Greencroft Communities Stories
Meet the Greencroft Communities Foundation Team
On an overcast day the first week of May, Abbe Buller cruised around the Greencroft Goshen campus in a tricked-out golf cart, with green fringe waving like bangs and orange and purple leis dangling from the canopy. It was Foundation Fun Week on the Guber, and Abbe took the first shift. It was her dream, after all, for the Greencroft Communities Foundation team to drive the Guber all week.
The Guber, aka the Greencroft Uber, is a golfcart taxi service, shuttling residents from one location on the campus to another, or across the street to the grocery store, bank, or medical offices. The Guber is street-legal, meaning it’s licensed for off-campus driving on neighboring city streets.
What better way to get to know residents than to drive them around campus, Abbe told her boss, Todd Yoder. One of the team’s objectives was to promote the work of the Foundation among residents and community friends.
Abbe, the newest member of the team, had been on staff for only five months, filling a newly created position, Fundraising and Donor Services Manager. She joined Nancy Miller, Fundraising and Donor Stewardship Manager, and Gene Yoder, Director of Donor Relations. The three report to Todd Yoder, President of the Foundation; or, as Gene calls him, “Boss Man.” Todd had been on staff for two months longer than Abbe. He, too, filled a newly created position, Vice President of Development for Greencroft Communities. Nancy and Gene are the Foundation veterans, with four years and 30 years of tenure, respectively.
To clarify, Gene has been on the Foundation staff for only one year. He retired from Greencroft in 2004 after serving as the CEO for 23 years. He had been hired in 1974 as a manager tasked with converting an Elkhart hotel into senior living apartments. His promotion to CEO came in 1981.
The Retired CEO
Gene and his wife, Fern, live in Magnolia Court on the Goshen campus. He serves on the Greencroft Goshen Board of Directors and the Greencroft Goshen Resident Advisory Council, better known as GGRAC.
As a board member and former CEO, Gene worried the Foundation had been doing its good work so far behind the scenes that not enough people knew what it was or who was doing the work. He came out of retirement in May of 2024 to become a part-time ambassador of sorts, connecting Foundation staff with his neighbors on campus.
In his first year on the job, he introduced the Foundation staff to almost all of the Greencroft Goshen resident groups. The casual presentations occur in conference rooms, chapels, game rooms, outdoor picnic areas, and once in a resident apartment.
Each of the four team members tells a little about themselves and the work they do for the Foundation.
Gene shares the history and mission of the Foundation. Nancy talks about the ministry of benevolence. Abbe promotes events and the Resident Dreams program, a new undertaking for the Foundation. Todd explains how a foundation operates and how the Greencroft Communities Foundation oversees fundraising for all nine Greencroft affiliates. He touches on the importance of aspirational and legacy gifts and answers questions at the end.
“I just love this place,” Gene says when it’s his turn with the microphone. “Taking care of our people, taking care of each other; that’s what the Greencroft Communities Foundation is all about.”
The Writer
Nancy joined the Foundation staff in August 2021. Even though her last name is Miller, she is not from Elkhart County. Nancy grew up in Vero Beach, Florida. Bored with only one season year-round, she headed north for college, graduating from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1982 with a degree in English. She lived in that state for about 10 years before moving to Elkhart.
Nancy got to know the nonprofit agencies in Elkhart County while writing their stories for The Elkhart Truth newspaper. It was a natural transition for her to jump out of the newsroom and into nonprofit communications and fundraising for the second half of her career. Before landing at Greencroft, she worked for ADEC and Big Brothers Big Sisters in Elkhart County, and LOGAN in St. Joseph County.
Nancy and her husband, Jim, live in Elkhart with a German shepherd named Sweetness and a dog of questionable pedigree named Bonzo. Their blended family includes three adult children and five brilliant grandchildren.
“Working at Greencroft is a calling, and I know God directed my path here,” she tells residents.
The Connector
Todd grew up in West Liberty, Ohio. As his name suggests, he grew up in the Mennonite church, with Amish roots in Nappanee.
He graduated from Goshen College in 1984 with a degree in biology and secondary education. He married his college sweetheart, Kathleen Schertz, and moved with her to Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, in 1986.
Todd worked for 25 years in sales and sales management in Pennsylvania and Georgia before returning to Goshen in 2012 to join the advancement team at Goshen College, serving most recently as Vice President for Advancement. “I have always enjoyed my work, but the invitation to engage with individuals and families as they consider their philanthropic priorities and legacies has been the most joyful and fulfilling part of my career. I am grateful that my path has brought me to this sacred calling at Greencroft.”
He and Kathleen live in Goshen. They have two adult daughters, two sons-in-law, one adorable grandson, and a grand dog, Finley.
When Hugh Davis began his tenure as Greencroft’s new CEO in February of 2024, he realized someone was missing on his executive team. He did not have a Vice President of Development to lead the Foundation.
Hugh and his wife Suzette met Todd and Kathleen through mutual friends at the Yoders’ Super Bowl party. They became friends, and Hugh soon realized Todd would be a great fit at Greencroft. After several conversations, Todd agreed.
Todd’s mother, Rebecca Sommers, and his in-laws, Ron and Leanne Schertz, all live on the campus of Greencroft Goshen, so he was a regular visitor here long before accepting the job.
In his college years, he and Kathleen would visit her grandmother, Lena Frick, who lived on the Goshen campus. Todd enjoys sharing Lena’s story when he speaks to resident groups. “She turned 65, retired, and moved to Greencroft all on the same day,” he shares. “She lived on this campus for 35 years, moving through the levels of care until she died in Healthcare at the age of 100.”
The experience which carved a place in his heart for Greencroft was the “sending ceremony” for Lena before she died. “Everyone knew her—staff, administrators, and residents; and they all came by to pay their respects,” he remembers. “That’s when I realized, Greencroft is not just a place, it’s a family.”
The Dream Maker
Besides driving golf carts, Abbe loves planning events and fulfilling dreams. At a previous job, she was nicknamed Fairy Godmother because one of her tasks was granting wishes for children.
Abbe grew up in a small town, Pioneer, Ohio, graduating from Bluffton University in 2000 with a degree in business administration. She and her husband, Patrick, lived in Seattle before moving to Goshen in 2011. They live with two exceptional children, ages 10 and 12, and a clever cat named Storm.
Abbe came to Greencroft from Bethany Christian Schools where she worked as an Advancement Associate for five years. Prior to that, she served as an administrative assistant to the board of directors for Michiana MEDA. In that role, she worked with Kathleen Yoder, Todd’s wife.
When Todd told Kathleen about the job opening on his team, she told him he should talk to Abbe. He did, and as usual, his wife had been right.
Abbe recalls, “After learning more about the Greencroft Communities Foundation, it became clear that the values of joyful stewardship, service, and benevolence were things I could really get behind. “It’s been a joy to support the work of the foundation and the mission of Greencroft Communities these last five months!”
The Guber
The team provided 17 rides during their week on the Guber, more than most rides recorded in a given month by the transportation department. Four board members from the Greencroft Communities Foundation each took a shift as co-pilot.
The experience was so much fun for riders and drivers, it will be repeated next year.