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Community Corner

UPDATE: Valley Outreach In Stillwater Dismisses Krisik From Director Position, Sally Anderson Steps In

Kate Krisik was terminated from Valley Outreach last month. Sally Anderson has been named Acting Executive Director.

Valley Outreach in Stillwater, a community-based and community-supported nonprofit serving St. Croix Valley neighbors in need of food, clothing and emergency financial assistance, has terminated its Executive Director, Kate Krisik.

Krisik’s last day at the nonprofit was October 21.

Valley Outreach announced Friday that Sally Anderson has been named Acting Executive director.

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Anderson has served as the organization’s Associate Director since July 2010. She will lead Valley Outreach’s team of staff and volunteers in the organization’s day-to-day operations.

 “Sally Anderson has significant non-profit management experience and has already served Valley Outreach in important ways in her role as Associate Director for the past 16 months. We are confident that she is the right person to lead our staff and volunteers right now,” said Marc Kimball, chairman of the Valley Outreach Board of Directors, in a press release.

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As for Krisik's departure, Valley Outreach President Marc Kimball would not comment on the situation.

“Our policy is not to comment on internal personnel matters,” Kimball said.

Krisik said she was shocked to be terminated from the position.

“I really don't know or understand why the board took that action. I know that I gave everything to Valley Outreach during my six years with the organization, always put Valley Outreach first, and achieved great success on behalf of the organization,” Krisik said in an email interview.

Krisik also stated there was not any wrong-doing on her part because she “always follows the highest standards of ethics and integrity.”

In July, Krisik stated she received a "superb" on her annual performance review from the board and also received a raise.

“So their decision defies explanation in my opinion,” Krisik said. 

During her time at Valley Outreach, Krisik says she grew the organization from a food shelf with a $100,000 per year annual budget to an agency with a $780,000 annual budget and three strong individual programs: a food shelf; Dawn's Closet (a clothing and household essentials program); and the Emergency Fund (an emergency financial assistance program).

The directors of each of Valley Outreach’s core programs remain in their current positions.

The board of directors will be making decisions on the executive director position in the upcoming months, Marc Kimball said.

Valley Outreach plans to stay "focused" on their core mission of helping families in need, Kimball said.

Valley Outreach plans to partner with other local organizations during the holidays to provide various needs for families during the holiday season.

The organization has already donated more than 100 turkeys to families in the Saint Croix Valley through a partnership with the United Way.

“This is an exciting time to be working with Valley Outreach and meeting needs of the ever-increasing number of families requesting our services in the St. Croix Valley area,” Sally Anderson said.

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