Grow Greene County Gaming Corporation installed three new board members at its annual meeting in September. Jared Taggart, Gabe Karber and Jeri Hedges were selected to replace outgoing original board members Lori Mannel and Rick Morain. The new board members will serve a three-year term with an option to continue with a second three-year term.
Grow Greene County is the qualifying sponsor organization for Wild Rose Jefferson. This nonprofit receives 5 percent of the casino’s adjusted gross gaming revenue. Greene County is awarded 4.1 percent to projects throughout the county. The remaining 0.9 percent is shared equally by the community foundations in the six contiguous counties. The GGC board oversees this process.
Jared Taggart and his wife Laura live in Jefferson with their three children. He grew up on a farm southeast of Scranton where they raised livestock. Taggard is a graduate of Upper Iowa University and served in multiple leadership roles as a Marine Corps Reservist from 2013 until 2021. He is an AVP business banker with Heartland Bank in Jefferson, specializing in agricultural and commercial lending. He serves on the Greene County Cattlemen board, a volunteer for the Scranton Community Center, and an assistant middle school wrestling coach. “I am grateful and excited to have been selected for the Grow Greene County Gaming Corporation Board and I hope to continue the diligent work the current and outgoing board members have done,” Taggart said.
Gabe Karber is a native of Greene County and graduated from Jefferson-Scranton High School in 1999. After college, Gabe and wife Allison followed careers that moved them out of state for 16 years. In 2020 they had the opportunity to move back to the area with their two children, with both of their jobs being remote. Karber said that the improvements that have been made to the community from the Grow Greene County funds were a big impact on his family making the decision to come back. Specific projects like Grow Greene’s financial commitment for the new high school were vitally important to that decision. When the opportunity came up to apply for the board, Karber was excited to get involved. Karber said, “My hope is that I can be a part of helping the community continue to see great improvements through this great opportunity.”
Jeri Hedges and her husband John were raised in Greene County and are now raising their three daughters here. The Hedges family farms in the southwest part of Greene County. Hedges is the office manager for a law firm in Jefferson. She realized that their children have been directly impacted by projects funded by Grow Greene County. She said that seeing these projects and the impact they have on our county is why she wanted to be a part of the Grow Greene County board. “The communities have so much to offer, and I am excited to see the continued growth. I look forward to working with the Grow Greene County board and supporting the growth of Greene County,” Hedges said.
During the annual project tour of the Grow Greene County board, the new members were thoroughly impressed by the organization and efforts of the various non-profit groups in the small communities that strive to make their communities thrive. “Each of the projects Grow Greene County funded was carefully planned and completed by the individual non-profits and has made their community a more attractive and better place to live,” Taggart said.
These three new board members are excited to see what new projects will come to life with the help of GGCGC funds.
Person interested in serving on the Grow Greene County Gaming Corporation board of directors can find information and an application on their website: growgreenecounty.org
