UNITED WAY BOARD READY TO TACKLE COMMUNITY PROBLEMS

By JOHN BAILEY

jbailey@ccunitedway.com

It was a day of planning ahead by remembering what it means to make every day count.

This was the theme of the 2020 Catawba County United Way (CCUW) Board Advance. The annual meeting was recently hosted by Catawba Valley Community College at the school's new Workforce Solutions Complex.

The day and the theme were dedicated to Mark Story the Chief Executive Officer for K-65, who passed away earlier in February.

Story had originally met with the United Way to discuss holding the board retreat at CVCC and was excited to introduce the new Workforce Solutions Complex to board members along with sharing the impact of K-64. 

“You see, he lived his life in the moment for family, faith and community,” CCUW Executive Director Jennie Connor said during the Board Advance. “It is within this spirit of embracing the moment and making it count that we hope everyone will leave here today, feeling informed and ready to look for opportunities to enhance the quality of life of those in need.”

To build on this theme, the board heard from local leaders in the United Way’s three focus areas: health, income and education.

Speaking on the education panel were Chief Court Counselor Ronn Abernathy, Hickory Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Robbie Adell, Newton-Conover City Schools Superintendent Dr. Aron Gabriel and Catawba County Schools Assistant Superintendent Chris Gibbs.

They touched on issues related to juvenile justice, the need for additional funding for classrooms and meeting basic needs of families to ensure their children can succeed at school.

Speaking on the income panel was Teena Willis from Partners Behavioral Health. Among the issues she talked about was the need for more affordable housing in the county.

Speaking on the income panel were Gail Henson from Catawba Valley Mental Health and Jennifer McCracken from Public Health. They talked about issues related to chronic disease, healthy foods/healthy weight, behavioral health/substance misuse and housing and transportation.

This year’s CCUW Board of Directors officers include: President, Dr. Keith Mackie from Catawba Valley Community College; Vice President, Amy Guyer from RHF/Century Furniture; Treasurer, Patrick Underdown from HSM; Campaign Chair, Eddie Beard from Catawba Valley Health System and Campaign Vice Chair, Johann Lochez from Truist Financial (BB&T).

New CCUW board members were also recognized: Madeline Finley from Klingspor, Kristy Hedrick from CT Management, Karen Harrington from Catawba Co. Department of Social Services, Javier Chavez from Chavez Enterprises, Marshall Deal from Wesley Hall Furniture and Cassia Dowdy from Design Foundry.

Lunch was provided by Western Steer.

The mission of the Catawba County United Way is to increase the organized capacity of people to help others by mobilizing the power of our community.

To learn more about the CCUW or to find ways of becoming more involved in helping those in need in Catawba County, visit ccunitedway.com, the Catawba County United Way’s Facebook page or call 828-327-6851.

 

Shown in the picture from left: Cassia Dowdy from Design Foundry, Kristy Hedrick from CT Management, Madeline Finley from Klingspor and Marshall Deal from Wesley Hall Furniture. New board members not pictured: Karen Harrington from Catawba Co. Department of Social Services and Javier Chavez from Chavez Enterprises. Photo courtesy of Catawba County United Way