United Way of the Chattahoochee Valley Exceeds 2010 Campaign Goal!

Leslie Hardwick
706-327-3255 ext. 202
leslie@unitedwayofthecv.org


Columbus, GA (February 18, 2010) Dr. Tim Mescon, 2010 Campaign Chair announced to a crowd of over 300 donors and volunteers at the campaign celebration that the goal of $6,500,000 was exceeded by over $250,000 for a total raised of $6,753,365.

“We set the community goal based upon personal visits with over one hundred business, civic and community leaders. So many people in our community stepped up and exceeded our expectations” said Dr. Mescon. Dr. Mescon further stated, "There are a lot of people who need help in our community, and help is going to be there because of the generosity of the companies and individuals that helped us meet the goal this year.” He added, “The volunteers, United Way Board of Directors, Loaned Executives, staff and partner agencies worked tirelessly to make this happen and I would like to say thank you to all of them for their hard work.”

The United Way of the Chattahoochee Valley continues to outperform hundreds of other United Ways across the nation. "We have once again exceeded our campaign goal because of generous donors and dedicated campaign volunteers," stated Scott Ferguson, President and CEO of United Way of the Chattahoochee Valley. "This is not just about the money raised, but it is a message about the generosity in this community. The work that these volunteers have done will help our partners provide needed program services to people all across the Chattahoochee Valley."

The United Way manages the Combined Federal Campaign as well, which raised $882,312 this year. Ferguson added, “I value our relationship with Fort Benning and all federal employees, and I am continually impressed by what they bring to our community.”

The combined campaign total for both campaigns is $7,635,677!

Volunteers and outstanding companies were recognized at the event for their contributions to the campaign.

In keeping with United Way’s movie theme for this year individuals and companies were awarded Oscars for their outstanding performance and creativity.

The Oscar for Best Actor in a Leading Role was awarded to Dustin Dyer for his outstanding job in coordinating the Kysor Warren campaign. Under his leadership Kysor Warren doubled their campaign totals.

The Oscar for Best Actress in a Leading Role was awarded to Marybeth Hopkins. She has not only coordinated the Alexander Electric campaign for many years, but she has also assisted with the campaign coordinator training, Loaned Executive training and has mentored other campaign coordinators.

The Oscar for Best Costume Design was awarded to Columbus Water Works for the outstanding cowboy costumes they created for their United Way kickoff event.

The Oscar for Best Film Editing was awarded to WTVM for the outstanding job they did creating the United Way campaign video.

The Oscar for Best Picture was awarded to Rich Cellino, Jonathan Payne, and Ben Edge the “West Coast Banker Boyz” for their creative work in developing a campaign rap video for the CB&T campaign and also for creating another exciting rap video for the Celebration Event, both which can be viewed at www.unitedwayofthecv.org.

The Oscar for Best Original Song was awarded to Ricky Hudson from Columbus Regional Healthcare System. Ricky went the extra mile and captured the spirit of giving by writing an original song about giving back.

United Way also presented awards to companies that had extraordinary campaign coordinators and leadership that produced outstanding campaigns.

The Live United Award recognized the two companies that truly embody the Live United “spirit,” whereby their campaign is much more than fundraising. They have a collective “team spirit” for United Way. The winners were Publix and Kodak.

The Rising Star Award recognized the two companies that exceeded their campaign expectations. This year’s award went to BancTec and Russell County Government.

Million Dollar Round Table Award was established to recognize a top performing company that raises at least a million dollars in their company employee campaign. For the third year in a row TSYS was awarded the Million Dollar Round Table Award for raising an outstanding $1,055,014.

The Chairman’s Award of Excellence was given to both Columbus Regional Hospital and Carmike Cinemas for the outstanding leadership and teamwork that they put into their campaigns this year.

“This community has proven, once again, that it cares for our families, our friends and our neighbors,” stated Billy Blanchard, Chair of the United Way Board of Directors, but he added, “Because of their generosity, citizens of the Chattahoochee Valley will continue to receive the critical services that they need.”

About the United Way of the Chattahoochee Valley
 United Way improves lives and builds a stronger community by bringing people and resources together from across the Chattahoochee Valley region to improve Education, Income, Health and Basic Needs of all. United Way partners with 26 agencies providing 49 programs in Chattahoochee, Harris, Marion, Muscogee, Stewart, Talbot, and Taylor Counties in Georgia and Russell County in Alabama. The United Way Volunteer Center’s purpose is to link individuals with flexible opportunities to serve through programs, projects and partnerships.


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