In 2014 Josh Stoltz became Grow Benzie's first full-time Executive Director. Along with his other responsibilities Josh has been involved in the development of Volunteer Benzie County, a network of non-profits in Benzie County.
In 2017 under the leadership of Bob McQuilkin 15 organizations and community leaders met at the Platte River Inn to discuss the idea of creating a network of non-profits in Benzie county that would work together to connect volunteers and organizations, celebrating and cultivating a culture of volunteerism in our community. The network would be known as Volunteer Benzie County.
In August of 2017 Grow Benzie hired Americorps VISTA to help develop Volunteer Benzie County. The VISTA representative led meetings and focus groups and managed a pilot Facebook page to promote volunteer opportunities. In 2018 the group transitioned to a second VISTA worker and also selected a leadership team to create a strategic plan outlining key interests and objectives.
In 2019 a final draft was completed and a survey distributed to local citizens and organizations expressing an interest in Volunteer Benzie County The group ultimately determined that it needed a paid coordinator to facilitate meetings and manage growth, suspending activites until that role was filled and long-term funding was established.
Josh noted that Grow Benzie is already involved in assisting and coordinting non-profit activities in Benzie County, as with the building of bee boxes and Days for Girls., as well as furnishing of masks during the pandemic with the help of Benzie Bus and others.