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UNITED WAY RECOGNIZES OUTSTANDING COMPANIES, VOLUNTEERS AND CLIENTS
AND ANNOUNCES 2007 CAMPAIGN TOTAL AT ANNUAL MEETING & CAMPAIGN CELEBRATION
CHATTANOOGA, TN (February 28, 2008)—United Way of Greater Chattanooga hosted more than 200 supporters at its Annual Meeting on February 28, at which key companies, volunteers and clients were recognized for their efforts that helped the organization achieve success in 2007, including raising more than $11.9 million to support vital programs and initiatives that improve lives.
Board Chair Zan Guerry addressed the organization’s accomplishments and the outstanding community support that helped it succeed in 2007. Mr. Guerry announced that United Way’s Project Ready for School had enrolled almost 15,000 children under age five by the end of last year. Project Ready for School offers every enrolled child a new book in the mail each month along with additional developmental resources to prepare the children for success in school. In addition, more than 10,000 early learning DVDs were distributed to area families and the state’s first Born Learning Trail was installed on United Way’s annual Day of Caring this past October.
He commended the work of 67 volunteers and 50 nonprofit and governmental organizations in our area on the Building Stable Lives initiative, which is designing a system of care to help individuals and families get the right care at the right time so they can support themselves.
Campaign Chair Mike Butler, CEO of SunTrust Bank, presented several companies with awards for their incredible efforts that helped the 2007 Community Campaign raise $11,902,911. The Company of the Year was awarded on participation, fundraising, Leadership Giving and other aspects of campaign involvement. The following companies and individuals were recognized for excelling in their United Way campaign efforts:
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Leadership Award – Unum
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Large Company of the Year – McKee Foods Corporation
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Mid-sized Company of the Year – Southern Adventist University
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Small-sized Company of the Year – Decosimo
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New Company of the Year – GENTECH
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Campaign Volunteer of the Year – Captain David Brooks, Chattanooga Fire Department
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North Georgia Campaign Volunteer of the Year – Hubert Bodenhamer, Tri-State Pantry
Allocations awards were presented to a partner agency and an allocation committee volunteer who went above and beyond the call of duty to improve lives in our community in 2007. Reading Education for Adult Development (READ) won the Impact Award because of its significant contributions to helping our neighbors reach their personal and professional learning goals. Dr. Ralph Anderson of UTC was recognized for his 18 years of dedicated service to United Way and its Allocations Committee.
United Way's Tocqueville Society presented Shira Shropshire, a client of Orange Grove Center, with its annual Courage Award for overcoming personal difficulties and becoming self-sufficient with the help of a United Way partner agency.
In addition to the awards ceremony, United Way also voted on a new slate of directors and introduced its new 2008-2009 Board Chair, Tom Edd Wilson, who is CEO of the Chattanooga Chamber of Commerce.
To end the meeting, Mr. Wilson briefly shared a few of his objectives with the audience, telling everyone that he strongly believes United Way’s biggest challenge will always be communicating effectively with all concerned citizens in its marketplace. At this point he gave the audience a sneak peek at a new “Live United” marketing campaign to be unveiled later in 2008.
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