Executive Director's Summary

Those who know me well, know that I am a fan of great quotes. I love that someone can distill a concept with such clarity that it rings true and builds that common response of "yes that is exactly right". As I was thinking about the work of the Foundation this past year the word "partnership" kept coming to mind and with it the quote from Helen Keller, "alone we can do so little, together we can do so much".

As a Foundation we are blessed with resources provided by our founder Mr. Johnson, to support great projects in our service area and scholarship awards that can positively change lives. What a gift and a solemn responsibility as we seek to use resources wisely. As with all true partnerships, the Foundation's financial resources are only one component towards addressing community needs. Our work must be paired with dedicated community partners who possess a depth of understanding of local need, have developed thoughtful plans and strategies to bring about change and have the internal capacity to carry through.

This Annual Report highlights just a few of the great partners we had in 2018. Whether it was launching a student internship program with Boreal Community Media in Cook County, restoring the North Shore Forest with The Nature Conservancy, addressing critical needs for seniors with Community Partners in Two Harbors, supporting a playground expansion at North Shore Community School, helping to narrow the achievement gap with Neighborhood Youth Services in Duluth or supporting Clayton Jackson McGhie Memorial as they educated the community about Duluth's Black History, the Foundation has provided resources and our partners have made positive change happen.

In addition to our granting work, graduating seniors at Cook County High School in Grand Marais were awarded full scholarships to either Lake Superior College or Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College through the Lloyd K. Johnson Post-Secondary Scholarship. Thirteen new recipients were awarded in addition to three renewals and two second renewal scholarships. To learn more about our scholarship work please see the scholarship summary included in the report.

A heartfelt thank you to all our great 2018 community partners, our staff and the dedicated Board of the Foundation - together we have done so much!

Joan Gardner-Goodno
Executive Director