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Champions of the Community
2007-08
Corporate honor roll/event program (PDF)
United Way of Martin County held its annual
Champions of the Community event on March 27, 2008, spotlighting
the volunteers, donors, companies and agencies that have made an
impact on improving lives in Martin County.
Here is a round-up of the key awards and
announcements:
THE PRESIDENT’S AWARD
Denny and Wendy
Hudson
 The President’s Award is given annually to
honor extraordinary efforts in support of United Way. This year,
United Way of Martin County recognized an outstanding couple for
their leadership and creative ways of encouraging others to join
them in giving to United Way.
Denny and Wendy Hudson are concluding their
second year as co-chairs of the Alexis de Tocqueville Society,
which recognizes the most generous United Way donors for their
exceptional philanthropy. Seeking to lead by example and
encourage people to make an even more powerful impact, the
Hudsons established the “Chairman’s Challenge,” pledging to
personally match any increase in giving by Tocqueville members.
The Challenge was a success from the start,
yielding $44,000 in its first year. That total stemmed from
$22,000 in increases from existing Tocqueville members plus
Denny & Wendy Hudson’s match of $22,000. This year, because of
this challenge, existing Tocqueville members have increased
their giving by $90,606. The Hudsons’ match will be determined
at the end of the campaign.
CORPORATE CHAMPION AWARD
Publix Super
Markets
Publix
employees and corporate headquarters combined to contribute
$299,976 to the United Way of Martin County, proving once again
that Publix believes "Giving is a Pleasure."
Four out of the area's 10 Publix stores increased their donations by as
much as 25 percent; others achieved sizable gains as well.
Publix held barbecues and raffles, provided visual aids and
guest speakers, and managers held one-on-one and small-group
meetings to explain how United Way helps the common good.
Publix also provided a Loaned Executive -- Bill Schmelyun -- to
help manage the stores' United Way campaigns. And this year, Publix also
had a “secret weapon” in employee Patty Hester. Patty worked at
three different Publix stores during the campaign and was a
special advocate for United Way.
CAMPAIGN
CHAMPION AWARD
Curtis Coulter, manager of the Publix store #241 on Cove
Road
Curtis quarterbacked a strong campaign, increasing his store
results by 15% percent. His advocacy is visible in the “United Way Wall”
he created for his store, showing examples of the agency
programs that United Way supports and outlining how much service
even a small donation provides.
But his work was not over after the successful Publix campaign.
He is an active member of the Campaign Cabinet, offering ideas
and resources. He also assisted with other campaigns, notably
helping the school district by processing thousands of dollars
worth of change from the schools’ “Penny Wars.”
COMMUNITY
CHALLENGE CUP
Loblolly
Loblolly was
the leading community donor to United Way, raising $134,831 with
the highest per capita giving of all communities -- $425 per
household. Loblolly also embraces United Way through its
projects, notably holding a cereal drive every year for the
White Doves Holiday Project, stocking families’ grocery bags
with thousands of dollars worth of food.
COMMUNICATIONS CHAMPION
Bryan Garner, Treasure Coast
bureau chief for Newschannel 5
Bryan
went out of his way to record the voice-over for the United Way
of Martin County local
video, an important campaign
tool. This also was the fifth year he has lent his professionalism
as emcee at the Champions of the Community event. Beyond that,
he is a positive force on the airwaves, enthusiastically
covering and encouraging the events conducted by local agencies.
AGENCY SPIRIT AWARD
2-1-1
2-1-1
Palm Beach/Treasure Coast is a United Way affiliated agency and
has access to more than 4,000 programs to help connect people in
our community to the help they need. Te
representatives of 2-1-1 Palm Beach/Treasure Coast also have been an
immense resource to the United Way. Tara Martin, the community
relations specialist for Martin County, has assisted at
countless United Way events, speaking engagements and agency
fairs this year.
 RESOURCE INVESTMENT CHAMPION
Cheryl
Bass, director of Martin County
Community Services Department
Each year, the Resource Investment
Committee recruits and trains about 70 volunteers to serve on
its Citizen Review Panels. Panelists review applications, visit
agencies and then make funding recommendations for agency
programs. Cheryl Bass is a longtime member of that committee as
well as someone whose passion and commitment to Martin County is
evident in all aspects of her daily work. From finding services
for unborn infants to facilitating access to care for senior
citizens, Cheryl truly knows the importance of investing
resources in our community.
CHARACTER COUNTS! CHAMPIONS:
John Pierson's
Toyota of Stuart
CHARACTER COUNTS!, a program of United Way
of Martin County, honored John Pierson’s Toyota of Stuart for
being a business partner that has shown generous financial
support and commitment to all the traits for which CHARACTER
COUNTS! stands. Toyota of Stuart also is a sponsor of the Tee It
Up for Character Charity Golf Tournament and presenting sponsor
of the Joe Kordick Youth Character Awards.
 MARTIN
VOLUNTEERS CHAMPIONS:
Tom & Lisa Haley
Martin Volunteers, the volunteer center for
United Way of Martin County, honored Tom and Lisa Haley for
devoting so much time and energy to volunteer projects over the
years – most notably the White Doves Holiday Project. This year,
they went above and beyond. Tom and Lisa Haley have been the
White Doves co-chairs for the past three years and this year
they were also a generous sponsor for the White Doves Grand
Opening. They also flew in their son, an executive in the toy
industry, to identify and remove recalled toys.
Palm Cove Women's Club
Palm Cove Women’s Club also was honored by Martin
Volunteers, also for its support of the White Doves Holiday
Project. The club has adopted White Doves as a designated charity fund-raiser, and the group hosts an
annual benefit luncheon each November. This effort is led by the
Palm Cove Women’s Club president, Melissa Noyes; its charity
director, Debbie Kelley; and social director, Marilyn Haas.
VITA VOLUNTEER RECOGNITION
Roger Jesse, VITA site coordinator for Hobe Sound.
Debbie Connolly, VITA site coordinator in Stuart
These two volunteers have had a large role
in an important effort to help people keep more of the money
they work so hard to earn. Over the past three years, United Way
has operated Volunteer Income Tax Assistance sites, with help
and training from the IRS. These VITA sites are operated by
volunteers who provide free tax preparation to low-income
people, enabling them to access the Earned Income Tax Credit and
other benefits, such as child care credits and this year’s
economic stimulus payment.
 ANNOUNCEMENT OF
NEXT YEAR’S
CAMPAIGN
CHAIR
-
Chairman:
Miguel Coty, vice president and chief marketing and
communications officer, Martin Memorial Health Systems.
-
Vice-chairman:
Vicki Davis, Supervisor of Elections.
PREVIOUS YEAR
Here are links to highlights from the
Champions of the Community event from last year:
Read about the Champions 2006-07 >>
See the gallery
of Champions 2006-07 >>
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