About The Eagles / Grand Presidents

Grand Presidents

Tom McGrath

Grand Worthy President
Vergennes, Vermont #3801

Helen Poehner

Grand Madam President
West Hamilton, Ohio #3986

Tom McGrath

Thomas L. “Tom” McGrath, Grand Worthy President of the Fraternal Order of Eagles, joined the organization on October 22, 1962 and is currently a member of Addison County Aerie #3801, in Vergennes, (ver-jens) Vermont. He holds dual membership in Aerie #3946 Orlando, FL & Cypress Hut #4509 Okeechobee, FL.

Brother Tom served as a Worthy Trustee, Secretary and Membership Chairman of Addison County and as State Worthy Secretary for Vermont until he made his permanent residence in Palmetto, Fl., in 2015.

His strong leadership and dedication to the Order was rewarded with a year of service as Vermont State Aerie President in 1992 and was followed up with a year as Northern New England Regional President in 1993. Brother McGrath joined the Grand Aerie as Grand Worthy Conductor in 1995 and was elected to Grand Worthy Chaplain in 1999, continuing on four years as a Grand Trustee.

He returned to the Grand Aerie in 2009 as Grand Treasurer and in 2012 as a Grand Trustee for 3 more years while serving as Co-Director of the Fraternal Order of Eagles Diabetes Research Center fundraising project as well as Grand Trustee Liaison to the DRC. Brother McGrath served three terms in the House of Representatives, Vermont State General Assembly, resigning to become a fulltime Eagle.

He retired in 1995 after thirty-five years with General Electric Co and Martin-Marietta Aerospace as Manager of Research & Development, Production Control.

He and his wife, Peggy, have two sons, five grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. He enjoys spending time with his family, traveling and representing the Grand Aerie.

Helen Poehner

Helen Poehner, Grand Madam President, joined the Eagles in 1972 and is now a member of Hamilton (Ohio) West Auxiliary #3986. She currently holds dual member status at Cheviot (Ohio) Auxiliary #2197.

Since joining the Eagles, Sister Helen has been a highly involved member, serving several years in many chairs as a member of the Ohio State Auxiliary. Her rise through the chairs led her to become Ohio State Madam President for the 2009-2010 fraternal year.

She was a member of the Ritual Team winning both State and National competitions and started their Memorial Team at Butler #407 in Hamilton, Ohio. In 2011, she joined the Grand Auxiliary as Grand Madam Conductor.

Sister Helen has served as a CASA Volunteer for the Butler County Juvenile Court and has worked on fundraisers for the Habitat for Humanity program. She retired from her job as a legal assistant to attorneys in Hamilton and Oxford, Ohio in 2004.

Sister Helen and her late husband, Grand Aerie and Ohio State Hall of Famer Jack Poehner, have four children and seven grandchildren and one great-grandchild. She has attended all but two International Conventions since 1973 and has been to every Ohio State Convention since 1973.

Download Tom McGrath's Logo
Download Helen Poehner's Logo

Grand Presidents' Charities

Tom McGrath

DRC Drug Development - Bridge To The Cure

Throughout his year, Grand Worthy President Tom McGrath will be raising money to benefit the development of drugs to treat diabetes at the Diabetes Research Center. Funds raised by Tom during the fraternal year will be used to head the development and testing of experimental drugs in an effort to find a cure for diabetes.

Donations should be made payable to: F.O.E. Charity Foundation with GWP Project noted on the memo line of your check.

All donations can be sent to:
F.O.E. Charities Department
1623 Gateway Circle S.
Grove City, Ohio 43123

Helen Poehner

The Fraternal Order of Eagles Alzheimer's Fund

Sister Helen's main charity will be the Fraternal Order of Eagles Charity Foundation's Maynard Floyd Alzheimer's Neurological Fund.

Donations should be made payable to: F.O.E. Charity Foundation with GMP-Alzheimer's noted on the memo line of your check.

Tri-State Honor Flight

Tri-State Honor Flight collects donations which are used to fly veterans of World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War to the respective memorials in Washington, D.C. at no charge.

Donations should be made payable to: F.O.E. Charity Foundation with GMP-Honor Flight noted on the memo line of your check.

All donations can be sent to:
F.O.E. Charities Department
1623 Gateway Circle S.
Grove City, Ohio 43123

Tom McGrath

Tom's travel schedule is updated to the Web site on a monthly basis. For more information on Tom's travel, please contact the Grand Worthy President's Office at 614-883-2198 or at gwp@foe.com.

If you are interested in submitting photos or memories of Tom McGrath's trip to your Aerie, please send memorabilia to Tom's historian:

Bobbi Drozanowski
7319 W. Villa Theresa Dr.
Glendale, AZ 85308
ski1976@q.com

Helen Poehner

For more information on the tour, please contact the Grand Madam President's Office at 614-883-2168 or at gmp@foe.com.

If you are interested in submitting photos or memories of Helen Poehner's trip to your Auxiliary, please send memorabilia to Helen's historian:

Carol Jakubowski
4444 Fairview Dr.
Toledo, OH 43612
carolann51@yahoo.com

Download Tom & Helen's Awards Flyers

GWP Tom McGrath's Letter to the President

Past Grand Worthy Presidents

Year	Name
1898	John Cort*
1899	John W. Considine*
1900	H.R. Littlefield*
1901	Del Cary Smith*
1902	Del Cary Smith*
1903	Timothy D. Sullivan*
1904	John F. Pelletier*
1905	Hy D. Davis*
1906	E.W. Krause*
1907	Theo A. Bell*
1908	B.J. Monaghan*
1909	Frank E. Hering*
1910	Thomas F. Grady*
1911	Frank E. Hering*
1912	William J. Brennan*
1913	Thomas J. Cogan*
1914	Conrad H. Mann*
1915	William L. Grayson*
1916	Rex B. Goodcell*
1917	Carl G. Winter*
1918	A.B. Duncan*
1919	Elbert D. Weed*
1920	Elbert D. Weed*
1921	John M. Morin*
1922	Herbert I. Choynski
1923	Howard N. Ragland*
1924	Otto P. Deluse*
1925	Charles C. Guenther*
1926	Michael O. Burns*
1927	L.V. Westerman*
1928	Edward J. Ryan*
1929	Charles J. Chenu*
1930	Robert E. Proctor*
1931	J.C. Canty*
1932	Henry J. Berrodin*
1933	George Nordin*
1934	George F. Douglas*
1935	George Nordin*
1936	Dr. H.B. Mehrmann*
1937	John W. Heller Jr.*
1938	Dr. Fred C. Dilley*
1939	John A. Abel*
1940	Charles P. McCann*
1941	George C. Tank*
1942	Lester H. Loble*
1943	Robert W. Hansen*
1944	John W. Young*
1945	Edward F. Poss*
1946	James W. Bryan*
1947	E.J. Balsiger*
1948	DeVere Watson*
1949	G.A. Farabaugh*
1950	William Hornblower*
1951	William P. Wetherald*
1952	Ray A. Rhode*
1953	Robert W. Hansen*
1954	Carl McGriff*
1954	James Cheetham *^
1954	Walter J.S. Laurie *^
1954	John J. Rice *^
1955	Maurice Splain Jr. *
1956	Lawrence Leahy*
1957	Martin Mol*
1958	Andrew J. Halloran*
1959	J. Phillip Bigley*
1960	Leo V. Connell*
1961	Paul N. Hoffman*
1962	Carl Thacker*
1963	Herschel McWilliams*
1964	Harry E. Burns*
1965	Max F. Schroeder Jr.*
1966	D.D. Billings*
1967	William A. McCawley*
1968	Harry B.A. Ford*
1969	Steven V. Thomas Jr. *
1970	Maynard Floyd*
1971	Ken Stewardson*
1972	J.C. Mitchell*
1973	James J. Bailey*
1974	Lewis Reed*
1975	Joseph E. Fournier*
1975	Arthur S. Ehrmann*^
1976	Clyde J. Schmieg*
1976	Michael T. Gaffney*^
1976	Al T. Williams*^
1977	Anthony Angelo*
1978	D.D. "Doc" Dunlap*
1979	Leo Lentsch*
1980	Kenneth Amsbaugh*
1980	Paul E. Eichman*^
1981	James I. Mason*
1982	Ben E. Packard*
1983	Peter Scagnelli*
1984	Russell E. Clark*
1985	B.J. Sims*
1986	Jerry W. Wilson*
1987	Vincent Cherry*
1988	Laverne T. Weber*
1989	Dale E. Webster*
1990	Ken Cross
1991	John Lester*
1992	Sherm Spears*
1993	Henry M. Funk*
1994	E.L. "Bud" Collett*
1995	George F. Ziebol
1996	D. R. "Jim" West
1997	William "Bill" Blum*
1998	Andrew Vollmer*
1999	Larry Hanshaw
2000	W.P. "Pete" Harty*
2001	Ed Bollenbacher*
2002	Fred E. Smith
2003	Wayne D. Clark
2004	Orville "Sonny" Crawford
2005	Chris Lainas*
2006	Robert "Bob" Wahls^
2007	John Potter
2008	Jim Roberts
2009	Mike Lagervall
2010	Phil Tice*
2011	Mel Fry
2012	Ron Stine
2013	David Tice
2014	Elwin "Bud" Haigh
2015	Chuck Lang*
2016	Jerry L. Sullivan
2017	Thomas McGrath

* - Deceased
^ - Honorary

Past Grand Madam Presidents

Year	Name
1952	Alta Smith*
1952	Kay Guy*
1953	Mary Dunn*
1954	Carol Bennett*
1955	Virginia Turner*
1956	Chloe Honeycutt*
1957	Elizabeth Baum*
1958	Stella Moorehouse*
1959	Lois Nelson Fargo*
1960	Adaline Navarra*
1960	Georgia Walker*^
1961	Evelyn Schreier*
1962	Cora Rigg*
1963	Isabel Vallie*
1964	Juanita Dix*
1965	Frances Vanis*
1966	Kay Williamson*
1967	Nora Belle Goodman*
1968	Alta Lewin*
1969	Yvonne Magnan*
1970	Dorothy Wilding*
1971	Ruby Bigoni
1972	Lucille Lewis-McGovern*
1973	Vera Dailey*
1974	Imogene Harac*
1975	Clara Johnson-Harding*
1976	Verna Funke*
1977	Delores Cloclough*
1978	Bonnie Quatkemeyer*
1979	Ruth Elderbrook*
1980	Millie Johnson*
1981	Paula Wilson*
1982	Doris Anderson*
1983	Bess Lenarduzzi*
1984	Marcella James*
1985	Jacquelin "Jackie" Spahn
1986	Joanne Rott*
1987	Catherine Wilson
1988	Jean Dockall*
1989	Kathy Gonzagowski*
1990	Barbara Cyphers*
1991	Shirley Johnson
1992	Alta Haslow*
1993	Joyce Avery
1994	Iris McDermott
1995	Lorraine Grimes*
1996	Carol Inge
1997	Sharon Sabourin
1998	Doris Bateson*
1999	Linda Heffner
2000	Judy Sanders
2001	Bettie Williams Clark
2002	Carleen Corum
2003	Peggy L. Carver
2004	Pat Lazenby
2004	Dottie Beattie*^
2005	Roxann Alley McGovern
2006	Stephanie Smith
2007	Margaret Cox
2008	Pat Durham
2009	Jean Kerr
2010	Mary Myers
2011	Gwen Stallkamp
2012	Sally Villalva
2013	Katie Ziebol
2014	Gloria Mason
2015	Penny Skinner
2016	Judy Johnson
2017	Helen Poehner

* - Deceased
^ - Honorary