ann Baird.
“I was pleased to encourage George to serve on the Foundation Board,” said Baird. “His forward thinking and attention to details and the bottom line have gotten the committee back to the true purpose of the Holiday Evening, to raise as much money as possible for Edison scholarships while providing an elegant evening for participants.”
Atkinson, Senior Vice President and Managing Director of TriVista, previously served as President of Hartzell Fan Inc. In addition to his extensive executive leadership experience, he has participated on a number of industry, civic and non-profit advisory boards. He resides in Piqua with his wife Connie, sharing four children and seven grandchildren between them.
“I’ve always believed in giving back to the community, and it’s a real honor to serve as this year’s chair for the Holiday Evening,” said Atkinson. “This is not just a Piqua or Miami County event. It is a multi-county event, involving Edison staff and students, community leaders and businesses, who step up and help sponsor and support the event as well as the more than 400 people who attend.”
The annual event plays a key role in raising money and awareness for The Edison Fund, which provides financial support for academics, athletics, cultural events, scholarship programs and initiatives of the Edison community.
“Holiday Evening is one of the prime sources dedicated to supporting The Edison Fund through the Foundation Board,” he said. “Our goal is to try and increase the amount of funds we can contribute to the Edison Fund each year, thus allowing more scholarships to be awarded. This is greatly helped by our sponsors who help defray some of the cost of the event.”
The entertainment for this year’s Holiday Evening is globally renowned musician Tim Janis, who will be bringing the sounds of the season to the Edison campus just one week after playing New York’s famed Carnegie Hall.
“When we discussed with Tim about being our entertainment for this year’s 15th Annual Holiday Evening, we shared what our purpose was for the event – to help raise money for student scholarships,” said Atkinson. “He immediately checked his schedule and agreed to be our entertainment for the evening.”
