| Mary Dietrich, 2004
Campaign Chair, presents the 2004 Chairperson's Award to Curt Sandberg
at the Annual Meeting Awards Luncheon on April 6, 2005. |
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united way newsletter
Summer 2005 |
Articles
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2004 campaign
It was another successful campaign year for United Way of Grand Forks,
East Grand Forks & Area. We raised the most money ever during our
annual campaign and reached over 99% of our goal, just shy of the
$1,140,000 mark.
A number of records were also broke in other areas of the campaign.
The Community Builders Leadership Giving Club achieved record levels
in membership and pledges, as did employees at the University of North
Dakota and the Grand Forks Public Schools. The professional divisions
and federal campaign had very strong campaigns as well!
Shaun Havis, United Way Resource & Development Director, is pleased
with the results.
"When we established our 2004 campaign goal, we had high
expectations," said Havis. "With committed volunteers and donors that
were willing to meet the challenge, we will again be able to meet many
needs in our community."
United Way would like to thank all the Campaign Cabinet members,
volunteers and donors for helping us further improve lives in the
Greater Grand Forks community!
Click here for
a more detailed 2004 campaign summary.
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2004 campaign
volunteer awards
Chairperson’s Award - Curt Sandberg
Principal Business I
Largest Percentage Increase - Sheila Gerszewski
Most Money Raised - Scott Pickard
Principal Business II
Largest Percentage Increase - Jill Fritel
Most Money Raised - Dana Kennelly
General Business
Largest Percentage Increase - Doug Bakken
Most Money Raised - Kelly Hjelle
Click here for
this year's list of campaign division coordinators and volunteers.
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Thank You Marijo! |
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At the United Way Annual Meeting Luncheon, Marijo Deitz Whitcomb, who
was Board Chair for the past year, handed the gavel over to Earl Beal
(see story on back page). Marijo has been extremely active in United
Way for the past six years and it was her idea that developed into the
highly successful
Undies Sundays Program. Last year
over 11,000 undies and diapers were donated to local shelters.
We can’t thank her enough for the leadership and enthusiasm she has
brought to United Way! |
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New campaign &
marketing services manager hired |
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United Way of Grand Forks, East Grand Forks and Area hired Kayla
Schramm as the campaign and marketing services manager in January. Her
duties include working on campaign activities, as well as marketing
the organization. Schramm, a native of Hazen, ND, previously worked
for the Lignite Energy Council in Bismarck, as a communications
specialist. She has a bachelor’s degree in communications from the
University of Mary. |
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Click here
to see a complete list of United Way staff members.
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United Way welcomes
new board members
Five new board members recently joined United Way’s Board of
Directors. Anita Geffre, Laura Hammack, Mike Kirby, and Klaus Thiessen
began their three-year term in March. Mark Rios will serve a one-year
term as the 2005 Campaign Chair. He will replace Mary Dietrich and
oversee the Campaign Cabinet during the upcoming campaign season.
As United Way welcomed the new members to the board, they also had
to say good-bye to four individuals whose term expired this year. Jon
Green, Altru Foundation; Mike Jacobs, Grand Forks Herald; Jill Mondry,
Altru Health System; and Larry Woodbridge, UPS, retired in March.
United Way would like to thank them for their time on the Board of
Directors. Their intelligence, energy and input were greatly
appreciated!
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Mark Rios
Relationship Manager
Alerus Financial |
Anita Geffre
CFO
Grand Forks Herald |
Laura Hammack
Sales Manager
Clear Channel Radio |
Mike Kirby
Captain
Grand Forks Police Department |
Klaus Thiessen
President, CEO
Grand Forks Economic Dev. Corp. |
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Click here to
see a complete list of current United Way board members.
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Community
Impact:
Mobilizing caring citizens & resources to
improve lives in our community
United Way and our partner agencies have
been hard at work this spring developing a Community Impact Agenda
that identifies the urgent (and sometimes unmet) health and human
service needs in the Greater Grand Forks area. Individual meetings for
the four focus areas (promoting self sufficiency, nurturing youth,
strengthening & supporting families, and supporting vulnerable and
aging populations) have been held monthly with agencies, as well as
other organizations that provide programs, to prioritize the needs and
determine the best strategies to address those needs.
Why is United Way devoting so much
time to this project? Today our communities’ needs are more complex
and many problems can’t be solved by just one agency or program.
Collected action and coordinated approaches are needed. Similarly, in
the past, donors were satisfied with just hearing about the total
dollars raised in each campaign and the allocation amounts to each
agency. Today, donors want to know how their gifts specifically impact
the needs of a community, and in many instances they want their gifts
directed to a specific need.
For the 2005 fund raising campaign,
United Way will present its Community Impact Agenda. In each of the
four focus areas, priority needs will be identified and the strategies
to address those needs will be presented. In future years United Way
plans to report back to the community the progress that is being made
in meeting the needs.
United Way wants its donors and the
entire Greater Grand Forks community to know that it is focusing on
what matters most … bottom line results to improve peoples lives.
Click here to
learn more about the Community Impact Agenda.
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United Way agencies
hire new directors
United Way would like to recognize the new directors who have joined
our partner agencies in the past few months.
In October, Sheila Christensen became the new North Dakota
and Northwestern Minnesota Executive Director for the American
Diabetes Association. She is a lifelong resident of the
Fargo-Moorhead area and also owns Christensen Models & Talent in West
Fargo. Christensen can be reached at (701) 491-2910.
The Red River Valley Chapter of the American Red Cross
welcomed Shelley Goss as executive director in July. Before
coming to the Red Cross, Goss lived in the state of Washington and
helped with planning the organizational structure of a new city. She
also previously worked for the March of Dimes. Goss can be reached at
(218) 773-9565.
In December, Kim Randell became the Director of Caring for
Children for the North Dakota Caring Foundation. She was
previously hired by a Dakota Medical Foundation Grant through the Cass
County government to increase the enrollment of medical coverage
programs in North Dakota. Randell can be reached at (701) 282-1102.
Deanna Longtin is the new director at United Day Nursery.
She began in September and brings experience from having run an
in-home daycare. Longtin also farmed for 10 years. She can be reached
at (701) 772-3773.
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Dr. Earl Beal elected
2005 Board Chair |
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Dr. Earl Beal began his term as the 2005 Board of Directors Chair in
March. He recently retired as the Director of the Family Support
Center (FSC) at the Grand Forks Air Force Base. Dr. Beal was
responsible for designing and developing the FSC and served as its
first and only director to date. He also has been active in family
education and counseling in a variety of settings for more than 30
years. On May 1, Dr. Beal began his new assignment as a defense
contractor working as a research analyst for the Department of the Air
Force, Office of Family Matters. He and wife, Donna, have two sons and
four grandchildren. |
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Public Health
Emergency Volunteer Reserve seeks volunteers
PHEVR,
a partnership between the local health department and your community,
is recruiting volunteers to provide medical and non-medical assistance
in a public health emergency. When a disaster strikes, volunteers
would be drawn up from a database, and depending on background and
skills, would help distribute medications, give vaccinations, act as
interpreters, provide child care, prepare food, etc. If you are at
least 18 years old, live, work or go to school in North Dakota and
would like to help your community during a public health emergency,
contact United Way at: (701) 775-8661 and an application will be sent
to you. If you have any questions, please feel free to call this
number.
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