By Lindsey Bonte, Lakeside Marketing Intern

The Lakeside Association Board of Directors is a collection of dedicated volunteers, business and professional leaders, friends, and clergy who graciously volunteer their time, resources, and talent and bring a wealth of experience to the Board.

Jane Anderson is the current Board Chair. Anderson joined the Board in 2019 and became Chair in 2021. She is serving as Board Chair after leading the Nominating and Board Development Committee for two years and serving on the Strategic Planning Committee. She also has served in various volunteer roles throughout the community. Anderson and her husband, Steve, first visited Lakeside in 1984 and purchased a cottage in 2015. They have three grown children and three grandchildren who they love spending time with. In fact, Anderson’s favorite Lakeside memories consist of spending time at Lakeside in the fall with her family and friends.

“We came 18 years in a row with the same family and now our kids are adults and are having kids and they’re coming back,” she says.

According to Anderson, her role as Board Chair is all about communicating and listening to people to improve Lakeside.

“I love working with our Board, “she says. “They’re so skilled and talented and bring a wide variety of experience and perspectives. It is just a privilege to serve alongside them and serve Lakeside.”

When asked why Anderson joined the board initially, she mentioned that she was simply asked by the CEO at the time if she would consider Board service. She knew she loved to serve and wanted to give back to the community that gave her so much.

“Lakeside just is the sort of place where you want to be able to give back,” Anderson says. “We’ve received so much from it,” Anderson noted that the future of Lakeside excites her, particularly the kids of Lakeside. “We want to be relevant to future generations, so every decision we make as a Board is mission-focused,” she says. “We think how we can stay relevant to future generations, the next 150 years of people who are going to come through these gates. We constantly ask ourselves what we can do to enhance the lives of those families we see on the streets.”

Anderson stressed that the Board is all about teamwork, a principle that stretches across the organization, including the staff and management team, the Foundation Board, and volunteers. Anderson believes that the Board can only do so much, and the real stars of Lakeside are the incredible people here. She is grateful for the Lakeside staff and volunteers who she describes as “incredibly hard-working and mission-focused.”