For the fourth consecutive year, the Wiregrass United Way has reached their annual fund raising goal. Mike Schmitz, overall Campaign Chairman, made the announcement on Friday, January 5th.
Last summer the goal was set at $2.5 million by the volunteer leadership of the Wiregrass United Way. As of January 8th the organization had raised $2,511,596.
Schmitz credited the dedicated volunteers and staff for their hard work over the past five months. “Each of the five counties that make up the Wiregrass United Way had strong leadership for the campaign. They all said back in August that we would make the goal and they all worked hard to get us to this point,” he added.
The county campaign chairs were J. J. Hughes, Coffee County; Ronny Mobley, Dale County; Mike McWaters, Geneva County; Derek Wright, Henry County and Chris Dupree, Houston County.
There were also numerous volunteers throughout the area that served as Division Chairs, Loaned Executives and Campaign Coordinators. The Wiregrass United Way has a small staff with only seven employees for the five county area.
Division Chairs are assigned a specific group of accounts and most of them have several Loaned Executives that work with them. This year the Division Chairs for the campaign were:
Kristen Baker, Jimmy Barkley, Hamp Baxley, Cyndi Brockett, Ashley Johnson, Mary Beth Maddox, Julie Mills, Janice Shepard, Steve Thompson and Marty Weatherford.
The Loaned Executives are especially critical to the success of the campaign. It is their responsibility to work directly with the campaign coordinators at each of the area businesses to assist them in conducting their employee campaign. This year’s Loaned Executives were:
Christie Armstrong - Carr, Riggs & Ingram; Jarrod Barfield - Regions Bank; Antonio Benford - Farley Nuclear Plant; Mikell Bishop - CB&T; Wendy Blair - Blair Staffing, Inc.; Joel Boyd - CB&T; Derek Bynum - CB&T; Mary Helen Daniels – Manpower; Katie Eddins - People’s Bank of Coffee County; Chris English - Mobile Attic; Terry Ethridge – CB&T; Stephanie Faulk - Dayspring Hospice; Shana Gartlan - Wallace Community College; Chris Harvey, Colonial Supplemental; Joe Neal Howell – Michelin; Sean Ingram - -McDaniel & Associates, Inc.; Vince Jernigan - Colonial Bank; Anita Johnson - PR Employer; Ashley Johnson - CB&T; Gena Johnson – CB&T; Laura Johnson - Wiregrass Hospice; Angela King – Holloway Credit Solutions; Becky Kinman - Wiregrass Medical Center; Jerry Lucas – Michelin; Billy McCarthy – Covan World-Wide; Chad Meeks - CB&T; Jackie Parker – CenturyTel; Gunter Price – McDaniel & Associates, Inc.; Forrest Register - Register Realty Company; Lydia Rhodes - Medical Center Enterprise; Eddie Robinson – Michelin; Sharon Sanders – Michelin; Bryan Sheffield – CB&T; Julie Skeen - AAA Cooper Transportation; Susan Steck - Enterprise-Ozark Community College; Tonya Turk - Becky Hancock Realty and Caryl Welch - Covenant Hospice.
Walter Hill, CEO for the Wiregrass United Way thanked the many volunteers who spent numerous hours assisting with the campaign. “It takes a lot of people working together toward a common goal to achieve a goal of this magnitude,” Hill stated. “We could never have reached this milestone without the dedication of so many people. On behalf of the thousands of Wiregrass residents who will benefit from the programs and services provided by the agencies we say thank you.”
The Wiregrass United Way has served the Wiregrass Area since 1938 currently funding 37 member agencies in Coffee, Dale, Geneva, Henry and Houston Counties. Funds raised by the 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 792-9661.