Local business leaders join Board of Trustees

Two local business leaders -- Lynn Detterman, president and CEO of Mercy Tiffin Hospital and Mercy Willard Hospital, and Mitch Felton, former CEO and current board chair of United Insurance Services – are the newest members of Heidelberg University’s Board of Trustees.

At its February meeting, trustees appointed Lynn and Mitch to four-year terms on the board, effective July 1, 2016.

“Lynn and Mitch have proven themselves to be extraordinary leaders and managers who are dedicated to improving the quality of life for our community,” said President Rob Huntington. “I look forward to the contributions, expertise and energy they will bring to the board and the value they will add to our ongoing efforts to move Heidelberg forward.”

After completing trustee orientation, both Lynn and Mitch are scheduled to participate in their first full board meetings in October 2016. Kathleen Tirbovich Geier, chair of the board’s Governance Committee, said she also looks forward to the contributions the pair will bring to the board.

“Their backgrounds in leadership, management and service will be great assets to the board,” Kathy said. “Both are visionaries and strategic thinkers, and we are fortunate that they have made the commitment to serve Heidelberg in

this important way.”

Lynn became president and CEO of Mercy Tiffin Hospital in February 2014 and has worked in that same capacity at Mercy Willard Hospital since February 2009. She joined the Mercy Health System in 2002 as manager of financial operations at Mercy Willard Hospital after four years as a senior accountant with Deloitte & Touche, LLP. In 2006, she was promoted to Rural Division CFO for both hospitals. She oversaw the construction of a $35 million community hospital in Willard that opened in 2012.

A 1998 graduate of the Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University, Lynn is pursuing her MBA at Tiffin University. She was honored in 2013 as one of “Tomorrow’s Leaders” by the Catholic Health Association, in 2012 as an “Up and Comer” by Modern Healthcare and in 2011 with a “20 Under 40” Leadership Award by Leadership Toledo and the Toledo Business Journal. She is a board member of the Seneca Industrial & Economic Development Corp. and serves as treasurer of the Willard Area Economic Development Corp., and in leadership roles for a number of other community and professional organizations.

“Heidelberg has a long tradition in the community. I look forward to continue the legacy of high-quality higher education, and I’m hopeful that my experience in healthcare leadership will add value to the future discussions and decisions facing the board and the leadership team,” Lynn said. “It is an exciting time to join a team that has made such significant progress in the last several years.”

Mitch grew up in Tiffin, graduated from Columbian High School and attended Ohio Wesleyan University to play basketball before transferring to Bowling Green State University to pursue his insurance career. He represents the third generation involved in ownership and management of UIS, which was opened in 1924 by his grandfather, Rex Felton Sr. Before becoming president in 1989, Mitch served as vice president of sales/marketing. Over the past two-plus decades, United Insurance has grown to become one of the top 15 percent of independent agencies with 13 offices in communities much like Tiffin. Although Mitch stepped down as president in 2014, he continues to serve as chairman of the board and to provide quality service to his customers.

Locally, Mitch has served on a number of local boards, including Betty Jane Rehabilitation Center (chair), Christ Church at Tiffin (elder), the Tiffin Area Chamber of Commerce, Seneca Industrial and Economic Development Corp. and the Tiffin Community YMCA. For his work with Tiffin Tomorrow’s downtown revitalization and UIS’s continued downtown presence and community support, Mitch was named Citizen of the Year in 2014. He has served as board president of Tiffin Tomorrow. Additionally, he is the founder and board president of the NOAH Foundation of Ohio, which provides free Christmas Day dinners to the community.

“Growing up in Tiffin, I have enjoyed the small-town feeling in a thriving community,” Mitch said. “It is exciting to see the growth of Heidelberg intermesh with the revitalization of Tiffin, and I look forward to being a part of that.”