Sedalia-Pettis County United Way Honors Area Agencies and Contributors

The Sedalia/Pettis County United Way held their recognition day for the 2012-2013 Campaign today (Feb. 15). The Campaign fell just shy of the $575,000 goal that was set. Campaign Chair Deidre Esquivel said that that even though it came up short, they will be able to help out the agencies as best they can.

“The total that we wanted up with was $538,234, which included the $18,000 that we received earlier this week. That left us about $36,000 short. We're okay with that, we're going to be able to live up to the promises that we made with the agencies.”

The 2013-14 Campaign Chair was also announced at the end of the event, which Paul Dick from Gardner Denver will be taking on. Dick said he's already looking forward to the challenge next year.

“Certainly we fell short, but the team did a great job with this last year's campaign. I think we hit a big number and it certainly shows that Pettis County is willing to give back to the community. I look forward to the challenge next year.”

The United Way recognized several companies and organizations for their efforts. Outstanding Performace in the Industrial Sector went to Waterloo, Professional Sector went to Kay Trail Community Health, Government went to the City of Sedalia and Education went to Sedalia 200. Callis & Associates received a rare award for 100% participation company-wide. The Creative Campaign award went to Alcan Cable for their “Proud To Be American” challenge and the Spirit Award went to the Sedalia School District. Tyson Foods had the highest giving amount with $90,343 and ProEnergy had highest per capita with $78,071.

One of the original agencies, the Pettis County Children's Fund, announced that due to circumstances beyond their control, they've disbanded, and Judie Slocum accepted a special award for the work they did over the last 50 years. The Salvation Army also formally announced that Major Mark and Sue Haslett would be retiring this summer and plan to live in the Warsaw area.