Albion-Homer United Way New Board Members Are Dedicated

Commitment, community interest and dedication sum up what new members, Chris Burdette, Scott Salow and Dave Diemert bring to the Albion-Homer United Way board. The three new members recently joined the board to assist the organization in fund raising and grantmaking for organizations in Albion and Homer.

Burdette, Homestead Savings Bank vice president for retail banking, has over 35 years of banking experience he brings to the AHUW board. In his Homestead position, he oversees the branch and lending services and bank security. As a community volunteer, Burdette has spent 25 years on the board for Junior Achievement of the Michigan Edge. He also volunteers to present Junior Achievement information to classrooms at all age levels. In the past, he served as division co-chair for the Jackson United Way annual campaign.

Salow, Homer Community School superintendent, has been in education his entire career, including 10 years in the classroom, 14 years as a middle school principal and three years as Homer superintendent. Proud of his 21 years as a varsity baseball coach, Salow has 544 career wins and has been inducted into four Hall of Fames. In the community, Salow is a Homer Lions Club member, on the Safe Routes to School Committee, member of the Village Planning Committee and a Homer Area Community Foundation board member. In addition, he is a committee member of the Albion-Homer Substance Abuse Coalition.

An Albion resident, Diemert is owner of Diemert Construction, PLLC. He has lived in the community since 2004 when he started attending Albion College, graduating in 2008. For a number of years after college graduation, Diemert worked with private investors in a variety of projects in Michigan and Ohio. He also began working on rehabilitating properties. In 2011, he returned to his educational roots and began a new career at Starr Commonwealth in Albion, working with kids and their families for six years. In 2016, Diemert decided to pursue his dream of starting his own construction company. He has served on the board of the Albion Landlord Association.

The new board members join Mike Culliver, president; Andrew Dunham, vice-president; Pam Schuler, treasurer; Jason Cox, secretary; Carolyn Amos, Maurice Barnes, Art Kale, Patrick McLean, Gary Tompkins and Shane Williamson. Marcia Starkey is the executive director.