Denise Spaulding (MBA ’97, Business Administration) is the recipient of the CFO of the Year Award for the non-profit category. Spaulding is employed with D.A. Blodgett – St. Johns in Grand Rapids, and has been described as a champion of the agency. D.A. Blodgett partners with the community for the good of all children and provides foster care, counseling, residential care, adoption services, and mentoring services from Big Brothers Big Sisters for children in need.
Spaulding credits the agency’s mission to help children and families as the reason why she’s stayed with the company for 31 years. She said that she sees herself as the person working behind the scenes to make sure the mission of the organization is being advanced.
As the CFO, Spaulding’s responsibilities include managing the finances and endowments from D.A. Blodgett – St. Johns. She also manages the human resources department and the day-to-day employee legal issues, and until this year managed the I.T. and facilities department. Spaulding started at the organization as an office manager and bookkeeper, and is a prime example that hard work pays off.
Another hard worker, Dan Scheid (BBA ’94, Accounting), was recognized as a finalist for the CFO of the Year Award under the corporation category. Scheid has been working with Zeigler Auto Group for more than a decade.
Since Scheid joined Ziegler, the auto group has enjoyed a number of acquisitions that have tripled the number of stores, and more than tripled sales. Scheid credits the acquisition of a BMW franchise as the fulfillment of a major goal for the company; a plan the company set out to accomplish in 2003.
Scheid previously handled the company’s finances, but has shifted his focus to business development. The finances are now trusted to a team built by Scheid – a team he credits as the reason for Zeigler’s success.
To see what West Michigan’s Top CFOs had to say, please visit mibiz.com.