United Way cancels Annual Meeting, but not recognition
From United Way of Blount County
East Tennessee weather may have canceled the United Way of Blount County Annual Meeting, but it didn’t get in the way of recognizing the board members, volunteers, community partners and supporting companies and organizations that do so much for the community.
Officers of the 2013 United Way of Blount County board of directors are as follows: Ken Cooper, chair; Mike Hearon, chair-elect and treasurer; John Hinkle, immediate past chair; Christy Newman, community impact chair; Sherri Gardner Howell, campaign chair; and Kathy Johnson and Tom Bogart, directors at large.
Newly-elected members of the board of directors to serve a three-year term include Tom Hatcher, Cathy Hammon and Mike Honeycutt.
Rob Britt, Bill Eanes, Ron German and Toni Miller were re-elected to serve a three-year term.
Retiring board members include Judith Craw, Melvin Covington, Adriel McCord, Dave Ogle, Kevin Painter, Tara Rasher, Stephanie Thompson and Debra Whaley.
Kathy Johnson is the recipient of this year’s Best of the Best Board Member Award. She has chaired nearly every campaign committee the United Way has, and has worked consistently both behind the scenes and in front of the public.
Bill Kilgore is the recipient of the LIVE UNITED Volunteer of the Year Award. He is on the Blount County Chamber board, has served on countless United Way committees, is a member of this year’s Leadership Blount class, is part of nearly every Habitat build, is the chair for the local Boys & Girls Club, and has raised funds for Relay for Life, United Way, the Red Cross, Boys & Girls Clubs, Habitat for Humanity, food pantries, March of Dimes and many more by riding his Harley across the state and back with the Dixie Iron Riders.
The 2012 campaign that raised $1.96 million for Blount County programs was made possible by the hundreds of volunteers and committee members. Another group of people who makes the campaign possible are the employee campaign coordinators, individuals within a company who work with loaned executives and United Way staff to get the job done.
“United Way board members, volunteers, community partners and supporting companies and organizations are the reason the 2012 campaign was such a success,” said Michelle Hankes, president and CEO of the United Way of Blount County. “It is amazing to witness firsthand the hard work and dedication these people have to bettering the wonderful community we live in.”
John Hinkle will step down as board chair and hand the gavel over to Ken Cooper, the 2013 United Way of Blount County board chair.
United Way of Blount County supports programs that address health, education, and self-sufficiency. For more information or to give to United Way, please visit http://liveunitedblount.org or call 865-982-2251.
