Salina Area United Way Adds New Board Members

For Immediate Release:

Salina, KS - The Salina Area United Way is pleased to introduce the following new board members who will serve a 3-year term on the Board of Directors.

Amanda Wilson

Amanda has lived in Salina most of her life and loves to be involved in the community. She has over 13 years of law enforcement experience and 3 years of experience in the Salina banking industry. She is beginning a new endeavor as a financial examiner for the State of Kansas. It has been great for her to watch Salina grow, and she is excited to be a part of the United Way and strengthening our community.

Kathy Cook

Kathy was born and raised in Independence, KS. She met her husband Greg while they were both attending Independence Community College. Shortly after, they moved back to his hometown of New Cambria where they raised their two sons.

After her sons left home Kathy went back to college and earned a bachelor’s degree in Workforce Development with an emphasis in Supervision and Leadership from Pittsburg State University.

Kathy worked in insurance for 11 years before joining Great Plains Mfg., Inc. in August of 2012. She is currently the Sales and Marketing Administrator for the Land Pride division.

“I’ve always been very active in the communities where I lived. Having moved to Salina in 2018, and finishing my degree, I am now ready to get involved in this community. I look forward to doing that through an organization like the Salina Area United Way that helps so many.”

Amanda Otto

Amanda Otto is a lifelong resident of Salina and is passionate about serving our community. She is a member of Salina Rotary, Kiwanis, Noon Network Ambucs and a Leadership Salina graduate. Amanda and her husband, Khyle, have two kids, ages 21 and 18. She enjoys reading, traveling and being with family. Amanda is the CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Salina and is excited for the opportunity to continue serving the Salina community.

Jenn Reitz

Jenn Reitz is the Director of Advertising Sales and Creative Marketing for Salina 311 and owner of Business Buzz Creative Marketing. After almost 3 years as the Director of Sales at the Homewood Suites by Hilton Salina Downtown, her passion for Salina lead to a career change. She saw this as an opportunity to serve the community and local businesses in a bigger capacity. 

Jenn was recently on the board of Salina Downtown, Inc. and currently is a proud member of the Love Salina and Kansas Crossroads Marathon Committees. 

Jenn stays busy living her best life which includes spending time with her family: husband, Cory, six kiddos and four grandbabies. Her hobbies include writing, creating art, traveling, camping (in an RV, of course), kayaking, boating, creating healthy recipes, listening to live music (especially dueling pianos), drinking coffee and spending time with her amazing friends.

Mary Goad

Mary grew up in Emporia, KS and is a proud graduate of Emporia State University! Go Hornet’s! Ok she is a little prouder of her daughter, Callie Vessar, who grew up in Salina and also graduated from Emporia State University!

She is a Senior Vice President/Branch Manager/Loan officer at The Bank of Tescott and has over 26 years of banking experience. Her passion is providing financial education to students in Salina and surrounding areas. She was part of the Leadership Salina team that brought Finance Now to USD 305 thru Communities in Schools and the Salina Area United Way. She has been a member of our Program Committee for many years and will Chair that committee in 2022.

She loves helping homebuyers achieve their dream of homeownership and is looking forward to her term on our Board.

Michael Robben

Michael Robben grew up in western Kansas and moved to Salina in 1992. He has been married to his wife, Patti, for 28 years, and they have three children together. He is also a veteran who served in in Saudi Arabia during operation Desert shield/Storm.

He is excited about the Salina Area United Way Mission and eager to be a part of making it happen.

“All these individuals bring different insight that I believe will benefit our organization greatly and continue moving us forward to better serve our funded partners in the community”, says Claire Ludes, Executive Director for the Salina Area United Way.  

Contact the Salina Area United Way for more information. Call (785) 827-1312 for any questions you may have. The Salina Area United Way is located on 113 N 7 St. and looks forward to hearing from you.