United Way Recognizes Contributors

The Herald-Dispatch, March 30, 2018
HUNTINGTON – On Thursday afternoon, the United Way of the River Cities gathered its board members, volunteers and community ambassadors to recognize those who have championed the nonprofit’s mission over the past year.
The annual Celebration of Excellence, which took place at the St. Mary’s Conference Center, was a time for recognition and appreciation of those who help the organization in its fight for the health, education, financial stability and basic needs of its community members.
“Throughout the year, we work hard and diligently to raise funds so we can partner and give those funds back to the community to address the communities’ biggest needs,” said Matt Ward, director of development for the nonprofit. “We have in this room very large donors, fantastic volunteers, fantastic advocates and just really good friends of the United Way of the River Cities that makes what we do possible. We are here to honor them and make sure they know how appreciated they are.”
Keynote speaker Hank Dial, interim police chief for the city of Huntington, also noted how important it is to recognize people for what they do.
“Sometimes people who work in public service, we are constantly moving on to the next thing on our agenda, but sometimes we need to stop and celebrate all the efforts people put in,” Dial said. “They put in a lot of time and resources into solutions. Huntington is an epicenter for solutions, and these people and businesses who are recognized today are a big part of that.”
Dial said the United Way is an outstanding partner with both the city of Huntington and the police department.
“You’ll always hear us talking about partnering with federal agencies – FBI, DEA and things like that – but the United Way is also an important partnering agency with the city,” he said.
“The great thing about the United Way is we have a lot of groups and lots of folks that constantly want to identify what the problems are, but whenever I go to a meeting with the United Way, we are working on solutions to those problems.”
In addition to both working every day toward making Huntington and the Tri-State area better, the United Way and HPD have other similarities, Dial said.
“Another thing we have in common is we are both recruiting, so if folks out there would like to get involved and be a part of the solution, I recommend they not get on Facebook, (that) they get on unitedway.org/volunteer or HPDWV.com and come join the fight,” he said. “Their theme here is ‘United We Fight, United We Win,’ and I can’t think of a better theme.”
The United Way of the River Cities serves those in Cabell, Wayne, Lincoln and Mason counties in West Virginia and Lawrence County, Ohio. Any individual or entity interested in volunteering with the United Way can reach out by email or phone, or stop by the agency’s office.
“We would love to have a conversation and see how we can help them in their needs,” Ward said.

Among those receiving awards Thursday were:

• Large Company of the Year: Steel of West Virginia and United Steel Workers Local 37
  “Steel of West Virginia and the United Steel Workers Local 37 have been the largest contributor to the United Way of the River Cities’ workplace campaign for the past five years, including this past year of $112,000,” Ward said. “With the combined efforts of a workforce of over 550 employees, they have achieved a lifetime giving of over $1.5 million.”
• Small Company of the Year: Harris, Hardin & Company A.C.
• Trendsetter of the Year: Marshall University
• Volunteer of the Year: Christina Saad McNeely
  “As the name implies, this award recognizes a single individual who has gone above and beyond to advance our work in the community,” said Andrea Roy, who served as interim executive director for United Way of the River Cities. “Christina is always willing to pitch in. She is an enthusiastic advocate for United Way, and her hard work was one of the reasons that LEVELS, our gala event, had its most successful year yet.”