As a perpetual gift to the community, the Thalers have established the Skip and Jill Thaler Family Endowment Fund. This fund is a donor-advised fund, which means that Skip and Jill, and subsequently their children, will provide grant recommendations for consideration by the Foundation's Board of Directors. "We thought this was a good way for them (our children, George VI, Sara and Tim) to still have a connection back here where their parents were raised.

Technically, Naples, Florida and Chippewa Falls are home to Skip and Jill (Kroll) Thaler, but the latter is truly "home."

From the porch of their Lake Wissota cottage, the retired couple reflected on the area's sense of community as the sun shimmered on the lake, water trickled from a fountain in the yard, and soothing music played in the background.

"We owe a lot, not only community, but to our parents who gave us the good fortune of being brought up here," Skip said.

Born and raised in Chippewa Falls, Jill graduated from Chippewa Falls Senior High School; Skip graduated from McDonell Memorial High School. After graduation, Jill worked at Mason Shoe; Skip left the area to complete college. They were married in 1967 and Jill joined him in Ohio, where he finished his last semester of grad school.

They ended up in Detroit, Michigan, where he had landed a job in sales with IBM. They missed Chippewa Falls, though, and took advantage of the opportunity to move closer when Skip was transferred to Minneapolis.

Still, they yearned to be back in Chippewa Falls and visited their parents often. After five years with IBM, Skip left the company so they could stay in the area. They built a cottage on Lake Wissota and started their home-based tire brokerage business in Minneapolis. For thirty-five years, Skip brokered tires both in the U.S. and around the world, while Jill initially handled the administrative side of the business. "She'd answer the phone with one hand while carrying a baby in the other," Skip said his wife's ability to multitask.

Since turning the business over to their 2 sons, their time has been divided between Naples, Florida and Chippewa Falls. During the summer and on holidays, they welcome their three adult children and seven grandchildren, to their Lake Wissota cottage.

The Skip and Jill Thaler Family Endowment Fund is their way of expressing gratitude for their parents, the lasting friendships they've made in Chippewa Falls and Chippewa Falls' small-town sense of community. "It just feels like home," Jill said. "It is home," Skip added.

The Community Foundation's simple, effective system of establishing and administering funds allows them to help the community with low administrative costs. "Jill and I feel fortunate and blessed that we're able to do this, "Skip said. "We greatly value our community here, our family and friends, and being raised here. The Foundation gives us the ablility to carry our gratitude forward in perptuity.