News

Meghan Brown finished her six-year term with the Wildcat Foundation Board of Directors in July, a tenure marked by her time as the Committee Chair for the Foundation’s top fundraiser, Wildcat Foundation Night.

Brown, who has lived in Mechanicsburg since 2004 and within the Mechanicsburg Area School District since 2011, served as the Committee Chair for Wildcat Foundation Night for five years, including the 2024 event hosted at Stock’s Manor.

Community service is a big part of Brown’s life in the MASD community. A travel agent with Harrigan Holidays, she also serves as a guest teacher for MASD, is a former President of the Middle School PTO, and also serves as co-chair of Operation Wildcat’s Project Clothes. Brown and her husband, Pete, have two kids – a son who graduated from MASD and a daughter who is a senior.

How would describe the Foundation’s impact on the MASD community?

When most people think of the Foundation they think of the new Fieldhouse. That was a huge project and one that the Foundation is very proud of, but there is so much more that goes on to help all of the students in the district.

The Grants Program is one of the coolest parts of the foundation and one that probably has the biggest impact on the most students and staff. I always loved that the Foundation got to be a leader in helping the district fund new initiatives for its students and classrooms.

The Foundation is the one organization in the district that truly has an impact on every student.

How did serving on the Foundation impact you personally?

I have enjoyed learning about the schools so much. When my kids were younger, and you could be in the schools on a regular basis, it was easy to know what was going on. But as they got older there was not as much need for student involvement.

The Foundation allowed me to still feel like I was in tune with what was going on in the schools and continue to help after I was done volunteering at the elementary levels.

I also loved all of the people I met from staff, students, district shareholders, and other board members. It really helped me feel like part of the community and I got to meet so many great people.

What are some highlights from your board service?

• Getting to see all of the community support for the Fieldhouse project and all of the district pride that came along with that.
• I am not sure it was a highlight but I am super proud of out COVID Wildcat Night. It was such a challenge to do an online event but it really allowed me to tap into different resources in the district that I was not super familiar with. I learned about the Technology Department, got to work with Mike Garland, learned about lots of fun hobbies that teachers have, and felt like we had a ton of great community involvement even though it was not in person.
• Every year, reading the scholarship applications is one of my favorite parts of the year. We have so many amazing kiddos in our schools and you really get to learn about them through the scholarship process and see the awesome things they are doing.
• Helping to hire the new Executive Director. I really enjoyed being a part of the process and seeing all that goes into filling a position like that. I felt immense pride seeing how hard all the board members were working on it and also seeing the awesome people from the community that applied for the position.
• Wildcat Night 2024 was a great event. It was super fun and I loved getting to pull in so much community involvement. The Taste of Mechanicsburg aspect of it was my favorite and I loved how it connected our supporters to great local businesses.