Allentown, PA — September 25, 2015 — Mark Katkovcin, outgoing board chair at Big Brothers Big Sisters Lehigh Valley (BBBSLV), was recently honored with an award for his excellence in leadership by Joe Hopf of Talen Energy and 15 other BBBSLV board members. Katkovcin, a Vice President at Lafayette Ambassador Bank, served as board chair from July 2012-June 2015.
The award recognizes Katkovcin’s leadership and visionary skills, and during his tenure, BBBSLV received the 2015 Quality Award from Big Brothers Big Sisters of America’s Nationwide Leadership Council and initiated a move of program offices to east Allentown to better position BBBSLV to serve the community.
Incoming board chair Joe Hopf, shared “I believe we are a much better and stronger group due to his leadership. The amount of time he’s spent and his dedication to our cause is without question unbelievable, and we really can’t thank him enough.”
BBBSLV CEO Susan Bartels also shared, “Mark really led our organization through a time of transition. As a new CEO, he was incredibly supportive and programmatically he has helped us grow the number of children we serve. It is clear Mark is passionate about our mission and truly believes in supporting the children of the Lehigh Valley.”
Katkovcin will continue to remain on the board and executive committee, while Hopf start serving as board chair beginning July 1, 2015.
About Big Brothers Big Sisters Lehigh Valley
Since 1970, Big Brothers Big Sisters Lehigh Valley has operated under the belief that inherent in every child is the ability to succeed and thrive in life. Big Brothers Big Sisters, the nation’s largest donor and volunteer supported mentoring network, holds itself accountable for children in its program to achieve measurable outcomes, such as educational success; avoidance of risky behaviors; and higher aspirations, greater confidence and better relationships. Partnering with parents/guardians, schools, corporations and others in the community, Big Brothers Big Sisters carefully pairs children (“Littles”) with qualified, trained, and screened volunteers (“Bigs”) and monitors and supports these one-to-one mentoring matches throughout their course.
In the current fiscal year, Big Brothers Big Sisters Lehigh Valley, a United Way Partner Agency, has served nearly 350 Lehigh and Northampton County children in one-to-one mentoring relationships.
Big Brothers Big Sisters provides children facing adversity, often those of single or low-income households or families where a parent is incarcerated or serving in the military, with strong and enduring, professionally supported one-to-one mentoring relationships that change their lives for the better, forever. This mission has been the cornerstone of the organization’s 100-year history. The organization is engaged in a nationwide search to reunite with alumni mentors, mentees, donors, and family, staff and board members. Learn how you can volunteer or donate—visit http://www.bbbslv.org/.
Information Provided By:
Susan Bartels, CEO
878 Minesite Rd. Allentown, PA 18103
Email: sbartels@bbbslv.org
