The visible part of the Wiregrass United Way is the fund raising campaign. However, there is some extremely important work done behind the scenes. For three months the Funds Distribution committee members in each county have been working hard.
The first step in the process was for each of the 35 agencies to submit the required paperwork. Then each committee member is given a copy and meetings are held with the agency directors. Most of the meetings were held at the agency. That enabled the Wiregrass United Way volunteers to actually see the facilities of each agency. After a tour of the agency the volunteers were given the opportunity to ask questions of the agency directors.
During the first part of February each of the county committees then met to actually distribute the funds. They reviewed the paperwork along with their notes from the agency visits. This process enabled them to be well informed on the programs and services of the agencies before making any funding decisions.
After the committees finished their work they sent their report to the Wiregrass Funds Distribution committee which is made up of one overall chairperson and the Funds Distribution chairs from each county. They reviewed the overall distribution report looking at how the totals added up from each county for the agencies.
The last steps were to the county Board of Directors for approval of their county report and then to the Board of Trustees for the final approval. On Friday, February 27th each agency was mailed a letter detailing their funding for the year. These totals can be viewed on the Funds Distribution Page.
The county committee members were:
Coffee County: Leigh Cassady, Chair, Peggy Copulsky, Tessa Mack, Lydia Rhodes, Wanda Shirley and Joe Zeller
Dale County: Pat Smith, Chair, Sunny Hudson, Herman Jackson, Petra Prazinko, Joe Outlaw and Debbie Spivey
Geneva County: Cary Hatcher, Chair, Lisa Courson, Marcia Hatcher and Shannon Vinyard
Henry County: Carlotta Smith, Chair, Jackie Bridges, Donya Flowers, Dexter Grimsley and Charlotte Snellgrove
Houston County: Jimmy Barkley, Chair, Jason Baldwin, Ken Holden, Starla Moss Mathews, Mark O'Mary, Velma Tribue, Rex Yance and Jim Whittum