James B. Hovland, the Mayor of Edina, has been the President of our Board since 2001. He is a partner in the Minneapolis law firm of Krause and Rollins and a member of the I-494 Corridor Commission and the Regional Council of Mayors. He also belongs to the Edina Morningside Rotary Club and was recognized by the Edina Chamber of Commerce as its Business Person of the Year in 2004. Jim lives with his wife LaRae, a French teacher, in the Country Club neighborhood. One of his two daughters lives in Edina, and he has a grandchild in the Edina Public Schools.

Carolyn Schroeder
Vice President

Carolyn Schroeder is a nurse, and community volunteer. She and her husband, Clint, an attorney, have lived in Edina for 45 years, and their five children attended Wooddale Elementary, South View Middle School, and Edina High School. Carolyn has served as Board chairwoman of the Minneapolis Children’s Hospital, the Minneapolis Children’s Foundation, and an emeritus board member of the University of Minnesota School of Nursing Foundation.

Otto Bang is the Foundation’s Secretary. He served in both the Minnesota House of Representatives from 1963 to 1973 and the Senate from 1973 to 1983. Otto is in the insurance business with American Agency, Inc. and lives in the Normandale Park neighborhood with his wife Mary. Their four children all graduated from Edina High School.

Geof Workinger, the Foundation’s Treasurer, and his wife Betty are also long-term Edina residents (since 1968) and live in the Harriet Park neighborhood. Geoff retired from Bemis Company recently, after a career in human resources and employee benefits that included work for Prudential, 3M, and General Mills. He has served on both the Edina Planning and Human Relations Commissions, and as chair of the latter. He has also provided volunteer service and leadership to the Storefront (Youth Action) Group and the Suicide Awareness Voices of Education (SAVE).

James Van Valkenburg organized the Foundation in 1977, during his seven years of service as our Mayor. He has been on the Board almost every year since then, and was its President for most of that time. More recently, he has served as Treasurer and is now the Assistant Treasurer. He has also served on the advisory groups of the Edina Art Center and Senior Center, and has long been a leader on the Board of the Edina Crime Prevention Fund. A practicing attorney before his retirement, Jim and his late wife, Pat, raised four children in Edina, one of whom still lives here with her husband and 8-year-old twins. Jim lives in the Pamela Park area.

Brad Beard is the President of Fairview Southdale Hospital and Clinics and has served Fairview in various administrative capacities for over 20 years. He is a member of the Edina Rotary Club and serves on the Edina Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors. He and his wife Gwendolyn live in northwest Edina, and they have three children.

Grethe Langeland Dillon is the president of Calhoun Insurance Agency and the incoming president of the 50th and France Business and Professional Association. She and her husband, Tom, who owns Dillon Engineering, have had their joint office here for five years and just moved to the community in 2003. They have three children under age 13. Grethe is the originator and chief organizer of the Foundation's Holiday Home Tours.

George Klus

George Klus is an owner and Vice President of Trinity Medical Solutions, Inc. in Edina, has served as Chair and is still a member of the Edina Park Board, chaired the Youth Sports Task Force, and is a member of the Edina Rotary Club. He has served as President of the Edina Highlands Neighborhood Association and volunteered with youth and adult groups at Christ Presbyterian Church. He has been active as a youth coach in both football and baseball. George and his wife Anne have a son who attends Edina High School.

Dennis Maetzold served on the Edina Board of Education for six years before being elected to the City Council in 1995 and then as our Mayor from 1999 through 2004. He is retired from M&I Bank, and he and his wife, Linda, live in the Arden Park Neighborhood. They have been Edina residents since 1972, and their daughter graduated from Edina High School. Dennis is a member of the Edina Rotary Club and serves as Chair of the Southdale YMCA’s 2005 Y Partners Campaign and on the Board of Volunteers Enlisted to Assist People.

Bonnie McGrath founded and managed a legal software training business for 20 years. She and her husband Lee have been Edina residents since 1993, and they are active in the Country Club Neighborhood Association. They have a child at Valley View Middle School and three other children at Blake School.

Brenda Quaye

Brenda Radichel Quaye is a Principal in the Edina-based real estate development firms of Venstar, LLC and New Era Development, LLC. She and her husband Nii and their two children are residents of the Parkwood Knolls neighborhood, and are experiencing life this year in Shanghai, where Nii is on assignment

with ADC Telecommunications. Brenda also serves as a Director of the William D. Radichel Foundation.

Frederick S. Richards has lived in Edina since 1945 and married an Edina Morningside High School classmate. He was the Mayor from 1988 to 1997, after having served on the City Council for the prior 14 years. Fred has also served on the Edina Park Board and the Environmental Quality and Transportation Commissions. Fred practiced law for 25 years, was the president of General Office Products for 10 years and is now working in the private sector as a consultant for legal, business and government affairs. He and Nancy have three children, two of whom now live in the community with their spouses and families. Fred notes that the third “may never realize paradise here in Edina, but we still love her.”

Kevin Ries is a real estate agent with Edina Realty and serves as Vice President of the Foundation. He and his wife, Dede, live on Nob Hill and have three daughters ranging in age from 28 to 17. Kevin is a member of the Edina Morningside Rotary Club and led a community movement to support our armed forces in Iraq by securing supplies and funding for the Adopt-a-Platoon program.