About The Erik Hite Foundation

The Erik Hite Foundation, Inc. is a legal entity incorporated as a not for profit organization and registered with the Arizona Corporation Commission (File Number: 15476310). The Erik Hite Foundation, Inc. is organized under the laws and regulations in the State of Arizona that govern the establishment of a separate and legal entity to conduct business. The Erik Hite Foundation, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization filed with the Federal Internal Revenue Service.

Vision

Remembering the life and sacrifice of Officer Erik D. Hite, we serve the families of Law Enforcement and Emergency Services Personnel on a close and personal level. The Erik Hite Foundation, a non-profit organization, is established to provide a child care center and family outreach programs that offer a safe and positive environment, as we follow godly principles and values, for the benefit of both commissioned and non-commissioned personnel employed by Law Enforcement and Emergency Services Personnel and their child(ren). As these employees serve and protect our community, we serve and care for their families. 

Mission

The Erik Hite Foundation is exclusively for charitable, childcare, educational and family outreach purposes. Moreover, the EHF has been established to solicit and re-distribute funds and/or goods to assist with the funding and undertaking of programs and activities designed to strengthen the services, organization, performance, competence, professionalism and morale of the Law Enforcement and Emergency Services employees of the City of Tucson, Pima County Government, the State of Arizona and the Federal Government.

Foundation Objectives

  • To provide child care services to the first responder and military families
  • To implement a wide range of family programs in a safe and positive environment to these employees and their families.
  • To increase community awareness of the needs and support of these employees and their families
  • To strengthen the overall organization and morale of these employees and their families.






The Board of Directors


 Nohemy Hite
Founder and President

Erik and I came to Tucson from Honduras (Soto Cano Air Force Base) in May 2000. We fell in love with the dry heat and decided to retire in this community. I am a mother of two; Roy David Hite, who has followed his father's step in the Air Force, and Samantha Nohemy Hite. I am currently a stay-at-home mom raising my daughter and work full time with the foundation. I am a member of the Saguaro Canyon Evangelical Church where Erik and I started attending in 2002.

Quinn McCarthy
TPD Liaison, Board Member

Quinn McCarthy joined the Tucson Police Department in May of 1994 after serving in the United States Army. He has worked in various assignments including Patrol, the Training Academy and Human Resources. He is currently the Commander of the Midtown Patrol Division.

Shifali Zimmer
Secretary


I have been Secretary for the Erik Hite Foundation since June 2011. I graduated from Arizona State University in 2004 with a Bachelor of Arts in Communication and then from Park University in 2010 with a Bachelor of Science in Accounting. I moved to Tucson in 2007 when I married my husband, Steve, who is the Network Manager for the Air National Guard. I did not have the pleasure of knowing the Hite Family prior to joining the board. I heard about the foundation after seeing a flyer for the center and reaching out to Nohemy asking if there was anything she needed help with. It has been a pleasure work with the Hite Family and the other board members and serving our community in any way I can.

Dorothy Schneider
Treasurer


My husband, Bob, and I have lived in Tucson since 2004. We were married in 1967 and have 2 grown children, 3 full-time grandchildren, & several foster grandchildren. We met Erik & Nohemy at church shortly after coming to Tucson, and have become part-time grandparent figures to their daughter Samantha. It is a blessing to serve Tucson's finest through this foundation.

Buck Marsalla
Director

I am a certified critical care nurse at the University of Arizona Medical Center and work in the Trauma ICU. I received my Bachelors of Nursing from the University of Arizona and I have lived in Tucson for most of my life. I am the proud father of two children and love to volunteer for great causes. I met Nohemy on June 1st, 2008. 6 months later our paths crossed and a special friendship started. I am proud and honored to be a board member and part of the Erik Hite Foundation team.

Sandra Thiffault
Director

I was born in California but was raised in Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico. My family moved to Tucson in 1979. I am married to Michael Thiffault, who worked with Erik in the Tucson Police Department. We have 6 children between us, ages ranging between 22 years to 14 years old. After the tragic loss of Erik, Nohemy and I have become friends and sisters in Christ. I attend Mountain View Baptist Church and am currently an Administrator for a K-8 public school. It is with great pleasure that I serve on the Board and look forward to meeting all of the supporters of the Erik Hite Foundation.

Mike Thiffault
Special Projects Coordinator

I am a retired Tucson Police Officer. I first met Erik Hite when he came to Operations Division East after graduating the Tucson Police Department academy. We ran calls together and over the years with the department I grew to know him a little better. He was always a go-getter. He wasn’t happy sitting still or just taking calls. He was always stopping traffic or looking for something to do that involved police work. One of the fondest memories of Erik was whenever I would volunteer to be his “84” or backup on a call he would send me a message on the computer that read “muie-buen” which in Spanish means very good. I would always type back, that’s “Mooie-Ben.” Whenever I responded to a call with Erik I was impressed with his public relations and the way he treated the people he was working with. I have always heard “treat people as you would want to be treated” and regardless of how rude or uncooperative the people were, Erik always kept his cool. Erik was truly one of the greatest officers in the Tucson community.

On June 2nd, 2008 Officer Erik Hite succumbed to a gunshot wound sustained the previous day by a suspect who had wounded a Pima County Sheriff's Department deputy.

The suspect had fired a rifle into the homes of two neighbors and then fled as the first responding deputy arrived at the location. As the deputy pursued him, the suspect opened fire and wounded him.

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The Erik Hite Foundation can only achieve it's goals with the assistance of generous donations from members of our community. Without these donations, serving these families would not be possible.