Making CHANGE with Your Change

The 2014 Rogers County United Way Campaign kicks off a series of events on September 12 with “Lunch at the Gazebo.”

Board members (L to R): Ryan Neely, Neely Financial Services; Catherine Woldridge, executive director, Rogers County United Way; Amber Brassfield, City of Claremore; Julie Adams Simmons, drive chair, BancFirst; Delayna Trease, Summit Physical Therapy; Christi Shires, drive chair-elect, Grand Bank; Daniel Maragoni, Rogers State University. (Not pictured: Dwight Nadal, consultant, board president; Cherri Pilkington, Baker Hughes, Inc., board vice president; Brad Ward, RCB Bank, board secretary-treasurer; Matthew Babbitt, Baker Hughes, Inc.; Stan Brown, City of Claremore; Richard Willhour III, RCB Bank, Inola; Travis Wilson, Grand Bank; and Brandy Rowe, Baker Hughes, Inc.)

With 24 non-profit agencies counting on your support, the Rogers County United Way is set to kick off its annual campaign with a “Lunch at the Gazebo” on September 12 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. For only $5, you have a choice of a hamburger or hot dog with chips and a drink.
You can join others to eat for a cause at the gazebo, where pop-up tents and tables will be set up to dine outdoors. Representatives from some of the agencies will be available to answer questions. If you can’t get away from your office or business to enjoy lunch at the gazebo, United Way board members will be taking pre-orders for boxed lunches, which will be delivered the day of the event. For those who want their lunch delivered, call (918) 343-1165.
“We will also be going door to door to small businesses to take pre-orders,” says Catherine Woldridge, Rogers County United Way executive director. “Our board members will have badges identifying themselves.”
This year’s drive chair, Julie Adams Simmons with BancFirst, says, “I am extremely excited and honored to be the United Way chair for 2014. I believe with the leadership and direction of Catherine Woldridge, along with the support of our board and agencies, we can exceed our goal of raising $450,000.”
To help meet that goal, United Way board members have placed 12 donation boxes in businesses around Claremore. Each box will sport a photo of board leaders in the community and the theme ‘Making CHANGE with your change!’ “Every penny helps us meet our goal to support the non-profits in Rogers County,” Woldridge adds.
The United Way annual Golf FUNdraiser is set for September 19 at Heritage Hills. Registration is open for up to 26 teams. Cost is $75 per person. Participation includes a round of golf with golf cart, lunch, refreshments on the course, prizes and a lot of extra fun ways to try to improve your golf game. “We are all about raising money, so making it more fun will hopefully encourage everyone to participate even if they are not an experienced golfer,” says Simmons. “We don’t judge!”
If golfing isn’t your thing, then check out an old United Way community favorite with a new twist. On October 2nd, “A Chocolate, Wine and More Affair” will be held at the Will Rogers Memorial with “tastes” available for purchase from the area’s best dessert and wine vendors. “The committee decided to tweak and update the event with a more elegant setting,” says Woldridge. “We will also still have the silent auction items donated by the area agencies receiving funds from the United Way.” Tickets for the event will be available through United Way or any of the agencies.
The popular 2014 Holiday Boutique, “A Taste of Fabulous,” will be held at the RSU Centennial Ballroom November 13-15, where shoppers will find 30 upscale and unique booths available. VIP tickets will be available for $25 each for the premier shopping event on Thursday evening, with heavy appetizers and wine available. General admission is $5 throughout the next two days.
Christi Shires, drive chair-elect, adds, “Whether you like eating grilled hamburgers or hotdogs, playing golf, sampling chocolate or shopping, we have an event for you.”

For more information, contact

Rogers County United Way

www.rcuw.org 

About Author Carol Beck-Round

After 30 years in public school education, Carol Round retired and moved from Grand Lake to Claremore, Oklahoma in 2005, where she writes a weekly faith-based column which runs in 14 Oklahoma newspapers as well as several national and international publications. Three volumes of her columns have been compiled into collections: A Matter of Faith, Faith Matters and by FAITH alone. She has also written Journaling with Jesus: How to Draw Closer to God and a companion workbook, The 40-Day Challenge. This past year she has written three children’s books, a series called Nana’s 3 Jars, to teach children about the value of giving, saving and spending money. All of Carol’s books are available through Amazon. In addition to writing her weekly column, authoring books and speaking to women’s groups, she writes for Value News. She also blogs regularly at www.carolaround.com. When she is not writing or speaking, she loves spending time with her three grandchildren, working in her flowerbeds, shooting photos, volunteering at her church or going on mission trips overseas, and hiking. She is also an avid reader and loves working crosswords and trying to solve Sudoku puzzles.