United Way of South Wood & Adams Counties thanked its many supporters Wednesday night during the Thank You and Recognition Celebration at Great Expectations. “We have many things to be thankful for,” said Tari Jahns, CEO. “Our donors, our volunteers, and for the caring communities that we live in.”
During the Thank You Celebration we thanked ours donors - in particular, those in one of our “Giving Communities”
- Leadership Givers - supporters who give $500 or more
- United Forever Guild - individuals and companies who contributed $1,000 or more to our endowment fund
- Women United - women who invest $250 per year and fund local programs that help children and women
- Loyal Contributors - supporters who have been donating for 10 or more years
- LIVE UNITED 365 Small Business Circle – small businesses who donate at least $365 and receive a window-cling to display
- Our 2018 Sweepstakes Sponsors – Aspirus, Heartland Farms, NextHome Partners and River Cities Bank
We gave special recognition to organizations and businesses who had outstanding United Way campaigns and qualified for an award. The Per Capita Awards recognize organizations with high per capita giving; The Participation Awards go to organizations with high participation rates; and the Community Service Awards goes to organizations with a 10% increase over the previous year and 75% participation. The Per Capita and Participation Awards come in three levels: Gold, Silver and Bronze.
Per Capita Gold Awards ($150+)
- Childcaring, Inc.
- Enbridge Energy
- ERCO Worldwide
- Heart of Wisconsin Chamber of Commerce
- Nekoosa Public Schools District Office
- Paul Gross Jewelers
- United Way of South Wood & Adams Counties
Per Capita Silver Awards ($100 - $149)
- Doorworks, Inc.
- Lycon
- NextHome Partners
- Paper City Savings Association
- Solarus
- WFHR/WLJY
- WoodTrust Bank
Per Capita Bronze Awards ($70 - $99)
- Bank-a-Count Corporation
- Connexus Credit Union
- Fey Printing, Co.
- Incourage
- McMillan Memorial Library
- Mid-State Technical College
- North Central Community Action Program
- Rapids Ford-Lincoln
- Water Works & Lighting Commission
- WestRock
- Wisconsin Rapids Fire Department
- Wood County Health Department
Participation Gold Awards (95 – 100%)
- Fey Printing - 95%
- Heart of Wisconsin Chamber of Commerce - 100%
- United Way of South Wood & Adams Counties - 100%
- Wood County Health Department - 100%
- Wood County Purchasing - 100%
- Wood County Treasurer’s Office - 100%
Participation Silver Awards (90 – 94%)
- Wisconsin Rapids Fire Department - 91%
Community Service Award
• Lycon
We also thanked our volunteers who made the campaign a success, including our 2018 Campaign Chair Brian Hanson, of NextHome Partners; and our 2018 Loaned Executives and Division Chairs:
- Brian Ashbeck, River Cities Bank
- Bow Decker, Aspirus
- Heather Gehrt, Wood County Treasurer’s Office
- Jason Grueneburg, Wood County Planning & Zoning
- Tammy Huser, KeySavings Bank
- Chris Inda, Coldwell Banker/Siewert Realtors
- Randy Jahns, Mid-State Technical College
- Joy Kastenschmidt, Doorworks, Inc.
- Sally Kissner, Arts Council of South Wood County
- Tom Loucks, Wisconsin Rapids Community Media
- Wendy Newsom, Town of Rome
- Javan Radtke, WoodTrust Bank
Finally, we thanked all other organizations who did so much for United Way this past campaign, including businesses who held special events or donated raffle items or in-kind services. These organizations received the “Live United Award” for their special contributions to our campaign.
- Aspirus
- Bank-a-Count Corporation
- E-Con Electric
- Heartland Farms
- Tom Loucks
- McDonalds
- Neumark Design and Print
- NextHome Partners
- River Cities Bank
- South Wood County Recreation Center
- WFHR/WLJY
- Wisconsin Rapids City Times / Buyer’s Guide
- Wisconsin Rapids Daily Tribune Media
Photo caption: Kris Leonhardt, of the Wisconsin Rapids City Times / Buyer’s Guide and Steve Belter, of the Wisconsin Rapids Fire Department, accepted awards for their organizations during the United Way Thank You Celebration on January 9th.