Three Community Leaders Elected to Reading Hospital Board

Wednesday, June 01, 2011

Thomas Flynn, PhD

Karen Rightmire

Benjamin Zintak

Three community leaders were elected to three-year terms on the board of directors of both The Reading Hospital and Medical Center and its parent corporation The Reading Hospital.  Effective July 1, 2011, these new board members are:  Thomas F. Flynn, PhD, President of Alvernia University; Karen A. Rightmire, Executive Director of the Wyomissing Foundation; and Benjamin J. Zintak, III, President of Zeeco, Inc.

In making the announcement, Hospital Board Chairman C. Thomas Work stated, “We are excited to have each of them join the Hospital Board.  They offer vast experience with a variety of the community's nonprofit boards, have exhibited great talent and vision, and will be adept at guiding a 144-year-old institution that is undergoing transformational change for the continued benefit of the people who live and work in the greater Berks County region.”

Background

Dr. Flynn was named Alvernia’s sixth president in 2005, and has overseen the development of strategic and campus master plans and the campus-wide process culminating in the achievement of university status.   In addition to the 50th anniversary campaign and other major capital initiatives, Dr. Flynn has led the drive to create endowed professorships and establish centers of excellence, including the Center for Ethics and Leadership and the Holleran Center for Community Engagement, at Alvernia.

Dr. Flynn, author and speaker on contemporary higher education, is a board member of the Association of Independent Colleges and Universities of Pennsylvania, as well as a director of both the national Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities and the Association of Franciscan Colleges.  Active in economic development, intercultural dialogue, and community-based learning initiatives, he currently serves on the boards of Berks County United Way and the Olivet Boys and Girls Club.

As executive director of the Wyomissing Foundation since 2009, Karen Rightmire manages this private foundation in supporting many of Berks County’s most important nonprofit institutions, including the Reading Public Museum and Berks County Conservancy, as well as in enhancing economic development in the core of the county.

Rightmire had previously served as president of the United Way of Berks County for 20 years, and led volunteers and staff in raising funds to address the community’s most pressing health and human issues through established service agencies and start-up programs, such as the Care for Kids Coalition and Weed and Seed community revitalization strategy.

Rightmire serves on the boards of Albright University and VIST Financial Corporation, as well as on the Federally Qualified Health Center Advisory Committee, United Way of Berks County Community Council, Penn State Berks Advisory Board, Leadership Berks Faculty, and Capital Campaign Review Board.

Benjamin Zintak began his business career in 1969 with Caron International, a textile firm, before co-founding Dimensions, Inc., an international designer, manufacturer, and marketer of art-craft products, in 1976.  He served as president, director, and non-executive chairman of this Reading-based firm until his retirement in 2007. He is now president of Zeeco, Inc., a personal private investment company.

Among his civic commitments are board memberships with Alvernia University and Caron Treatment Centers, where he is the immediate past chairman. He also volunteered his expertise with the boards of Threshold Rehabilitation Services, Montessori Country Day School, Lancaster Country Day School, United Way of Berks County, and World Wide Shelters.

Zintak is a charter member of The Reading Hospital’s Governance Committee.