United Way of Sumner County (UWSC) held its annual Community Impact Breakfast presented by Meta on Thursday, August 15, 2024, at Our Lady of the Lake Catholic Church in Hendersonville. Over 200 people attended the event catered by Bit-O-Heaven Catering. UWSC Board Chair, Len Silverman welcomed the crowd and introduced Pastor Scott Aleridge of Hendersonville First United Methodist Church to give the invocation.
After a few words from Tara Tenorio, Community Development Regional Manager for Meta, UWSC CEO Erin Birch talked about United Way's role in the community, recognizing the 37 agencies/programs that partner with UWSC, and talking about the resources available for help. She also talked about UWSC's part in Disaster Relief after the tornado that hit Sumner County on December 9, 2023. She spoke of the incredible support from the community in partnerships, donations, volunteers, and more. She also talked of the victims we encountered and how "each story was a testament to the human spirit - each person we encountered reminded us of why we do what we do." She then introduced Damaris Truta Tina who shared her story with the crowd:
Damaris' husband worked for her uncle at a small auto shop on Rockland Road located behind her uncle's house. A month before the tornado, she and her husband had used their savings to purchase a home in Gallatin for their growing family which included a two-year old-daughter and another daughter on the way. The night the tornado hit, she got a devastating phone call. Though both her home and her uncle's home was spared, the auto shop had been destroyed. She talked of the fear, anxiety, and uncertainty they felt having lost both families' livelihoods and not knowing how long they would be without work. With no source of income, they feared they might lose the home they had just purchased. The next day, someone stopped by the shop to tell them that United Way of Sumner County was operating a Disaster Relief Center at the Streets of Indian Lake. She arrived, pregnant and overwhelmed, with her two-year-old in tow and met Erin Birch who asked what kind of help they needed. She explained the situation, told Erin how scared they were, and how everything seemed out of their control. Erin asked if she could pray with her. As Erin prayed, she said, "I could feel the Holy Sprit comfort me." They both began to cry. Erin hugged her and helped her gather supplies for herself, her uncle, and some of the surrounding shops who had also been devastated. United Way referred the two families to Hendersonville Samaritan Center who gave them groceries and paid the mortgage & utilities for her uncle's family and Gallatin CARES who paid the mortgage & utilities for her family. "Through United Way we received so much help from food, supplies, garbage bags, safety goggles, chainsaws, shovels, and so much more," she said. "Truthfully if it was not for United Way helping us and directing us to Samaritan Center and Gallatin CARES, I don't know how we would have made it through the months of December and January. All of these organizations to us were the hands and feet of Jesus, working to help others in need." She thanked everyone who donated, assisted, or volunteered in any way.
Len Silverman thanked her for sharing her family's story and then talked of one organization who said "yes" when we called looking for a space to host our disaster headquarters. Their entire staff worked side-by-side with the United Way staff in the days that followed the tornado. In appreciation, he presented the 2023 Community Impact Award to the Hendersonville Chamber of Commerce.
Next, Len presented the awards for the Most Raised under the GIVE category from our mantra of Give Advocate Volunteer. The awards included money raised through workplace giving, sponsorships, and corporation donations. The top three companies for the overall highest amount raised were ITW StampTech Fasteners in 3rd place, Publix Charities in 2nd place, and the winner of the award for Overall Top Fundraising Company was given to Servpro Headquarters for raising almost $170,000!
The award for the Most Raised in the category of Multi-Location Companies uses a combined total amount raised from each of the company's locations. The top three companies were ITW in 3rd place, Publix in 2nd place, and the winner for Most Raised by a Multi-Location Company was Sumner County Schools who raised almost $144,000.
In the Business Category, the top three companies for the Most Raised were The Farmers Bank in 3rd place, Sumner County Schools Maintenance Department in 2nd place, and the winner for the Most Raised in the Business category for the 2023 Campaign was Servpro Headquarters. The Most Raised in the Government category, went to the City of Gallatin who raised over $3,000. In the Medical category, the top three for the Most Raised were Tristar Skyline Medical Center in 3rd place, Tristar Hendersonville Medical Center in 2nd place, and in 1st place, with over $33,000 raised was HCA Corporate. The top three for the Most Raised in the Manufacturing category were ITW Dynatec in 3rd place, Caterpillar in 2nd place, and ITW StampTech Fasteners in 1st place raising almost $49,000. In the Retail category, the top three for the Most Raised included Publix Store #1780 at Newman’s Crossing in Gallatin in 3rd place, Costco Wholesale Warehouse in Hendersonville in 2nd place, and the winner of the Most Raised in Retail was Publix Store #119 in Hendersonville, raising over $20,000. And for the last of our Most Raised awards, in the category of Schools/Colleges, the top three were Gallatin High School in 3rd place, Madison Creek Elementary in 2nd place, and in 1st place, winning by a mere $9.23, Hendersonville High School, raising over $10,000.
Beth Pickel, a second-year UWSC Board Member, then came to present the awards for Highest Employee Participation. To qualify for this award, companies had to have a minimum of 50% participation which was determined by the total number of employees reported to UWSC by the company, compared to the number who participated in their United Way workplace giving campaign.
In the Business Category, there was a 3-way tie for 3rd place between The Farmers Bank, Bank of Tennessee, and Volunteer State Bank! In 2nd place was Gallatin Department of Electricity, and in 1st place was Cumberland Electric Membership Corporation with 58% of employees giving! In the Manufacturing Category, with 50% employee participation the award for Highest Employee Participation went to ITW StampTech Fasteners! The top three companies for Highest Employee Participation in the Retail category were Publix Store #1141 in Goodlettsville in 3rd place, Publix Store #1780 at Newman’s Crossing in Gallatin in 2nd place, and the winner of the Highest Employee Participation in Retail award was given to Publix Store #119 in Hendersonville with 58% employee participation! For the Highest Employee Participation in the category of Schools/Colleges, the top three schools were Indian Lake Elementary in 3rd place, Howard Elementary in 2nd place, and the award for Highest Employee Participation in Schools went to Oakmont Elementary School with an incredible 100% participation!
Next, Wynde Ross, UWSC Board Member came to present the awards for Highest Growth. The top three companies for the Highest Growth in the Business Category, were PNC Financial in 3rd place, Gallatin Department of Electricity in 2nd place, and in 1st place, Simmons Bank with over 774% growth from 2022 to 2023! In the Manufacturing category, in 2nd place was Aladdin Temp-Rite and the winner of the Highest Growth award in Manufacturing was presented to Caterpillar with over 15% growth from 2022 to 2023! For the Highest Growth in Schools/Colleges, the top three schools were Sumner Academy in 3rd place, HB Williams Elementary in 2nd place, and the winner for Highest Growth in the Schools/Colleges category, was Liberty Creek Middle School with almost 84% growth from 2022 to 2023!
Erin Birch then acknowledged the hard work of Workplace Giving Coordinators by asking them to stand and be recognized. Next, she thanked all the companies who had partnered with us financially for the 2023 campaign and announced the 2023 Campaign Top 20 Companies for their support through workplace giving, corporate giving, and sponsorships. They were:
1. Servpro Headquarters
2. Publix Super Markets Charities
3. ITW StampTech Fasteners
4. HCA Healthcare Corporate
5. Sumner County Schools Maintenance Department
6. The Farmers Bank
7. Gallatin Department of Electricity
8. Caterpillar
9. ITW Dynatec
10. Publix Store #119, Hendersonville
11. Costco Wholesale Warehouse Hendersonville
12. Tennessee Valley Authority
13. Volunteer State Bank
14. Publix Store #1780, Newman’s Crossing in Gallatin
15. Aladdin Temp-Rite
16. Publix Store #1739, Shops at Windsong in Gallatin
17. Publix Store #1141, Goodlettsville
18. Publix Store #1033 at Greensboro Village in Gallatin
19. TriStar Hendersonville Medical Center
20. Westfield Insurance Company with Coley Insurance
The next presenter was of significant historical importance to United Way of Sumner County. Charles Bone was a foundational figure in the history of UWSC, having played a key role in establishing the organization in 1977. As Erin introduced him, she commented, "He has a profound understanding of the community and the challenges its residents face."
Mr. Bone shared that he was honored to have been asked to present and talked of how moved he was to look around the room and see how far the organization had come. "This is a dream come true to see this community so involved and our United Way of Sumner County so successful!" he said. As he presented the award for Top Individual Giver to Wes and Susannah Wood, he said he had known this family for many years and spoke highly of their community involvement and giving attitudes. In accepting the award, Wes Wood said, "It is truly amazing that when dollars are given to such a great organization how it can dramatically impact our community."
Mr. Bone then introduced Janice Gray who is the wife of the late Judge Tom Gray. Judge Gray was also part of the group that worked together to lay the foundation for United Way of Sumner County. Janice presented the award for the 2023 Advocate of the Year under the ADVOCATE category of awards. She said, "This person publicly supports the mission of United Way of Sumner County working as a partner with us to seek short and long-term solutions and by saying “yes” to the call each and every time. She is extraordinary." The award was presented to Kim Baker.
The next presenter was Toni Dew, UWSC Projects Manager to present the 2023 Volunteer of the Year award under the VOLUNTEER category of awards. To be eligible for the award, volunteers must give a significant contribution of time (more than 40 hours per year) helping build a stronger and more effective United Way of Sumner County. She recognized the nine volunteers who had served for than 40 hours for the 2023-2024 campaign year. They were:
Pat Conner
Kelley Crecelius
Theresa Dowell-Fuqua
Douglas Fuqua
Gail Haygood
Beth Pickel
Mable McReynolds
Debbie Sheets
Susan Gaimari White
These volunteers demonstrate an unyielding dedication to community service and to improving lives in Sumner County by volunteering for a United Way of Sumner County event or fundraiser, working in the United Way office performing an array of tasks, serving on a UWSC committee or performing volunteer work on a community project lead by United Way of Sumner County. All in all, for the 2023-2024 fiscal year, over 2,000 volunteer hours had been logged through United Way of Sumner County in service to the community! She went on to talk about this year's winner, Gail Haygood, who volunteered to help with every UWSC drive: Winter Care, United We Feed and Mom & Baby Care. Gail also volunteered to help with every event: the Community Impact Breakfast, the Fall Classic Golf Scramble and Gala United. "She is a master organizer and multi-tasker who helps bring order to chaos," Toni went on to say. "What is so special about Gail is that while she is volunteering she thinks about the organization as a whole or the project or the event in its totality. She does not organize items to suit her own preference. She thinks about how it will affect the success of the project at hand. She also thinks about the volunteer coming behind her, who might come in and pick up where she left off, and she thinks about how her work will affect them. She is an extraordinary volunteer."
Next, Michelle Groves, Development Manager at UWSC explained the Company of the Year award, which was first introduced at last year's Community Impact Breakfast. "The award," she said, "is meant to embody the full spirit of GIVE ADVOCATE VOLUNTEER. The Company of the Year Award considers all aspects of company involvement with United Way of Sumner County. Based on a points formula, the award gives credit for how well a company supports each component of our slogan."
For GIVE… it included points for every $10k raised including workplace giving and sponsorships as well as a point for having at least 75% employee participation in a workplace giving campaign. Companies could also earn points for conducting an internal special event (such as a chili cook-off) to raise money for their campaign. For ADVOCATE… it gives points for having a representative serve on the UWSC Board of Directors or Allocations Committee, inviting UWSC to speak to employees, involving senior leadership in encouraging employees to support United Way, and for serving as a public drop-off location or conducting an internal collection campaign for one of the UWSC community drives such as the Winter Care Drive, the United We Feed Drive, or the Mom & Baby Care Drive. For VOLUNTEER… points were given for providing volunteers for one or UWSC's events or to help sort, log, or deliver items donated from community drives. Points were also given for having volunteers serve on the UWSC Golf or Gala committees or in the United Way office. It also awarded points for coordinating with UWSC to supply volunteers for a Day of Action at one of the UWSC partner agencies. To qualify for the award, companies must have had at least one point in each category of GIVE, ADVOCATE, and VOLUNTEER with the winner based on the highest total points earned.
"This year," she said, "we had 59 companies who earned at least one point towards the award. Fifteen of them had 3 or more points, but lacked a point in at least one category of Give Advocate or Volunteer. Only 4 companies qualified to win the award with at least one point in each category." In 4th place was Volunteer State Bank. In 3rd place was ITW Dynatec. In 2nd place was ITW StampTech Fasteners. And in 1st place, with 24 points, the Company of the Year for the 2023 Campaign was awarded to Servpro Headquarters!
Michelle then shared information on the Economic Viability Dashboard (EVD), the latest tool in understanding just what it would take to move families from hardship to stability in Sumner County. The tool provides several insights that can be used to determine the best long term solutions to help struggling Sumner County families. "But before we can talk about long-term change, it is important to understand where we are NOW," she said. She explained that in Sumner County, 8% of all households were in poverty in 2022, but more than 3 times as many –or 29%, were ALICE. ALICE stands for Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed. These families earn just above the Federal Poverty Level, but not enough to afford basics. Combined, 37% of our county’s households fell below the ALICE Threshold. She explained that ALICE’s financial well-being depends on each of three interconnected domains of work, housing, and community resources which means that to create communities that support ALICE families, there need to be jobs with wages that support basic expenses, housing that’s affordable, and ample community resources.
She discussed how Sumner County faired in each of the three domains as compared to other counties in the region and in rankings for the state of Tennessee. She shared information on the most popular industries and pay rates for ALICE workers, how many ALICE households are housing costs burdened (paying more than 30% of their income on housing costs), and how our county has a shortage of grocery stores and medical providers compared to state and national averages. She explained that the EVD identified gaps in our community and pointed to priorities for each domain that would help bring our community into alignment to improve conditions for ALICE and those in poverty. She then shared several Promising Practices for how to take action on addressing the needs of struggling families for long-term impact.
Erin Birch returned to the podium to share Next Steps with the group inviting them to support their community by donating to or volunteering with UWSC, hosting a Workplace Giving Campaign, inviting UWSC to speak about ALICE to their group, or participating in a UWSC event or community drive. She closed the event by thanking everyone for attending and reminding them to pick-up a free t-shirt, complements of sponsor, Schell Brothers. She ended by saying, "I hope you are inspired from our speaker Damaris, I hope you are encouraged from celebrating others who give of themselves to help neighbors and strangers, and I hope you feel empowered to join us in our work of Giving Advocating and Volunteering."
Click here for our full event photo album found on our Facebook page.