Coretta Scott King said, “the greatness of a community is most accurately measured by the compassionate actions of its members.” Kay Bouyack is the embodiment of those words. Since returning home to Portsmouth in the 1970s after a teaching stint in the Dayton area, Kay has worked and volunteered for organizations that define culture, art, education, giving, and service in her hometown. And now, after years of compassionate actions, Kay Bouyack is retiring.
Since 2007, she has worked as the Staff Writer for the Scioto Foundation. Through thoughtfully written pieces Kay has delivered stories that balance the joy and grief of families and friends who have established scholarships and special funds to honor the life of a loved one. For 19 years, she has explained and shared what the Scioto Foundation does and what it means to the greater Scioto County area.
Before the Foundation, Kay devoted 25 years to helping the Southern Ohio Museum grow, first as a part-time community relations coordinator, then Assistant Director, and later Administrative Director until she retired from the Museum. Her devotion to the arts and the Museum also included volunteering as a Host Site Advisor for an Ohio Arts Council project called The Portsmouth Community Development Initiative.
Kay has given countless hours to many organizations in the area. She has volunteered with Portsmouth City Schools, Portsmouth Little Theatre, and the Portsmouth Arts Council. She is a past president and board member of the Ohio Arts Presenters Network, a member of PALS, and has served on several boards at Second Presbyterian Church.
On their 50th wedding anniversary, an occasion when most people receive gifts instead of giving them, Kay and her family established the Bouyack Family Fund at the Scioto Foundation. As a donor advised fund, Kay, her husband Ernie, their son Scott, daughter Julie Garrett, and their families guide the giving to the community causes and needs they have chosen. Even in retirement, Kay continues to find ways to support her hometown.
The Portsmouth community and especially the Scioto Foundation are grateful for the hours, the ideas, and the thoughtfulness that Kay has shared for decades. Now that Kay Bouyack is retiring, may she be the example that will encourage others to support and build the community through their own compassionate actions.