By Arthur Foulkes
TERRE HAUTE — The United Way of the Wabash Valley raised more than $1.7 million in 2009, the charitable organization announced at its annual meeting and awards dinner Monday night.
The total fell just shy of the organization’s goal of $1.8 million, United Way officials said.
“We didn’t quite make it,” said Gary Morris, co-chairman of the 2009 United Way campaign with Marla Flowers.
The $1,748,872 raised in 2009 was a little more than $51,000 short of the goal, Flowers said. “We almost made it,” she said.
Given the tough economic climate, the United Way has nothing but “good things to say about how we did in 2009,” said Troy Fears, executive director of the United Way of the Wabash Valley speaking after the awards dinner, which took place on the main floor of Hulman Center.
The 2010 goal will be set in the spring, he added.
Several hundred people attended the annual United Way dinner, which included a silent auction and a key note speech by former NFL running back and Terre Haute North graduate Anthony Thompson.
Growing up in a poor family on Liberty Avenue in Terre Haute, the United Way and its many organizations “impacted my life tremendously,” Thompson, who now lives in Bloomington, told the audience. The United Way “gave me the opportunity to excel.”
Thompson, who broke scoring and rushing records as a running back at Indiana University, was the runner-up for college football’s prestigious Heisman Trophy and eventually played professional football for the Arizona Cardinals, the Los Angeles Rams and the San Francisco 49ers. He would later coach at IU under former head coach Cam Cameron and was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.
Wabash Valley United Way agencies helped his mother obtain the items she needed to raise seven children as a single mom, Thompson said. “It’s been a blessing.”
The past couple of years have been difficult for those in fundraising, said Thompson, who now helps IU raise money. Some people say we are experiencing a recession or depression, “but you keep making an impression,” he told the audience.
Also at Monday night’s dinner, the United Way honored Santhana Naidu of Williams Randall Marketing with the United Way’s Solomon Award. It also honored Bernice Helman of Coldwell Banker Troy Helman Realtors with the Richard D. Newport Award.
The United Way also honored several area businesses with “Beyond the Call” awards – the highest honor the organization offers. Danisco USA Inc., Fleschner, Stark, Tanoos and Newlin, Kellogg’s and Baesler’s Market received this year’s awards. Rachel Williams was also recognized for her work with the young children’s educational program, Mother Goose on the Loose.
“No doubt we had a challenging year,” said Rick Burger, UWWV board president. But the Wabash Valley has “community spirit” and people are always willing to show that spirit through helping others and also helping the United Way, he said.
“One day at a time, we are making a difference,” Burger said. “We are.”
Arthur Foulkes can be reached at (812) 231-4232 or arthur.foulkes@tribstar.com.
