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New leadership for Catholic Charities board

Catholic Herald Staff Report

Linda McMahon (left) and Rick Kaplar are leaving the diocesan Catholic Charities board at the end of March. McMahon has been on the board since 1991 and was chairman from 2003 to 2011. Kaplar, chairman since 2011, joined the board in 1999. COURTESY

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Ronald Riggins (left) is the new chairman of the diocesan Catholic Charities board. He is a parishioner of Church of the Nativity in Burke. Kelly McKeague (right) is the new vice chairman of the board. He is a parishioner of St. Rita Church in Alexandria. COURTESY

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Two longtime board members who helped diocesan Catholic Charities
grow into the thriving ministry it is today are leaving the board at the end of
March.

Dr. Linda McMahon, professor emerita and vice president for
student life for more than 25 years at Marymount University in
Arlington, has been on the board since 1991 and was chairman from 2003 to 2011.
Rick Kaplar, president and CEO of the Media Institute in Arlington, joined the
board in 1999 and has been chairman since 2011. 

In 2014, Kaplar challenged the board to adopt a visionary goal of
increasing Catholic Charities’ annual revenue from $8 million to $16 million by
the end of 2020 to effectively double the services provided and clients served.
The board met the challenge. As of June 30, 2020, annual revenue was $16.3
million.

“For three decades Catholic Charities has benefited from and
grown more than twofold with the extraordinary, visionary leadership” of Kaplar
and McMahon, said Bishop Michael F. Burbidge, who noted their more than 51
years of combined service. 

The new board chairman is Ronald Riggins, a bank consultant who
is a parishioner of Church of the Nativity in Burke. A member of the board for
12 years, he has been chairman of the advancement and communications committee for nine
years. He and his wife, Terry, who works for the diocese, have three grown
children and two grandchildren.       

The new vice chairman is Kelly McKeague, a parishioner of St. Rita
Church in Alexandria who has been on the board since 2016. A 34-year Air Force
veteran, he is currently a civilian employee in the Department of Defense. He
and his wife, Nancy, have been married for 36 years; they have four adult
children and one granddaughter. 

Bishop Burbidge said he has great confidence in Riggins and
McKeague and their partnership with the agency’s new president and CEO, Stephen
Carattini. “By God’s grace, Catholic Charities will continue to deepen and
expand its ministries to ensure those most in need receive the care and attention
our faith compels,” Bishop Burbidge said. 

 

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