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Complimentary Recognition Event
Over 400 Sioux Empire United Way volunteers, partner agencies and supporters attended the Sioux Empire United Way Complimentary Recognition Event. Seven individuals and three local businesses received awards at this event.
Click here to see a short thank you video. Click here to hear a short message from Pam Hanneman, Sioux Empire United Way Board Chair.
Awards were presented to the following:
Mel
has spent more than 30 years helping people face the challenges in their lives,
most recently as the Director of the LSS Sioux Falls and Watertown Counseling
Centers. Mel is a member of many local and regional mental health efforts. Mel
led the way in starting the family-based therapy program at LSS and also
developed a program to provide marriage education and enrichment activities in
the state prisons. While Mel has a full schedule managing a counseling program
with staff in six locations, he also makes time to see clients himself two days
a week. He is devoted to his profession, serving as an advocate and mentor in
his field. Whether it’s one individual or an entire community in crisis, people
in need can count on Mel’s calm and capable support.
Jonathan
has worked in law enforcement for 17 years, the last 6 as a School Resource
Officer. Every day at Roosevelt High School, he encounters students who are
dealing with drug or alcohol problems, come from abusive homes, or who have been
neglected or just ignored. He not only helps the students, but also their
parents, often assisting parents in getting their children to school by picking
them up himself. Roosevelt has over 2000 students and he knows almost every one
of them by name. Besides his career, Jonathan also volunteers as a youth soccer
coach, often taking kids onto his team just because he felt they needed a good
adult role model. He helps shy, introverted young kids become happy, energetic,
and enthusiastic soccer players.
Sioux
Empire United Way continues to build relationships with
non-giving companies in the area, and has developed the
Bullpen to help with this area. Dennis charged forward in
his first year as a Sioux Empire United Way volunteer,
calling on non-giving companies through the Bullpen. Because
the Bullpen is so intense, volunteers typically take on two
companies. Dennis took nine and began his work early in
2007. His persistence in communicating with the companies
provided great results. Five of the companies ran employee
campaigns, and two also gave a corporate gift. 
Architectural
Roofing & Sheetmetal has provided a corporate gift to Sioux
Empire United Way for the past several years, as well as
being a member of the Small Business Heart Club. In the 2007
Campaign, one of the employees, Paula Gruenhagen, served as
a volunteer for the Construction Division. Paula volunteered
again for the 2008 Campaign, and asked the owners of
Architectural Roofing & Sheetmetal, Darryl & Diane Drew if
they could do an employee campaign for the first time. By
sharing the United Way story at a staff meeting, Paula asked
her co-workers to consider giving. The roofers responded
with an amazing 85% participation and over $8000 total. 
Great
Western Bank went back to the basics for this year’s
campaign focusing on education and participation. A
committee of co-workers, led by Employee Campaign Manager
Rhonda Jones, was chosen to handle this year’s campaign, and
they made sure that everyone attended training and tours.
Incentives focused on participation which had been 42% in
2007. Each new level of participation that was reached meant
another manager would be pied. By reaching 100%
participation, many of the managers were pied. Education and
participation paid off with a 118.5% increase in giving.
As
do many companies in Sioux Falls, CIGNA Tel-Drug faces the
reality that decisions are not made locally. Because the
corporate office views supporting United Way differently
than the local office, local leadership sent a letter to the
home office signed by eight local CEOs asking for corporate
support for the 2007 Campaign. That year the employees
showed the importance with a 20% increase in giving and
adding on 11 new Heart Club members. The 2008 Campaign
continued that trend. The home office provided a challenge –
if participation hit 60%, a corporate gift of $15,000 would
be provided. Employees were up to the challenge, achieving
71% participation, adding another 51 Heart Club members, and
having a 50% increase in total giving. They did all of this
with 50 fewer employees than the year before.
Ray
began his United Way experience 40 years ago as a Loaned
Executive. Since then he has been involved in many different
areas and roles. He loves to tell the story of when Heart
Club was created. He sat back in the room and thought, “This
is the dumbest idea. It will never work.” And he claims he’s
never been happier to be wrong. Two years ago Sioux Empire
United Way received a motorcycle to be used as a community
wide incentive. As Heart Club Chair it was Ray’s goal to
encourage Heart Club members to increase their gifts and he
developed the motorcycle incentive to accomplish just that.
And this year as Campaign Chair, Ray believed in and
communicated the message that a gift to Sioux Empire United
Way is an investment and that anyone can be a Heart Club
member. His message was heard and taken to heart, helping
the campaign to experience an 8% increase.