Wiregrass United Way Kicks Off 2010 Pacesetter Campaign

This year’s Wiregrass United Way campaign is off to a rousing start. Volunteers involved with the campaign as well as agency representatives and coordinators from various area businesses were on hand for the annual Pacesetter Kickoff event. The Boys and Girls Club of Dothan hosted the event. They are one of the 38 local organizations who receive funds from the Wiregrass United Way.

There are 99 area businesses getting a jump start on the annual United Way campaign.  Each year a number of area businesses agree to conduct their campaign for the Wiregrass United Way during the month of August.  These businesses make up the Pacesetter campaign.                 

This year’s campaign is focusing on the fact that United Way agencies help our communities 24 hours a day and 7 days a week. The local United Way has decided to call this the 24/7 campaign. The monetary goal for this year also ties into this concept. The goal for this year is $2,472,472.47. And if the organization is successful in raising this amount the Wiregrass Foundation will contribute $400,000 for the Wiregrass United Way to distribute to the agencies.

A special Pacesetter kickoff was held on Tuesday, August 3^rd. It was a motivated crowd of more than 150 who heard from Shannon Vinyard, Chairman of the Wiregrass United Way Board of Trustees and Walter Hill, Chief Executive Officer for the Wiregrass United Way.  They both stressed to those in attendance the importance of supporting the Wiregrass United Way and the 38 agencies. 

This year Shane Sinquefield is serving as the overall campaign chairman. Working with him are the five county campaign chairs. They are Blake Woodall, Coffee County; Teresa King, Dale County; Judson Brooks, Geneva County; Ronnie Marshall, Henry County and Paul Lee, Houston County.

Pacesetters are vital to the success of the campaign.  First of all, by having a Pacesetter campaign it enables the Wiregrass United Way to stretch the campaign another month but to do so on the front end.  The United Way’s goal is to complete all area campaigns by the end of October to avoid raising money during the holidays.  In addition, by having a Pacesetter campaign there is already a significant amount of money raised when the official campaign kickoff is held on September 9^th.

Area companies participating as Pacesetters are:

Coffee County: American Red Cross, Becky Hancock Realty, Carr, Riggs & Ingram, CB&T, Christian Mission Centers, City of Enterprise,  Coffee County 4-H, Coffee County Family Services Center, Coffee County Schools, Coldwell Banker Prestige Homes & Real Estate, Elba City Schools, Enterprise City Schools, Enterprise YMCA, Kelley Foods of Alabama, Medical Center Enterprise, Mitchell Hyundai, Mitchell Mazda Lincoln Mercury, Mitchell Nissan, National Security Insurance, SunSouth Bank, Townsend Building Supply, Walmart and Woodall’s Heating & Cooling.

 Dale County: Boys & Girls Club of Ozark, CB&T, City of Ozark, Dale County Schools, Frit Industries, Ozark City Schools, Ozark-Dale County Public Library, Salvation Army, Vivian B. Adams School and Walmart.

Geneva County: City Bank of Hartford, Eagle Power Systems, Inc., East Geneva Senior Citizens Center, First National Bank of Hartford, Friend Bank, Geneva City Schools, Geneva County Family Resource Center, Geneva County Schools, HWT Energy, Inc., Lincoln Fabrics, Reliable Products, Vinyard Technology and Walmart.

Henry County: City of Abbeville, Headland National Bank, Henry County Schools, Living Waters Counseling, Inc., Rushing Enterprises

Houston County: AAA Cooper Transportation, Alabama Institute for the Deaf & Blind,  Alfred Saliba Family Services Center,  American Red Cross, Ameris Bank, BBVA – Compass Bank, Boy Scouts-Alabama-Florida Council, Boys & Girls Clubs of the Wiregrass, Catholic Social Services, CB&T, City of Dothan, Coldwell Banker Alfred Saliba Realty, Dothan Area Chamber of Commerce, Dunbarton, Exchange Center for Child Abuse Prevention, Farley Nuclear Plant and IBEW 796, Flowers Insurance Agency, Girls Inc.,  Hawk-Houston Boys & Girls Club, Houston County, Insurance Center of the Southeast, Jackson Thornton, Knology, Lewis-Smith Supply, McDaniel & Associates, Personnel Resources/PR Employer, Regions Bank, Salvation Army, Servis1st Bank, Southeast Alabama Gas District, Southeast Alabama Medical Center, Spectracare, SunSouth Bank, The House of Ruth, Troy University Dothan Campus, UPS, UPS Freight, Vaughn-Blumberg Services, Wallace Community College, Walmart, Wiregrass Area United Way Food Bank, Wiregrass United Way 2-1-1, Wiregrass United Way, Wiregrass Habitat for Humanity, Wiregrass Rehabilitation Center and WTVY-TV.

The Wiregrass United Way has served the Wiregrass area since 1938, currently funding 38 member agencies serving Coffee, Dale, Geneva, Henry and Houston counties.  Funds raised by Wiregrass United Way are utilized locally in the five county area.  A committee of local volunteers determines how the funds are distributed among the member agencies.  For more information call (334) 792-9661.