Ackerman named United Way Volunteer of the Year

Charli Ackerman was named the United Way of Pettis County Volunteer of the Year at an awards luncheon held Wednesday at First United Methodist Church, 916 Thompson Blvd.

Tyson Foods and Owens Corning were presented with United Way’s “Highest Giving” awards at the 90-minute event for giving at least $25,000 to the campaign.

There were 15 “Trailblazers” that gave over $1500 to the UW campaign.

There were six “Game Changers” that gave over $500 each.

In addition, there were 19 “Neighbors” recognized by the United Way, as well as 28 In-kind Contributors.

Nine companies were thanked for sponsoring various United Way events last year.

Also, 51 volunteers were named and recognized for donating their time & talent to the United Way.

Townsquare Media (Mike Pettis and Randy Kirby), The Sedalia Democrat (Faith Bemiss-McKinney) and podcast “Let’s Talk Sedalia” (Ron Toellner) were thanked for being media partners with United Way.

ToRCH parent Christina Harrison was one of the guest speakers for the event Wednesday.

Harrison is a widow and special needs parent. Her son is on the severe side of the autism spectrum, with OCD, ODD and anxiety. She also has a daughter.

“It’s really hard to say I need help. And I was not that person. I didn’t like to say give me help,” Harrison said.

Not too long ago, she came to the realization that it’s okay to accept help. “Don’t be that person who takes on the world by themselves. Take a hand and show others that it’s okay. So I started doing that,” she said.

She finally said yes to help from ToRCH. “I was really nervous … when I told them the things that needed to be fixed at her house), they said ‘We got you!’”

Harrison admitted that she wept at the time. “I immediately went down in tears … you have no idea what  you have done for me,” She told the ToRCH program people.

They set up a contractor with Harrison to get the work done “and we’ll get this started.”

Harrison concluded her speech by saying “I will forever be grateful for that. On behalf of all families with special needs, not just mine, thank you to everybody that participated in helping make it happen,” she said.

In 2024 and 2025, the ToRCH B3 Environmental Modifications program assisted 189 people in 92 households with $434,000 in funding.

So far this year, the program has helped 74 households with $230,000 in funding.

United Way facilitates environmental modifications, it was noted.

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Other guest speakers at the event included Major Jason Unwin with the Sedalia Civil Air Patrol, Allison Utz with Boys & Girls Clubs, and Anne Homan with The Embassy.

Executive Director Rachell Simon moderated the program, attended by well over 100 people. The ladies of FUMC prepared the meal.

United Way had 16 funded partners and four grant recipients in 2025.

Simon noted that 719 clients were served through Mercy Services in 2025. About 60 percent of the referrals were accepted, Simon said, adding there were 3900 walk-ins at the program. Over 300 laundry passes, 200 shower passes, 140 communication passes and 120 mail passes were given out.

Looking back on the 2025 Day of Action, Simon noted that over 275 volunteers on 31 teams showed up at Housel Park that day. They represented 26 organizations working on 35 projects.

A total of 40 smoke detectors were installed in 15 homes.

And a total of 20 organizations donated materials for the event.

Also in 2025, a needs-based fund provided financial assistance to Pettis County residents with an emergency  or vital need that was not met by any other organization or resource in the community. This translated to 282 households receiving a grand total of $105,563 in financial assistance.

Simon added that so far this year, 49 households have been financially helped with over $17,000 in funds.

Another program helped renters who have fallen behind in their rent payments and live in poverty. A total of 57 people in 16 households received $10,161 in rental assistance from October of 2024 through March of 2025.

Upcoming events for United Way include the annual Tyson Truckload Sale on the parking lot of Thompson Hills Shopping Center on Friday, April 10 from 9 to 6, and Day of Action on Saturday, June 13 from 7 a.m. to 12 p.m., at Liberty Park.