August 2014 – Letter to the Editor – Beloit Daily News
Summer 2014 on the RiverFront has been wonderful! The rest of the season promises more fun with three upcoming concerts plus the “Movie on the Big Lawn.” The Friends of RiverFront Board of Directors is grateful for your participation and even more we are grateful for the dedicated leadership of Friends of RiverFront Executive Director Nicki Meyer.
Regretfully, Nicki has decided that this will be her final season as Executive Director. To say that she will be missed is an understatement: her enthusiasm for our mission and passionate advocacy for all things Beloit are well known and deserve our gratitude.
We hope that you will join us for the remainder of the season and thank Nicki for her accomplishment of the many superb seasons on the Riverfront. A formal celebration of all that Nicki has done is planned for the September 5 concert when we welcome “The Jimmys” to Harry’s Place. Traditionally, this is when new bricks are installed in the Heritage Walkway.
The Board is happy to announce that Jennifer Kodl will direct the Friends of RiverFront during the 2015 season. To read Jennifer’s bio, please see below.
Again thanks for joining us this season! See you at Harry’s Place!
Board of Directors
Friends of Riverfront
Jeff Adams
Sue Fugate
Jennifer Kodl
Martha Mitchell
Tim Oswald
Uwe Schnell
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Jennifer has lived in Beloit since 2002 when she moved here with her husband Milt who had taken the position of Head Golf Professional at the Country Club of Beloit. She and Milt have two sons, Nathan who is a sophomore at Beloit Memorial, and Joshua who is a 7th grader at Aldrich Middle School.
Jennifer is Event Coordinator and Managing Editor of the Miller Upton Programs, as well as the Program Coordinator for the Departments of Economics and Sociology at Beloit College where she has been employed since October 2002. For several years, she has also helped coordinate the Junior Golf Program at CCB.
Before moving to Beloit, Jennifer was a litigation paralegal for more than 10 years. Most recently, she worked for Jastroch & LaBarge in Waukesha, Wisconsin and vonBriesen, Purtell & Roper in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Jennifer’s initial involvement with Friends of RiverFront began by helping with the screening of the movie “The Water Horse” in 2008. She has continued to be involved as project coordinator for the Movie on the Big Lawn ever since. Jennifer has been a member of the board of Friends since 2011, served as vice chair in 2013 and has served as board chair since March 2014.
Jennifer is an active member of Westminster Presbyterian Church, is an ordained elder and deacon in the Presbyterian Church (USA) and is involved in the Abundant Life Tres Dias community, an organization devoted to building leaders in local churches. A high point for summer 2014 was serving as an adult leader for the WPC Youth Mission Trip to Tazewell County, Virginia. Along with other youth and adults, she worked with Appalachian Service Project helping to make homes warmer, safer, and drier for families in need.
She enjoys her home and yard, keeping up with her boys’ activities, cooking and baking, and outdoor activities. She is a member of the Kansas State University Alumni Association and a proud supporter of the K-State Wildcats sports teams. Although she was born across the river in Kansas City, Missouri, Jennifer considers herself to be a Kansas girl and values the Midwestern ideals that have shaped her life. She is delighted to find those values alive and well in Beloit and to call this her new “hometown.”
