Mason Beuhring, Communications & Program Services Director at Marietta Community Foundation, talks with peer staff member, Amy Arnold on her one-year anniversary with the Foundation. Amy is the Foundation’s Support Services Assistant and began her position one week before the COVID-19 shutdown… luckily, Amy was up to the challenge!

Mason Beuhring: Now, Amy, correct me if I’m wrong, but you are an Ohio University Alumni, are you not?

Amy Arnold: Yes, that is correct. I majored in Community Health Services.

MB: You have two daughters, one is a junior at Marietta High School, but the other is about to finish her second year at OU. What is it like seeing your oldest following in your footsteps by going to your Alma Mater?

AA: I was excited to see her go to such a good school.

MB: After one year of working with you, something I have noticed is you lead a very active lifestyle. Why is staying active important to you?

AA: I think we are fortunate enough to live so close to the river and I think it lends itself to an active lifestyle. Marietta, particularly the bike path, is just a pretty place to walk.

There is a lot of hiking in our area, including West Virginia, so it’s a great place to live if you want to be active… I think there are a lot of venues to accomplish that goal.

MB: I know you normally walk about 3-4 miles at a time, is there a favorite walking or hiking route that you would recommend to others who might want to start engaging in a more active lifestyle?

AA: I’m pretty much a staple on the bike path, that’s definitely my favorite!

MB: Are there any other hobbies outside of exercising?

AA: I enjoy cooking, and I also like to travel.

As a family, we have traveled to many National Parks... it’s been a great way to see the country.  I love the West Coast, so California is always fun to visit.

MB: During your travels has there been a National Park that you think is the best?

AA: Probably Zion National Park out in Utah. It is so different than the landscape of the East. All of the parks I have been to are beautiful, but that is the one that I can’t wait to go back to again.

MB: You have been here for a year, but this isn't your first experience in the nonprofit world. Before coming here you worked with the Mid-Ohio Valley United Way for two years.

What do you specifically enjoy about the work within the nonprofit field and the work we accomplish here at the Foundation?

AA: I like the idea of community members, nonprofits, and the Foundation working together to make Washington County a better place for the future.

MB: You started your position here one week before the COVID shutdown went into effect. I remember that it was like ‘Here is your new co-worker, Amy,’ and then I didn’t see you for about two months!

What was it like having to learn how to navigate a new job and a pandemic all at the same time?

AA: I would be lying to say that it was easy, but everybody was helpful during that time.

Even though I was starting a new job, everybody else was learning how to overcome this transition to working from home as well. It was helpful to know that I wasn’t alone in struggling with technology and other issues that would pop up.

MB: What is something you have observed in the last year that many people might not know, but you think is an important aspect of what we do here?

AA: I think what I have learned about the Foundation is that although the name is Marietta Community Foundation, the Foundation serves all of Washington County. We are interested in how to best serve all of Washington County, and we are always looking for ways to improve the area for the future.