A moment of fleeting disappointment for some after last year's United Way Estevan Telethon was also a chance for the members to remember what it is the organization is here to do.
At the United Way's annual general meeting, outgoing president Dawn Schell left the members with a sobering reminder of what United Way Estevan is and where its priorities are. Perennially, the local chapter was the first in the country to reach its annual fundraising goal, but that wasn't the case in 2013 after the organization remained shy of its goal at the end of its October telethon.
Still, funds continued to trickle in during the weeks following, and they closed the year with $468,532 in donations, well over the $350,000 they were hoping for.
"Goals, even though they are worth setting, can, kind of, take us away from the bigger picture and take the focus away from the things that are really important," said Schell in her address to the members and attending representatives of the member agencies. "Is being the first United Way in Canada to reach our goal really what this is all about? Until this past year, that has always been a given to us. Last year brought this organization and the community of Estevan to the realization that all of this is more than that. These are local member agencies and active United Way boards trying to spread good and help people."
She reminded everyone that despite not being first, they raised the money they needed to fund their 18 member agencies and three community impact projects, the Hillcrest breakfast program, Day of Caring, which is set for June 4, and Challenge Day.
"(These) would not have been able to operate, had the community of Estevan not pulled together to not only reach our goal but to pass it," added Schell.
The need to educate the community and new residents of the importance of the work of United Way Estevan and their member agencies will become a greater part of the organization's strategy in the years to come, said Schell. Those plans were reiterated by the incoming president, Doug McDavid, who wants to see the United Way board grow from 17 to 25 people. Getting their brand and work in the minds of as many people in Estevan as they can will be a high priority this year.
McDavid has been on the board for seven years and said it has been so rewarding that it's one of the reasons he maintains his full-time job in the area.
"It's such an amazing experience being part of the board. It's a lot of fun, actually," he said.
The president-elect identified a few things he wants the organization to focus on this year. The first of which is recruiting more people to the board, perhaps as many as eight.
"To really be efficient we need 25. We put this telethon on with volunteers and it's a lot of work. I think we need a few more board members to help out," he said, noting they are allowed to have upwards of 30 board members.
"The second is to raise our profile. Almost everybody in the community knows about our telethon, but do they know about what we do and what you do as member agencies?" he said in his address to the members and agency reps. "If we get our message out more and the message of the member agencies, people will know exactly what the good is they're doing in their community."
As McDavid moved from first vice-president to his new role, Wendy Gustafson moved into the first VP slot, and Christa Morhart was nominated to step into the role of second VP. Lynn Trobert was once again elected as treasurer.
With four terms coming to an end, Schell was nominated and elected to serve another three-year term, as was Mark Pettitt and Scott Harrison. McDavid's term also came to a close, and he was nominated and re-elected along with his elevation to president.
This year's telethon has been set for Oct. 17 and 18.
