Ross Gallabrese NEW TRUSTEE — Eric Hilty, center, has been named as the new trustee for the Charles M. and Thelma M. Pugliese Charitable Trust. He will serve with G. Daniel Spahn, left, and Thomas P. Timmons. Hilty fills the spot that had been held by the late H. Lee Kinney.

WINTERSVILLE — Eric Hilty says he is ready to take on his next challenge.

The Bloomingdale resident, who was elected as Jefferson County engineer in 2024, has been chosen as the newest trustee of the Charles M. and Thelma M. Pugliese Charitable Foundation.

“I think it fits my personality,” Hilty said while sitting in the organization’s Wintersville office. “Growing up, I did a lot of community service, and I have always been involved with different athletics and extracurriculars. I was excited to be able to be a part of something like this and, hopefully, for a long time.”

Hilty is the third member of a board that includes Thomas P. Timmons and G. Daniel Spahn. He is replacing H. Lee Kinney, who was one of the original trustees when the foundation was funded in 1999 and who died on Jan. 15.

“He has good executive skills. He has communications skills. He understands finances and he has a good knowledge of IT,” Spahn said. “He is a native of the area and has a heart for the community, and that came through clearly. We think he knows how to reach the community, and has similar goals in mind that are consistent with the history of the foundation. We’re excited about his joining us.”

According to Timmons, the foundation’s principal, which started at $12 million, has now grown to about $19 million, and it has already paid out more than $13 million. No outside contributions come into the foundation, Spahn explained, adding it is able to distribute around $600,000 each year to an average of about 30 organizations,

In addition, the foundation provides three $1,000 scholarships each year to 11 area high schools. Each trustee has a discretionary total of $5,000 to be distributed as they choose.

Timmons and Spahn said Hilty, who is raising two children with his wife, Laura, will bring a different perspective to the board.

“Lee Kinney was the backbone of the foundation since its inception in the late 1990s,” Spahn said. “With his passing, there is a wealth of institutional knowledge that’s gone. His commitment to the community was very much appreciated. He had a financial background, and it was just really great to work with him.

“That’s one of the things we were looking at with Eric,” he continued. “We had a new generation in mind. We wanted someone who could pick up on the tradition of Lee and continue for the next generation, and Eric fit the bill from our point of view.”

“We had a couple of other candidates we were thinking about — good candidates who would have fit in pretty well,” Timmons said. “We just felt that Eric was the best fit and will give us some longevity here.”

Hilty, a graduate of Indian Creek High School and the University of Akron, agreed.

“A lot of things are different and changing, whether it’s with schools or just youth organizations,” he said. “With me being the father of two children and being currently active in a lot of organizations, I think being able to look at a different angle or shed a new light might help out.”

Joining Kinney as original trustees were the late William W. McElwain and Douglas F. Naylor. The late attorney Robert Hargrave was instrumental in putting the foundation together and getting it off the ground.

The Pugliseses primarily operated hotels throughout the region, including in Steubenville, Wheeling, Warren and Portsmouth. Thanks to a strong work ethic, they amassed a fortune, Kinney told former Community Editor Janice Kiaski in 2022. Kinney added that Pugliese connected with he, McElwain and Hargrave when they were looking for investors in 1985 to launch the former UniBank.

One of 12 children raised during the Depression by a mother he admired, Pugliese became one of those major investors and served on the UniBank board for the life of the bank.

Thelma Pugliese died in 1972, and the couple had no children. When he reached is 80s, he established the foundation.

Pugliese, who died on Sept. 22, 2003, laid out a very specific document outlining who was eligible to apply for a grant: It’s open to any governmental subdivision such as a city, village, township, police and fire department, etc.; any school; and any not-for-profit organization located within a 30-mile radius of Fourth and Market streets in downtown Steubenville, where UniBank had been located.

That’s a wider area than many people think, Timmons said. It goes to Robinson Township and past Cadiz and Carrollton, as well as St. Clairsville and Wheeling.

Hilty’s background, Spahn and Timmons explained, makes him a good fit.

“He’s already a busy man,” Spahn said. “We like that about him, too, but, at the same time, we felt he was able to make room for what we need. That’s a great quality, from our point of view.

“Look at Tom,” he continued. “I don’t know if there’s a community organization he’s not a part of or hasn’t been a part of in one way or another. He really has contributed to the community as much as anybody in his time here. They seem to have the same heart for the stuff.

“And so do you, Dan,” Timmons added. “We all have the same heart for the community, and we love being able to help people. Some of the people we get grant applications from don’t have a lot of money. We like helping the fire departments and the schools, but it’s more than that. It’s a good feeling when we are able to do that.”

Hilty said he is prepared to have a hand in maintaining the foundation’s standards and the level of assistance it provides across the Tri-State Area.

“A little hard work doesn’t scare me,” he said.