About Us

Mission Statement:
Give Back Tristate is a not-for-profit organization that strives to improve and beautify our respective communities by uniting area young professionals through philanthropic activities. Give Back Tristate allows area young professionals and college students to Give Back to the communities that have enriched and enhanced their lives.

Who Can Join Give Back Tristate?
Give Back Tristate is designed to attract members ages 18+ that live and/or work in the Tristate and surrounding communities. For liability reasons, you must be at least 18 years of age to join Give Back Tristate or to take part in our events. Attendance at some social events may require you to be at least 21 years of age.

What Makes Give Back Tristate Unique?
Give Back Tristate operates with zero paid employees and offers "guilt free" volunteer opportunities with a social twist. There is no obligation to join - no dues, no weekly meetings to attend, no harassing phone calls or junk mail asking for donations.

Furthermore, we believe in having fun! To celebrate our hard work and the new friendships we have formed, we have a social event following each service event. Post-Volunteer social events are our opportunity to explore what the Tristate has to offer while we celebrate the day’s accomplishment. Some post-volunteer social events may require participants to be at least 21 years of age.

2008 Board of Directors

2008 Board of Directors Bios

Alfonso Vidal

No bio yet.

Andy Martin

No bio yet.

Ashley Vezzoso

Ashley Vezzoso is from Evansville, IN. She graduated from University of Southern Indiana with a BA in Public Relations.

She began working for the Evansville Convention & Visitors Bureau as their Sales Support Manager in 2005.

In addition to her involvement in Give Back Tristate, Ashley is serving as the Chair for the 2009 Dragons on the Ohio, board member for Funk in the City, graduate of Leadership Evansville, and also a member of the Junior League of Evansville.

Brad Meny

Brad Meny is originally from Haubstadt, Ind. He graduated from Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business with a Bachelor of Science in business marketing.

Brad began his career in Indianapolis as a management trainee for Ferguson Enterprises, Inc. After a year in Indianapolis, he transferred to the Evansville location and was named sales representative.

Brad was then employed as an account executive for BitWise Solutions, a web development company based out of Indianapolis, where he was the point person for the development of the Give Back Tristate web site.

In October 2007, Brad returned to Ferguson Enterprises, Inc., and was named industrial sales representative. He now oversees various industrial accounts including SABIC Innovative Plastics, Bristol Meyers and Duke Power.

Brad is a member of the Rotaract Club of Evansville, the Evansville Homeowners Association and the Mechanical Contractors Association.

Brad resides in Newburgh with his wife, Laurel, and their 20 lb. cat, Beatrice.

Carly Griffin

Carly Griffin

Carly Griffin is from Newburgh, IN. She graduated from Ball State University in 2004 with a Bachelor of Arts in journalism and communication studies.

After Ball State, Carly moved to Indianapolis, IN for her first job as a marketing director for a local residential and commercial roofing company. Carly lived in downtown Indianapolis for little over a year, when she realized how much she missed her family and friends in Southern Indiana.

In August 2005 she accepted an events coordinator position with The Chamber of Commerce of Southwest Indiana where she works closely with the vice president of public policy.

As well as serving on the board of directors for Give Back, Carly is also the President Elect for the Rotaract Club of Evansville and serves on the ATHENA Awards Committee.

Carly currently lives in Evansville.

Channelle Ragland

Channelle Ragland

Channelle is a graduate of Indiana University Southeast with a BA in Sociology. She is a native of Evansville Indiana and a graduate of North High School. Channelle’s experience working in social services began in college as an intern for a maternity and transitional living group home as a Resident Counselor. After graduation she worked as a Case Manager for Regional Youth Services Home-Based program for juvenile offenders.

While working at Regional Youth Services, she saw the need for at-risk girls in the community to participate in a positive program. Thus, she started the Diamonds female outreach program modeled after the YMCA of Southwestern Indiana. She pursued independent funders and recruited the YMCA to become the fiscal agent for the program. Using the resources of the YMCA, she wrote grant proposals to fund the program. She was able to secure $120,000 of funding in the first year and Diamonds became a YMCA program. Over the course of the next few years the Diamonds program led to the creation of the Outreach department and more outreach programs. During this time Channelle raised nearly $500,000 to ensure the financial sustainability of the program.

Prior to the development of the Outreach Department Channelle held various other positions and gaining experience in property management, residential youth group homes, directing grassroots programs, and supervising a state program. In these positions her responsibilities varied from working with juvenile probation, courts, schools, community agencies, the youth, and their families to provide supportive services to ensure the child’s success.

She will be finishing her Masters of Social Work at the University of Southern Indiana. In the future, as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, she would like to provide individual therapy, conflict resolution and anger management sessions for the youth in the outreach programs. She would like to use the knowledge she gains from her studies in the Master of Social Work Program and clinical license to enhance outreach programming and provide counseling to the youth and their families as needed. Channelle is currently working for the Evansville Vanderburgh School Corporation as the Executive Director of the Southwest Indiana College Access Network.

Chris Stratman

No bio yet.

Heidi Davidson

No bio yet.


John Hewins

John Hewins

Hello! My name is John Hewins. I am the Community Service Director for the Rotaract Club of Evansville, which is a close community service partner with Give Back Tristate. I also serve on the Donor Development Committee for Youth First, a local organization dedicated to researching and eliminating substance abuse among Evansville children. All this activity started when I joined Rotaract about 2 years ago. Ever since then I have been helping with community organizations as much as my free time allows.

I grew up in Evansville and graduated from North High School in 1996. I then attended Indiana University and earned my BS in Computer Information Systems.

I currently work for American General Finance. Before AGF I lived in Chicago and worked for Accenture, a technology consultancy. I moved back to Evansville because life was hectic in Chicago, and I missed the simple life Evansville can provide. But, I still have my Cubs season tickets, and plenty of friends in Chicago so I still visit a few times a year.

I find Give Back Tristate to be a very rewarding organization because it directly helps with worthy causes around Evansville. It is truly a hands-on organization. Not only does Give Back help our community, it also provides personal benefits in the camaraderie and friendships formed at our monthly events.

Josh Claybourn

Josh Claybourn

Joshua Claybourn is an attorney practicing primarily in business and corporate law. Much of his professional work involves counsel to physicians and physician practices in the context of contract, corporate and business law.

Among other civic and political activities, he is a member of the Board of Trustees for the Evansville Vanderburgh Public Library, the Evansville Vanderburgh Public Library Foundation, and a member of the Board of Directors of Mulberry Center, Inc. He is also a member of the Evansville and Indiana State Bar Associations, as well as the American Health Lawyers Association.

Joshua earned a Juris Doctorate degree from the Indiana University School of Law and a Bachelor of Science degree from the Indiana University Kelley School of Business. He is a native of Evansville and a graduate of North High School.

Kyle Dodd

No bio yet.

Laurel Meny

Laurel Meny

Laurel Meny is originally from Newburgh, Ind. She graduated from Ball State University with a Bachelor of Arts in journalism and a minor in communication studies.

Laurel began her career as the public relations coordinator for AdvertisingWorks, Inc., in Naples, Florida. After living and working in the “Sunshine State” for two years, she returned to Evansville and was named the director of marketing for The Chamber of Commerce of Southwest Indiana. Laurel’s responsibilities include overseeing all aspects of marketing, communication and events for The Chamber of Commerce of Southwest Indiana.

Since working for The Chamber, Laurel has been involved in numerous projects including the successful nomination of Evansville as the 2006 Community of the Year from the Indiana Chamber of Commerce and The Chamber of Commerce of Southwest Indiana as the 2007 Chamber of the Year from the Indiana Chamber Executives Association.

Laurel and The Chamber also recently received the coveted 2008 American Chamber of Commerce Executives’ Communications of Excellence Award.

In addition to her involvement with Give Back Tristate, Laurel serves as the social director for the Rotaract Club of Evansville and is a member of the Indiana Chamber Executives Association, the American Chamber of Commerce Executives, the Advertising Club of Evansville (ACE) and A Network of Evansville Women (ANEW).

Laurel resides in Newburgh with her husband, Brad, their 20 lb. cat, Beatrice.

Lisa J. Schaefer

No bio yet.

Scott Settles

Scott Settles

Scott Settles is the head golf professional & owner of The Players Club of Henderson in Henderson, KY. where he has worked since 2005. Scott is an Evansville, IN native who was prepped at Memorial High School.

Prior to his move to Henderson, Scott was the assistant golf professional at Quail Crossing Golf Club in Boonville, IN. Scott is a Member of the PGA of America and also serves on the Kentucky Section PGA board. Scott is the owner & CEO of Settles Golf, LLC which is the company that purchased The Players Club of Henderson in January 2007.

Scott currently resides in Henderson, KY.

Stephanie Roberts

Stephanie Roberts is a return citizen of Evansville, Indiana, having graduated from the University of Evansville in 2007 and returned in January 2009.  She is the Executive Director of HOLA, an local non for profit agency dedicated to promoting the appreciation of cultural diversity and the successful inclusion of Latinos in the Evansville Community. She was born in Curitiba, Brazil to a Bolivian mother and American father, making this work something close to her heart and her own personal story.

She has been a member of the board of Give Back Tri-State since January 2009 and looks forward to seeing this group grow and continue to support important causes in the local area.  She can be reached at  (812) 435-0942  (812) 435-0942 or sroberts@holaevansville.com

Susan Fetscher

Susan Fetscher is the Assistant Director of Development; Research, Publications, Events at the University of Southern Indiana Foundation. Susan is the inmediate past president of the Young Evansville Professionals and a member of the Evansville Area Fundraising Council. She sits on commitees with WNIN and YEP.

A lifelong Evansville resident, she graduated from Reitz High School before earning her BA in Communication from Purdue University. She resides on the Westside with her husband Chad and son Dylan.

Twaka Q. Tyus

No bio yet.

Zach Hopkins

No bio yet.